African Night Sky is a surprise omission from the 16 nominations for the historic Matchem Stakes at Durbanville on Saturday week.

Snaith Racing, successful with Changingoftheguard five years ago, said earlier in the month that the Winter Series winner would begin his four-year-old campaign in the 1 400m Grade 3 but they have had second thoughts.

African Night Sky (Liesl King)

Justin Snaith explained: “The horse is fine but the Matchem comes too soon and I have been caught out year after year by running my good horses in it.”

Snaith, whose only entry is the wide-drawn Copper Force, has the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate and the Sun Met as the targets for African Night Sky but he has yet to decide where the horse will start off.

Joey Ramsden has won two of the last six runnings with the high class Variety Club and Act Of War and his two entries include last year’s Cape Classic scorer Table Bay. The highest-rated entry is Cape Guineas runner-up and Met fourth Gold Standard.

Cape Fillies Guineas winner and Equus champion Just Sensual heads the 17 entries for the Diana Stakes on the same card but Andre Nel is undecided about last year’s winner Captain’s Flame, explaining: “She has had a bit of a setback and she wasn’t that well a week ago.”

By Michael Clower

Dutch Philip warms up for next month’s Cape Classic in the Supabets Handicap at Durbanville tomorrow.

Aldo Domeyer’s mount won four out of five last season including both the Somerset and the Cape Nursery and he is clearly a class act. World Sports Betting was taking no chances yesterday and opened the colt favourite at 14-10.

Aldo Domeyer

But that price doesn’t really allow for the negatives, namely that this is his first race for four months, his first against older horses and that he races off a high mark of102. Also he is stepping back in trip and that could be the biggest stumbling block of all.

“He will need his run and, while I’m not saying he can’t win, 1 000m could be a bit quick for him,” says Candice Bass-Robinson.

The one that makes most appeal is 9-2 second favourite Starflash who was having his first race of the season when third to Rock Of Africa in a good 1 200m handicap a fortnight ago. He was drawn wide that day and he has a much better position here.

Al Wahed missed that race – off-feed was the reason – but previously he was only beaten a neck by Master’s Spirit. He will have appreciated Monday’s rain and looks real each way value at 12-1 even though he has been raised three points and there is a line of form that says he shouldn’t beat Starflash.

Black Cat Black (5-1) has gone up five points and, although he has won his last three starts, they were all over a furlong further and this is his first outing of the season. Olympian, also a 5-1 shot, is a stable companion of Starflash and is not without a chance.

Evelina is 17-10 favourite for the first and could be hard to beat. The Andre Nel filly is well drawn and would have finished closer last time (only her second start) but for racing green and ducking out sharply 100m from home. Spam Alert is second favourite at 4-1 but don’t ignore 13-2 shot Romantic Crusade. Grant van Niekerk’s mount was only just over a length behind Evelina and then lost ground at the start on her only subsequent outing.

Van Niekerk has a favourite’s chance on Orakal in the next but the 33-10 chance faces stiff opposition, notably from 5-1 hopes Tyrandeus and The Sun Also Rises. The form book says the latter could be the one.

The older horses meet the three-year-olds on far better terms than weight-for-age in these maidens and Destiny Duchess (33-10) can prove the point by beating 5-2 favourite Woodstock Fairy in the Betting World Maiden 35 minutes later.

By Michael Clower

With 19 runners to saddle, Duncan Howells will be a busy man at Scottsville tomorrow and it will be a surprise if he does not make it into the winner’s circle at least once in the afternoon. But the pressure will be on. It’s one of those days where he could be the toast of the town or heading home wondering what went wrong.

Howells holds a strong hand in the Fillies and Mares Pinnacle Stakes that heads the card with three top class runners but was far from bullish about any of them.

Neptune’s Rain

“They are not well weighted and this is a tough field. I don’t know if I can win it,” he said on Thursday morning.

Howells added that he had given stable rider Keagan de Melo the pick of the rides for owner Dave MacLean and he had decided on Neptune’s Rain who Howells thinks has a bright future. However, he felt that Dawn Calling was the more forward of the pair at this stage and although looking for further had a strong chance if racing fresh.

