Brett Crawford’s blistering run met with a (presumably temporary) reverse when he drew an unexpected blank with all nine runners at Kenilworth yesterday.

What is more, the Kingston Passage bubble was expensively burst in the Tablonline.co.za Handicap when the talented three-year-old started hot favourite to win his fourth off the reel in the Whisky Baron colours but managed only fifth.

Greg Cheyne (Nkosi Hlophe)

Things went wrong from the break when he seemed to be leaning backward rather than forward and, although he quickly made up the leeway, he was never able to get clear. This was his first run for ten weeks and Greg Cheyne’s first reaction was that his mount needed the outing.

“That could be,” said Crawford. “But he was disappointing – he didn’t fire and he didn’t finish his race. He is better than this.”

The stipes, while not ordering a veterinary examination, asked Crawford to report if anything shows up subsequently.

Prince Alfred, on the other hand, ran the race of his life after drifting from 5-1 to 14-1. Late booking Lucien Africa (Karl Zechner couldn’t do the weight) had him in front throughout and he held the fast-finishing Zud Wes by a rapidly dwindling neck.

Adam Marcus’s father Basil said: “The give in the ground made a big difference. He has been putting his head up in the last 200m on firm going.”

Crawford, incidentally, described Search Party’s Post Merchants win on Friday night as “a gutsy performance” and confirmed that the Mercury Sprint on July 15 is next on the target list.

Justin Snaith

Corne Orffer, who rode the horse to such effect, was limping throughout the afternoon after slamming his leg (and shoulder) against the pens as the gates opened in the first but he kept riding to land the mile handicap on Katies Jay for Justin Snaith.

Snaith also succeeded in beating the older horses with two-year-old Sassy Lady (Grant van Niekerk) in the five furlong fillies maiden. “It’s hard to win in open company,” said Chris Snaith. “But I think that over 1 000m the weight-for-age does not have as much effect.”

The one Crawford who did win was Harold who, despite having only a small string, landed a double with Perovskia and Empire Rising on whom Donovan Dillon made every metre in the TAB Maiden. This filly drifted from 11-2 to 14-1 but Crawford was confident on Under Starter’s Orders and explained: “Some of the muscles in her back and chest have been tightened up but physiotherapy has sorted them out.”

Grant Behr, who rode Perovskia, also won the opening two-year-old maiden for Dean Kannemeyer on Benfontein who outbattled the luckless Apollo Star who has now found one too good for her in four consecutive races.

Aldo Domeyer seldom goes a Cape Town meeting without a winner these days and he scored on both Hopeful for Candice Bass-Robinson and Sharp Peg for Paul Reeves. The former was bought for a mere R5 000 and belongs to the stable staff. She has now won them over R70 000.

By Michael Clower

Horizon, third to Vodacom Durban July favourite Edict Of Nantes in the Daily News, looks set to miss the great race a week on Saturday.

Horizon (Liesl King)

Candice Bass-Robinson said yesterday: “I will decide in the morning but I am leaning towards waiting for the Champions Cup. The July is a tough race and Aldo Domeyer thinks he could be better off in the Champions.”

Domeyer is to switch to Krambambuli for Snaith Racing and Jonathan Snaith yesterday explained the decision to switch Bela-Bela from the July to the Jonsson Workwear Garden Province on the same card.

He said: “If she had been well handicapped Varsfontein would have run her but they felt that carrying 57kg was going to be a tough task for a filly. The three who won the July this century carried comparatively light weights – Ipi Tombe ( 52kg in 2002), Dancer’s Daughter (53kg in 2008) and Igugu (55kg in 2011).”

The stable has four in Saturday’s Highlands Stud Winter Derby but Jonathan said that African Night Sky, winner of both the Winter Guineas and Winter Classic, is expected to be their only runner.

Bernard Fayd’Herbe again rides the gelding and he has also been declared for stable companions A Time To Dream (Ladies Mile), Weston (Winter Oaks) and Miss Katalin (Irridescence).

