The Alec Laird-trained speedster Romi’s Boy returns from a lay-off tomorrow, but that should not stop him from going close in the Grade 3 Spring Spree Stakes over 1200m on the Turffontain Inside track.

The Querari gelding has only run once over this course and distance and dominated the race, beating the fair sort Doosra by over five lengths. From a good draw of five, he will be a tough nut to crack as he will only be getting stronger. As a sprinter the layoff since June 10, where he was cut into when running a 1,6 length fourth to the classy sprinter Sommerlied over 1100m at Greyville, should not detract too much from his winning chances. Angel’s Power is course and distance suited and is better drawn than a lot of the other chief contenders. His last run over 1000m at this track can be ignored as he was hopelessly trapped in a pocket. He is 4kg better off with Romi’s Boy for a 1,9 length beating over 1200m at the Vaal, which puts them just about together.

Will Pays was surging late over 1160m last time when losing to Pure Blonde by 0,7 lengths and to Captain Aldo by a head. He is now 1kg better off with Pure Blonde, faces Captain Aldo on the same terms and is drawn in pole position. Spring Steel beat Pure Blonde by 1,4 lengths over 1160m in June and is now 0,5kg better off, so has a chance from a good draw. Maximizer comes off an easy win in the Listed Darley Arabian over 1600m on the Greyville Poly. He has never run in a sprint before, but is a strong horse with some pace and Keagan de Melo stays aboard from a fair draw. Sporting Monarch has pace and a fair draw, but the handicapper might have his measure. Amazing Strike is weighted to comfortably beat stablemate Romi’s Boy on their last meeting, but he has a tricky draw, particularly considering he likes to be within striking distance.

Captain Aldo is consistent  from sprints up to 1400m and S’Manga Khumalo has been doing well for trainer St. John Gray lately. However, the wide draw will make it tough for this handy sort. Pure Blonde outpaced the field over course and distance in his penultimate start, but must now do it from the widest draw of all. The classy Champagne Haze jumps has a fine turn of foot, so will likely be dropped out from a wide draw before running on. However, making up the ground carrying 63kg won’t be easy. Classify is an in form raider from Port Elizabeth, but this is a lot stronger and he might find 1200m a touch sharp. Finchatton makes little appeal on current form and the trip will likely be too sharp.

Earlier, Secret Star could defy topweight in the Non-Black Type For The Ladies Stakes over 1200m. She has speed and a telling kick and the rider who brings the best out of her, Piere Strydom, is back aboard. She has a fair draw too. Myfunnyvalentine proved her Cape Town form was all wrong last time out when returning from a long layoff.  She has won over course and distance before and has the pole position draw. Spring Wonder is 5kg better off with Myfunnyvalentine, despite beating her by 0,3 lengths. However, she will have to bounce back from her last start where she was not persevered with. She was found to be not striding out on one front leg and had abrasions from the starting stalls on one of her hind legs.

By David Thiselton

Silicone Valley has a clear chance of registering his first win for ten months in the Carl Greaves Brokers Pinnacle Stakes at Kenilworth tomorrow.

The seven-year-old has had some well documented problems but he has plenty of ability – enough to take second in the Merchants and fifth in the Queen’s Plate – and, although he has to give weight all round, he is suited by the trip and the conditions.

If this was a handicap he would be meeting his seven rivals on much more disadvantageous terms and his recent form is good. True, he has been done no favours by the draw but Piet Botha is riding well and should be able to overcome this.

Second top-rated Heartland has been disappointing and Catkin, possibly at his best over this trip, looks the main threat. Turbulent Air is on the upgrade but he was raised six points for last time’s half-length mile win and it remains to be seen whether this was fully warranted.

Bernard Fayd’Herbe returns after a five-week absence and has a big chance of kicking off with a winner on Eternal Night in the Test Kitchen Maiden. The Eric Sands four-year-old is rated 3.5kg inferior to Tough Love but only gives her 2kg whereas the weight-for-age scale says she should be conceding 7kg. Not surprisingly, the sahorseracing computer says Fayd’Herbe’s mount will score convincingly.

However preference is for Tough Love’s stable companion Bid Before Sunset who really caught the eye on debut last month. She was an unconsidered 20-1 shot (despite having Callan Murray in the irons), lost two lengths at the gate and a fair bit more as the more experienced left her wondering what it was all about.

She ran on really well from a long way back to take second to It Is What It Is with Tough Love a length and three-quarters further back. The experience will have really brought her on and Grant van Niekerk’s mount now looks the one they all have to beat, Eterenal Night included.

Five-year-old Quarllo has a similar weight for age advantage in the opening Perpetua House Maiden but Photocopy finished just in front of him on debut and should be able to confirm the form with that experience under his belt. Indeed the computer predicts victory for Sihle Cele’s mount.

However it may be worth taking a chance with Victorious Captain who has some good form to his name and has been running well.  He is well drawn while Henry Tudor should also be in the shake-up.

By Michael Clower

Eight houses are up for grabs in a new win-if-you lose competition.

