Gold Standard faces nine opponents for his long-awaited reappearance in the World Sports Betting Matchem Stakes at Durbanville on Saturday.

Gold Standard (Liesl King)

The Cape Guineas runner-up has not raced since his fourth to Whisky Baron in the Sun Met with a cautious approach to fetlock problems deciding Glen Kotzen to give the Durban season a miss. Those taking him on include Table Bay who started favourite for the Guineas but was beaten into third.

Anton Marcus’s mount is a kilo better off but has more than three lengths to find. Top weight Always In Charge has to shoulder a 3kg Grade 1 penalty as a result of his Gold Medallion success at two.

Gold Standard is expected to start favourite to give Richard Fourie his second Matchem – he won on Majestic Sun 11 years ago. Favourites have won three of the last four runnings but the eight previous ones were all beaten.

Andre Nel has booked Donovan Dillon for last year’s winner Captain’s Flame in the Diana Stakes but Gimme Six looks like heading the market. Justin Snaith has won three of the last eight runnings and Bernard Fayd’Herbe’s mount finished a head second in the Woolavington and fourth in the Garden Province after winning the Daisy Fillies Guineas.

By Michael Clower

Second Nature, who has won three of her last four, can go in again in the Play Soccer Conditions Plate at Durbanville tomorrow even though merit ratings say she hasn’t a prayer.

The Mike Robinson five-year-old was raised four points for her win at Kenilworth three weeks ago but still has the lowest rating of anything in the race but she has the advantage of race fitness and being in form. The combination may swing it for her at 3-1.

Tiffindell opened 18-10 favourite with World Sports Betting yesterday and little wonder. On her last run, over a mile and a half at Fairview two months ago, she ran Northern Ballet (3-1) to a short head and she renews rivalry with her stable companion on 6kg better terms.

Dress For Success

But neither has raced since and as a result Justin Snaith is not optimistic, saying: “They are both coming back from a rest and they are only 80% ready.”

The Paul Lafferty-trained Dress For Success actually comes out best on ratings but she has had to travel from Durban in the last month and it’s no surprise to see her as big as 6-1. Adorado (5-1) disappointed here ten days ago but ran well at Greyville previously while O’Keeffe, the outsider of the party at 11-1, has it all to do.

The opening Itsarush.co.za Maiden looks a tough nut to crack but a few trainer comments and explanations may help, in particular why Aldo Domeyer rides newcomer Little Miss Me in preference to Goa who has good recent form. “Grant van Niekerk is retained by Drakenstein and he rode Goa last time,” says Candice Bass-Robinson who adds: “Little Miss Me will need the run.”

Ostinato, joint second favourite at 5-1, drops back from 1 400m. “It makes no difference to her whether it’s 1 200m or 1 400m and they went too slow for her the other day,” says Glen Kotzen who points out that the filly has a bad draw.

Evie’s Light, who had smarter form last season than her 10-1 odds might suggest, also reverts to a shorter trip. “She has become a bit strong and I thought the quicker pace over 1 200m would suit her. She has also become a bit soft in the mouth and so I am using a different bit,” says Greg Ennion.

Bendy Bullet is favourite at 9-2 and is given marginal preference over Goa and Kotzen’s London Spirit (5-1). The sahorseracing computer also says the Eric Sands filly will win with Ostinato and Evie’s Light filling the minor placings.

The TAB Telebet Maiden looks a straight fight between 14-10 favourite Magic Sailor and 16-10 shot Seventh Rule. Magic Sailor ran very well here ten days ago and, as he is rated 3kg higher, he gets the nod.

Hundreds was only three-quarters of a length behind Greenstreettractor on debut and so Richard Fourie’s mount should have come on enough to reverse the form in the Tabonline.co.za Maiden.

By Michael Clower

Aldo Domeyer went into a two-winner lead over former champion Gavin Lerena at the top of the national log with a Candice Bass-Robinson double at Durbanville on Saturday.

But it was Friday’s Fairview four-timer for Alan Greeff – all on horses that Greg Cheyne would have ridden but for his Whisky Baron commitment – that really accelerated the momentum.

Aldo Domeyer

Domeyer, now on the 30-winner mark and a 28-1 chance for the title, said: “You need a second yard like that to have a chance and, if I had one, I would have a real go at the championship.”

Interestingly, he stressed how difficult a wide draw still is in Durbanville sprints after getting Johnny Black home by a hard-fought three-quarters of a length in the Tab Telebet Maiden. The 10-1 shot had been drawn 12 out of 14.

He said: “I was scratching my head for some time beforehand because it’s almost impossible over 1 200m. You have only got 50m to get into a position and even then you need the horse to help you, and this one did.”

The Brett Crawford-Corne Orffer combination signalled their readiness for Saturday’s features with a treble with Honey Suite, Gimme One Night and Bobby Dazzler and the first-named newcomer was fitted with ear muffs, an aid still comparatively rare in South Africa.

“She is a bit feisty and likes to put her head up. She works at home with them in place and they help,” explained assistant trainer Barry Donnelly.

Vaughan Marshall thinks a fair bit of Grant Knowles’s Nordic Chant who MJ Byleveld got up in the last 30m of the mile handicap with the trainer remarking: ”He is a fair horse and I think he is going to go on from here.”