By Michael Clower

Brett Crawford’s win in the Gr 2 Post Merchants with Search Party on Friday night at Greyville took his SA Champions Season tally to seven wins and he has earned more than any other trainer during this year’s festival of racing.

Brett Crawford (Liesl King)

Crawford’s total earnings in KZN from the Champions Season’s opening night on May 7 until the end of Friday Night’s Post Merchant’s meeting were R3,171,575. In second place was runaway national trainers championships leader Sean Tarry with seven wins for R2,477,575 and next was Justin Snaith with three wins for R1,367,500. KZN trainers Dennis Drier and Duncan Howells were the other million rand earners with eight wins for R1,219,200 and seven wins for R1,078,450 respectively. Dean Kannemeyer has had the most winners in this period, nine, but is only in ninth place in earnings. Crawford leads the number of black type races won with four, consisting of three Gr 1s and a Gr 2. Snaith has won a Gr 2 and two Gr 3s, Tarry has won two Gr 1s, Joey Ramsden has won a Gr 2 and a Listed race, Drier has won a Gr 1, Paul Matchett has won a Gr 1, Howells has won a Gr 2, Candice Bass-Robinson has won a Gr 2 and Kannemeyer and Gavin van Zyl have each won a Listed event.

The Crawford yard’s 27 Champions Season runs this season have also netted nine places, including three Gr 1 places.

Former Springbok rugby fly-half Lance Sherrell and his mother Delma have worn broad grins for a few weeks as they have watched the Crawford-trained pair Search Party and Gulf Storm run second and fourth respectively in their colours in the Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Sprint and they also own a share in the Crawford’s Gr 1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge winner Captain America. The Post Merchants was the cherry on top, although there might well be more to come. It is fitting the Sherrell’s black and white colours are doing well in KZN as all of Lance, his late father Reg and his grandfather Reg Evelyn played rugby for Natal.

Crawford-trained horses commandeer the top three positions in the Champions Season’s highest earnings with Gr 1 Daily News 2000 winner Edict Of Nantes on top with R1,27 million, Captain America second on R637,500 and Gr 1 Woolavington winner Lady Of The House third on R635,000. Search Party is in ninth spot on R447,500.

Another statistic where Crawford is top is the betting profit per runner. For a R1 stake put on all 27 of his runners they would have returned a profit of R41.

Corné Orffer has ridden three of Crawford’s seven winners and deserves plenty of credit for Search Party’s win on Friday night. There was no false rail for the race and this was always going to favour the low draws and the handy to front-running types. Orffer was aware of this and his first winning move was to use Search Party’s early pace from a fair draw of six to claim the rail in front. Orffer extracted a kick out of the four-year-old Captain Al gelding at the top of the straight and this was the second winning move, as it saw him stealing two lengths on the field. The improved four-year-old Captain Al gelding kept going well to hold on by 0,25 lengths for a thoroughly deserved second career Gr 2 victory. The runner up was last year’s Equus Champion Sprinter Talktothestars, who had sat handy on the rail from a draw of two and produced a flying finish with topweight.

He gave the winner 2kg so it was another fine performance by South Africa’s most travelled superstar. The third-placed Amazing Strike was drawn in pole and sat behind Search Party in the running. Fourth-placed Captain’s Causeway was also drawn well in five. The favourite Professor Brian’s chances looked forlorn after Search Party’s telling kick for home. He could only manage sixth, but did run on well and it is too early to tell whether the handicapper has his measure. His five successive wins before this race saw him rising from a 58 to a 91 merit rating.Crawford is the leading Cape trainer on the national log and before yesterday’s racing he was only R110,162.50 behind third-placed Mike de Kock.

By David Thiselton

The Vodacom Durban July selection panellists face an unenviable task today before the naming of the final field tomorrow as the Dean Kannemeyer-trained supplementary entry Mr Winsome threw a spanner in the works by winning the Gr 3 Track and Ball Derby over 2400m at Scottsville.

The four-year-old gelding is a typically improving son of Silvano and had impressed when finishing fastest of all for tie-third in the Betting World 1900.