Corporate fixed-odds operator Betting World and TAB, which operates pools betting in eight of South Africa’s nine provinces, will give away eight houses to their customers in a grand lucky-draw competition that launches tomorrow, 1 September.

To stand a chance of winning one of the houses, customers must take a R10 or more bet with TAB or Betting World in September or October – and lose.

Customers then enter the competition by writing their name, ID number and contact details on the back of the losing ticket and placing it in the in-store competition entry box.

“We are really excited about the competition which we have titled ‘8 houses in 8 weeks’. For most of our customers it will be a life-changing experience to win a house and we look forward to making that happen for eight different people”, said Rob Scott on behalf of Betting World and TAB.

“The campaign is unique in the betting industry in South Africa because of its scale,” he added.

The lucky draw for the eight winners will take place at Turffontein Racecourse on Saturday 25 November, when the Gauteng Sansui Summer Cup – better known as ‘The People’s Race’ – will be run.

The competition will run from 1 September to 31 October 2017 in all provinces across South Africa.

Fourteen down, 12 to go. Bobby Frankel’s record of 25 Group or Grade 1 wins in a year is once again under pressure from Aidan O’Brien, who is 5-2 with Paddy Power to achieve the feat this year.

There are 17 Group 1s remaining in Britain and Ireland this season and Aidan O’Brien has won 14 of them before, the exceptions being the Haydock Sprint Cup, British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes and, surprisingly, the Champion Stakes.

There are 12 Group 1s still up for grabs in France too, while there are opportunities in Hong Kong and Australia, not to mention a glut of Grade 1 targets in North America. The races are there – it is simply a case of finding horses to win them.

Irish Champions Weekend, you sense, will be pivotal. Churchill is favourite for the Qipco Irish Champion Stakes, while globetrotting Highland Reel could provide back-up. Paddy Power quote 2-5 that O’Brien wins the race for an eighth time.

O’Brien has the option of pitching Winter in against the boys in that race, but the dual 1,000 Guineas heroine is 4-7 to win the Matron Stakes the same day, which would look a more appropriate target. She has already contributed four top-flight victories this term.

There are three Group 1s up for grabs on day two of Irish Champions Weekend. O’Brien won all three in 2015, with Minding (Moyglare), Air Force Blue (National Stakes) and Order Of St George (Irish St Leger), and it is not fanciful to think he could complete the same treble.

Unless Big Orange contests the Irish St Leger, Order Of St George should have it all his own way as he looked back to his brilliant best in a trial for the race this month.

O’Brien has a host of exciting juvenile fillies to throw at the Moyglare, most notably Clemmie, Happily, Magical and September. He would be a very skinny price to win that contest.

It is a similar story in the National Stakes, a race O’Brien has won 11 times, including for the past three years with Gleneagles, Air Force Blue and Churchill.

That could be the next port of call for the exciting Gustav Klimt, who did well to steal the Superlative Stakes at Newmarket last month having suffered traffic problems.

There are five Group 1s over the two days of Irish Champions Weekend and O’Brien is likely to have the favourite for each one. If he takes them all, Bobby Frankel’s record will be under serious threat. Four would do nicely. Three, you feel, is the minimum he would need to stay in contention for a new record.

The Sprint Cup at Haydock – the same day as the Irish Champion and Matron – looks out of O’Brien’s reach with Caravaggio not certain to line up. Even if he does, he would have it all to do to reverse July Cup form with Harry Angel.

Irish Derby winner Capri has topped the St Leger market ever since that gutsy Curragh win and looks the number one hope of providing O’Brien with a fifth success in the Doncaster Classic.

There is sure to be a decent B team from Ballydoyle too, with the likes of Venice Beach, Sir John Lavery and Yucatan looking ideal types.

Five Group 1s remain at Newmarket and O’Brien looks sure to have runners in all of them – not only runners, but genuine contenders.

The Ballydoyle maestro sent out Brave Anna to win the Cheveley Park last year and has the likes of Clemmie and Magical to aim at the fillies’ event this time around. Roly Poly won the Falmouth and could return to Newmarket for the Sun Chariot, Sioux Nation has Middle Park written all over him, and September could bid to restore her reputation in the Fillies’ Mile.

Qipco Champions Day at Ascot on October 21 is another hugely important date in the calendar. Winter and Churchill are entered for both the Champion Stakes and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, a race the trainer won last year with filly Minding.

Amedeo Modigliani looked special when galloping away from his rivals in a Galway maiden and could lead O’Brien’s assault on the Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster. The Pentagon is another potential runner, and an eighth O’Brien win in the race is a distinct possibility.

There is plenty to play for in France and Paddy Power make O’Brien a 7-1 shot to win a third Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, while there are six other Group 1s on Arc weekend, most of which Ballydoyle will have runners in.

Later in October comes the Criterium International, a race O’Brien has won with Mount Nelson (2006), Jan Vermeer (2009), Roderic O’Connor (2010) and Johannes Vermeer (2015), and The Pentagon could have it on his radar this time around.