Stable companion Querari’s Secret also looks worthy of note. He finished strongly to take third – only just over half a length behind the winner – and it was his first race out of the maides as well as his first for 12 weeks.

The stipes ordered a veterinary report on Love Happens, the 22-10 favourite who finished with only two behind him in the Tabonline.co.za Maiden. Nothing showed up but significantly Bernard Fayd’Herbe reported that the colt took no interest in running.

By Michael Clower   

Donovan Dillon, one of those under consideration for the Plattner Racing stable jockey position, has an important meeting with Andre Nel and Sabine Plattner tomorrow.

Dillon, 23, reckons he has benefitted from his recent two-month stint in Mauritius where he rode six winners from 51 mounts, saying: “I gained plenty of experience and I learned a lot.”

Donovan Dillon

Some press reports have indicated that trainer Gilbert Rousset cut short his contract but in fact it was the other way round.

Dillon explained: “They wanted me to stay a bit longer but the Cape season is getting going now and I needed to be back. Also things aren’t looking good for jockeys in Mauritius at the moment and I have too much going for me in South Africa to risk something stupid.”

He was referring to the recent headline-making incidents in which Muzi Yeni, Brandon Lerena and Raymond Danielson were accused of associating with people the Mauritius Jockey Club did not believe they should. All three were exonerated of any wrongdoing but decided to return home.

Sun Met winner Whisky Baron is reported to have come out of Friday’s encouraging run in the Shadwell Joel Stakes in good shape. He finished sixth of eight behind runaway winner Beat The Bank but was going as well as anything before his eight-month absence began to take its toll just inside the final furlong.

Ridgemont manager Craig Carey said: “Whisky Baron pulled up well although he lost 10kg in the race which showed how much he needed it.

“Brett (Crawford) is talking of the possibility of another Group 2 in a fortnight’s time. If not, the horse will go straight for the Hong Kong race, assuming he gets invited.”

Crawford, who won last year’s Matchem Stakes with Captain America, has both Nebula and Black Cat Back in Saturday’s WSB Durbanville feature.

Brett Crawford

Assistant trainer Barry Donnelly said: “At this stage Black Cat Back is the only definite runner as he had a 1 000m prep for the race last Wednesday.”

Glen Puller, who has won four of the last 15 runnings, has declared Silicone Valley (Piet Botha) while Justin Snaith has booked Grant van Niekerk for Copper Force.

Gold Standard remains favourite with the sponsors but Glen Kotzen warns that he has not been able to get as much work into the Met fourth as he would have liked because of the limited amount of racecourse gallops.

Avontuur stallion Oratorio has developed laminitis and his bookings for the rest of the season have been cancelled with some of the mares being diverted to the stud’s other sire Var.

General manager Pippa Mickleburgh said: ““It is a horrible experience for all of us at the farm to see him in pain, especially as his progeny are starting to show their class on a regular basis in South Africa with another wonderful win for him with Orakal at Durbanville last Wednesday.

“We hope to have him back to full strength by next year at the latest and, as he is reacting so well to the medical regime at the moment, we could even hope for an earlier recovery with a bit of luck. He is a really relaxed horse with a laid back personality so he is an easy patient.”

Laminitis a particularly painful complaint in which the tissues that bond the hoof wall to the pedal bone become inflamed. It can cripple horses and prove fatal.

By Michael Clower

There were a few trainers bemoaning the switch to the Greyville poly track yesterday after Friday’s monsoon but Louis Goosen was not one. “If they switch to the poly then Varallo will be in trouble,” he predicted after homework at Ashburton on Thursday.

Zen Arcade (Candiese Marnewick)

Charles Laird’s runner looked to be one of the better bets on the afternoon with a lot in his favour, but although he put up a sterling performance, Goosen’s assessment was spot on as Di Mazzio took to the surface an exploited Varallo’s three-month holiday although it was a close-run thing.

The two hooked up a furlong from home and it was down to a neck at the line.

Third-placed Monks Hood had everything go wrong at the start, getting a back leg hooked up in the gate and then cannoning into the outside rail in the straight. Alistair Gordon’s gelding was an eye-catching third and definitely one for the notebook.

Goosen was not much enamoured by the handicap mark given Zen Arcade but the handicappers may have got their sums just about right as Zen Arcade followed up on his maiden win, getting the better of a bruising battle with Ryker and Perfect Jay.

Not only was it a red-letter day for Goosen, but also prolific owner Mario Ferreira and jockey Gunter Wrogemann who landed a treble. Wrogemann, Ferreira and Gratuity led home a Goosen 1-2-3 in the sixth with the daughter of Dynasty out-duelling stable companion Captain’s Girl with Yaas filling the shallow end of the purse.

Mark Dixon looks to have a useful filly in She’s A Dream, a smart winner of the second. Given that she was closely related to the Dixon stable star London Call, she was always on the Dixon shopping list when coming up for auction at the National Yearling Sales. “I went out back to bid and was surprise when she only made R70k. Bruce le Roux breeds a good horse so we are very happy.”

By Andrew Harrison