That said, Howells was of the opinion that Lunar Rush was the fittest of the three and “has a chance if she’s good enough.” But even with Anton Marcus, Anthony Delpech and De Melo riding for him he was not overly confident.

Paul Gadsby’s runner Vision To Kill has the benefit of a 2.5kg claimer aboard in Serino Moodley and comes of a cracking last win when fitted with a tongue-tie while Isingamoya is a classy mare who enjoyed just rewards last time out and Mark Dixon’s runner is also in with a winning chance.

The first, if any, of Howells’s winners could be Bear Hug in the third. The gelded son of Ideal World was all at sea on debut, also losing a shoe in the process. He showed good improvement at his second start where in spite of a tardy start he was running on nicely behind the heavily backed Silva’s Bullet.

The step up in trip should be in his favour and he could finish ahead of the consistent Toltec.

Lezeanne Forbe’s runner was reported to have been making a respiratory noise when fading late at his last start but it may also have been that the 1950m was a little out of his compass after finishing close-up in his two previous starts over 1600m. These two look the principal contenders.

Howells saddles Mirwa in the opening leg of the Pick 6 along with three other runners and he will be looking for major improvement from the daughter of Fort Wood. Mirwa was never in the hunt behind Silva’s Bullet but was all over the course. She will definitely prefer tomorrow’s trip and gets the services of stable rider Keagan de Melo who has picked her ahead of stable companions Pharoah’s Tiger, Rippling Music and Roy’s Vogue.

Crime Victim

Queen’s Plain made a winning debut for Howells and can follow up in the fifth although she is up against some seasoned handicappers, most notably top weight Flying Silver. Garth Puller’s mare is hardly ever out of the money and was a game second to Master Of Mischief last time out. The step up in trip should not be a worry although she does have to give the progressive Queen’s Plain 8kg which may prove beyond her.

It was written somewhere that your first winner as a racehorse owner is up there with war and sex. I don’t think either was on the mind of Lady Colleen Glaeser as she dropped the lead rope like a hot potato after Amor Ardiente entered the winner’s circle at Scottsville earlier this month and not necessary out of excitement. “I’m terrified of horses!” she exclaimed.

Belinda Impey’s 25-1 shot was met by a few mutterings from punters but visiting rider Gunter Wrogemann was impressed. “He’ll easily get eight to 10 furlongs,” he surmised.

Amor Ardiente certainly enjoyed going around the turn for the first time and Wrogemann will be in the irons again to back up his claim in the All To Come Handicap.

Of the balance, Crime Victim, another Howells runner, has dropped a further four pounds in the handicap and now looks competitive.

The Soccer 6 Fillies Handicap is a tough race with plenty in with chances. Howells again holds a strong hand with Miziara who was close on stable companion Fiorella’s heels when the two met and is better off at the weights here. With Marcus up she’s a big runner. Fiorella was a close-up second first crack out of the maidens and will much prefer this trip from a good draw while a very much in form Dennis Drier saddles the progressive Tsessebe who has done most of her racing at Greyville and could well improve on some good form over this longer straight.

By Andrew Harrison

The newly laid Durbanville track will be given a searching test when racing resumes at the country course tomorrow. There are races from 1000m to the 2400m Settlers Trophy so every aspect of the newly laid turf will be tested.

All who took part in a series of trial gallops earlier this month were full of praise for the new surface but it was decided to delay a return to the track for a further fortnight to ensure that the racing surface was in tip-top shape.

That said, it won’t make finding winners any easier as punters are faced with a tricky card, no less the Settlers Trophy.

Durbanville race track

Although it is still early days, Justin Snaith is well ahead on the national trainer’s log as far as the number of winners goes and he has set his sights on a second national trainer’s championship. Snaith has three runners in the line-up, best of which may be One Direction, the mount of Richard Fourie. The Silvano gelding has some excellent form to his credit and did not contest Champions Season during the winter, rather taking his chances in his home town. With a string of second placings to his credit it was it was probably a worthwhile exercise but he really came into his own when stretched to 2400m last time out. He made all the running under Fourie and never looked like losing.

He faces a tougher task this time around but appears to have found his optimum trip and can follow up.