Further afield, O’Brien will be hoping − and needing – to do better than he has managed in the US so far this year, with Idaho last weekend his seventh runner of 2017 to be beaten on the other side of the Atlantic. Last year the trainer bagged two Grade 1 winners stateside courtesy of Deauville and Highland Reel.

O’Brien’s previous best annual Group 1 tally is 23, set in 2001 and 2008, while he managed 22 in 2016, when at this stage of the year he had netted a dozen top-flight winners.

Given that he is ahead of that this time round and appears to have more autumn ammunition this year, 5-2 looks a decent price about Frankel’s 2003 record being broken.- racingpost.com

Tellytrack presenter Deez Dayanand was a deserved recipient of the KZN Racing Personality of the Year award at the KZN Racing Awards held on Tuesday evening at the Elangeni and he had a heart-warming story to tell about his rise from normal punter into one of South African racing’s most popular characters.

Dayanand has also established a formidable partnership with the current reigning South African Champion Jockey Anthony Delpech and together they have won three KZN Jockeys Championships and one National Jockeys Championship.

Dayanand owes his passion for the sport to his late father and his position in the industry to both his wife, Dr Soraya Naidoo, and to the well-known TV sports presenter Martin Locke.

Deez recalled his father to be a numbers player rather than a studier of form.

On one occasion a family road trip holiday was held up by an accident at Umzinto. Consequently, Deez’s father found his way to the local Tote and placed a Jackpot using the number plates of one of the cars involved in the accident.

On their way home from Port St. Johns he stopped at the same Tote to check his ticket and discovered he had won a sizeable amount.

The July was always a big day in the Dyanand family home and Deez’s father also took him regularly to meetings at Scottsville.

Deez recalled, “In those days it was the only game in town and I remember there being no parking space on New England Road.”

About seventeen years ago Soraya noticed an advert on Tellytrack asking for applicants for the position of racing presenter.

Deez by that stage was spending hours studying form and watching racing and Soraya believed this would be a fine opportunity.

Deez viewed it as a “ridiculous” quest, but agreed to give it a go.

He drove down to Greyville expecting an interview, but instead it was an audition in which he had to do a mock preview and mock interview with Martin Locke.

He left believing that would be the end of it, but instead received a phonecall to hear he had been shortlisted.

There were more auditions and he landed the position.

He recalled, “Martin Locke was Mr Sports and he saw something in me.”

Two qualities Locke must have noticed were Deez’s charisma and gregarious nature.

Deez admits he has always been comfortable around people.

He said, “Growing up in an Indian home in those days there were lots of rules and strong ethics and values were instilled in you by your elders in order to be successful in a growing community. But my parents were quite modern and allowed me more rein, especially as I was the oldest grandson, so I grew up never being afraid to approach people in a social setting.”

Established presenter Paul Lafferty went overseas the month after Deez had arrived, so Deez went live sooner than expected in December 2000.

He did his homework, so found the previews the easy part, but felt nervous and awkward as an outsider interviewing people he had previously idolised.

He added, “You do earn your stripes in racing, but it’s all about support. Racing is full of the most generous, kindest and loveliest people. If they take a liking to you the sky is the limit. There is no business in the world where people pour millions in for passion alone. I remember once, a guy had his first winner and I asked him how he had become involved in the horse and he replied, ‘This is the first time I have seen the horse’!”

Deez these days draws entertaining stories out of winning connections with a natural ease. He is also popular with punters due to the homework he puts in and his efforts in bringing transparent information.

He was approached by Delpech in 2014. Becoming a jockey’s agent was not a decision he took lightly as there was a potential conflict of interest with his Tellytrack position.

However, he was soon putting as much professionalism into both positions.

Deez has an adage for jockeys, “They are their own advert. The two most important things are simply how well they are riding and how many winners they are having.”

Deez selects his form choices from the nominations, but then discusses them with Anthony as jockeys sometimes do not gel with certain horses.

One difficult customer Delpech did gel with last season was Grade 1 SA Derby winner Al Sahem. Delpech apparently describes this horse as “A Meneer, who wants to be in charge.” He thus got to know the big horse better with each and every ride and was looking forward to riding him in the Vodacom Durban July. However, the unexpected July entry of Nightingale saw him having to honour his retainer to Mary Slack.

Deez and Anthony have a post-mortem of every meeting and Deez then passes relevant information from the top jockey to the trainers if it can help improve a horse’s performance.

“It is all about building bridges,” said Deez.

It is easier for Deez to book rides in KZN where Delpech rides work, but Deez spoke of the tremendous support Delpech was given by Highveld trainers when he made clear his intentions of chasing the championships.

Deez said about Tuesday evening’s award, “You don’t know how you are being judged by the public, which was why the award meant so much. It was the cherry on the top and I now know that I have been doing something right.”

His only regret is his father never having seen him on TV.

Deez gave up drinking completely ten years ago due to the amount of travelling he did and his views on that topic sum him up well, “Alcohol is part and parcel of racing. It alters your personality and that’s why people do it, to have a short release where they are more relaxed, but I realised I didn’t actually need it, I have always been intoxicated on life!”

By David Thiselton