Our Emperor was a late starter to his career but has come into his own at recent outings, shedding his maiden and following up with a cracking victory in his first start in handicap company. He has a handy weight and he should handle the extra ground.

The mare Forbidden Duel has her first outing for Glen Kotzen after a consistent career under Duncan Howells in KZN. With few races over ground for fillies, she most often found herself up against males. She finds herself in a similar predicament again tomorrow but she does have a light weight and definitely stays the trip.

Snaith appears to have another good chance of adding to this season’s CV with Overshadow in the Play Soccer handicap where he again has three runners in contention. Bernard Fayd’Herbe does duty in the saddle and the five-year-old has his third run after a break and looks primed for this event after finishing a close-up third to Catkin last time out.

Snaith has a second arrow in his quiver with Star Chestnut who does not know how to run a bad race. It has been over a year since his last win and although the handicappers have been reluctant to drop his merit rating by any significant margin in a hurry he has come down a further kilo since his last race and should be competitive off his new mark.

By Andrew Harrison

The two headliners for the nine race meeting on the Turffontein Inside track tomorrow are both Novice Handicaps where there is the hard task of separating classy young three-year-olds with high merit ratings from toughened lowly merit rated older horses.

In the first of these events over 1200m Wellspring took eleven runs to win his Maiden Plate, but he faced some good sorts like So Var and Snow Boarding and finished close to them. He is the selection as he has been accorded a reasonable merit rating after his maiden win and this is a suitable course and distance. He has a fair draw and has had a couple of runs this season so should be race fit. Flying Free proved his class in the Grade 2 Golden Horseshoe over 1400m. He was bumped at the top of the straight in that race which caused him to lose his good position but he then lived up to his name by running on strongly for a 1,35 length fourth.

Sean Tarry

However, he has not raced since and has been accorded a merit rating of 96, meaning he has to carry 62,5kg and give Wellspring 9,5kg. He has won easily over course and distance before and is drawn in pole, so his class could still pull him through, but history does show that young three-year-olds with merit ratings this high do battle in early season handicaps against older horses, no matter how good they are destined to become. Cedrus Libani is an older horse who has won well over the course and distance before and he makes most appeal of the rest although he will have to bounce back to best after a disappointing run over course and distance last time, where the jockey did not persevere.

In the second of the Novice Handicaps over 1600m the three-year-olds are sided with. The Sean Tarry-trained Yamoto made a sparkling debut when showing pace under the hands over 1160m and then kicking clear when challenged. This Dynasty colt looks full of class and from running style and pedigree he will relish the step up to 1600m. He is drawn two and Anthony Delpech is aboard. His stablemate Aurora Australis also won impressively on debut, over 1400m, but has not raced since that race in March and has a tricky draw here. The older horse who makes most appeal is Boling Point as he has plenty of ability, but appears to have a few problems. From a plum draw over a suitable trip he could surprise running fresh.

The best bet could be Diva Faustina in race three over 1450m. She is an effective front-running to handy sort and from a good draw can get it right if ridden more conservatively than she was the last time she attempted this sort of trip. On that occasion she opened up a big lead and tired late, whereas she stayed on well in her only subsequent event when held up off the pace over 1600m.

The value bet is awarded to Noceur in the last race. She represents the very much in form Alec Laird yard and won easily when stepped up to 2000m first time out the maidens. She has always struck as a solid horse with ability and as one who would improve as she got older, so she can follow up despite being accorded a maximum eight point raise.

In the first race over 1200m the first-timer Silver Maple will be of much interest as he is a full-brother to the dual Guineas winner Janoobi and jumps from pole position. If he has the same amount of pace and resolve as his courageous brother he will be hard to beat, although Over Easy and Combat Muster could give some cheek.

Another Alec Laird-trained horse who could win is Captain Chips in the seventh. He runs over an ideal 1450m course and distance and is well drawn, so as one who has become ultra consistent he could prove hard to peg back. Edisson, unlucky last time over 1800m, could appreciate the step back to his winning distance and looks the main danger along with Walker, who has plenty of ability and returns from a layoff with Delpech up from a good draw over an ideal trip.

By David Thiselton