Anthony Delpech (Liesl King)

Yesterday, he came from the back again, turning for home third last, and produced a resolute finish under regular pilot Anthony Delpech to wear down the underrated stayer Sun On Africa from the Gareth van Zyl yard and win by 0,5 lengths.

The excellent trainer of stayers Weiho Marwing claimed third place with Let It Rain, who was beaten 4,5 lengths.

Adding impact to Mr Winsome’s claim for a July place is that he will face It’s My Turn on the same weight terms as he did when dead-heating with him in The 1900.

Mr Winsome will provide another July runner for two of South African racing’s most deserving owners, Durban couple Roy and Gladys Meaker, who have been stalwarts of the sport for decades.

Earlier, the Gr 3 Track And Ball Oaks featured two July entries, Girl On The Run and Witchcraft. They ran good races to finish second and fourth respectively, but they would have had to do more to book a July place, considering the comfortable 1,75 length winner, the Geoff Woodruff-trained Zante, is merit rated only 92.

Bela-Bela was a July scratching last week, as she will be targeted at the Gr 1 Jonsson Workwear Garden Province Stakes.

Bela-Bela’s, Orchid Island’s and Captain America’s scratchings have made the panellists tasks easier, because if all the horses on the final log are included in the field then there is still one place left in the top 18.

However, there are three horses who were not on the log whose connections will believe they deserve places. They are Mr Winsome, Coral Fever, who was supplemented after winning the Gr 3 Jubilee Handicap, and Black Arthur, who is 10/1 in the July ante-post betting and his good preparation for the big race was completed by a third place finish in the Gr 3 Cup Trial carrying topweight.

Therefore some of the log incumbents might come under pressure and there will be a lot of jostling amid discussion done by the panellists, who once again will be the envy of nobody.

By David Thiselton

Professor Brian is unbeaten since being gelded and trainer Joey Ramsden has done a masterful job in keeping the gelding winning and keeping his merit rating in check. The Australian-bred is looking for six wins on the bounce when he lines up in the Gr2 Post Merchants at Greyville tomorrow night and although officially out at the weights he could still be well under the handicapping radar.

Brett Crawford (Nkosi Hlophe)

Professor Brian was going nowhere before being gelded and as a result his merit rating had dropped dramatically. So when he did embark on his winning streak it was obviously a mark well below what he was capable off.

Strictly on paper Professor Brian has it all to do at the weights in spite of the handicappers pushing him up the maximum for each win.

Victory on Friday will give the handicappers more leeway in adjusting his rating but it will be too late for the opposition.

Brett Crawford, who saddled Captain America to win the Gr1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge last Saturday, will be two-handed with Search Party and Gulf Storm although the former looks to be the pick. He came in for some quiet market support in the recent Gr1 Tsogo Sun Sprint at Scottsville and only had the winner Bull Valley ahead of him. He has had a steady build-up into the Post Merchants and should be cherry-ripe.

Top weight Talktothestars did not have the best of luck on the Tsogo Sun Sprint, being checked just as he was making his run and losing all momentum. Top rider Bernard Fayd’Herbe will be aboard and with a clear run, could prove more than just dangerous to Professor Brian’s winning run.

Veteran galloper Barbosa has lost none of his zest for racing and was a fine third behind Bull Valley in the Tsogo Sun. He does have a better record down the straight but has a favourable inside draw and can be competitive.

Being a proper handicap, the Post Merchants often dishes up a surprise result and the likes of Gulf Storm, Amazing Strike and Lord Balmoral are others to consider especially if attracting a measure of market support on the day.

There is much at stake for some runners in the Track & Ball Oaks and Track & Ball Derby at Scottsville on Sunday, both Gr3 over 2400m. The names are something of a misnomer as both races are open to all ages but be that as it may, both races are seriously competitive.

With the final field for next month’s Vodacom Durban July to be decided on Monday, either of Witchcraft or Girl On The Run will need to win the Oaks, and win well, if they are to be considered for the July. Witchcraft won this race last year but has only had two outings since, the latest coming nearly a year after her penultimate start, so this may be a tall order. Yellow Wood Handicap winner Girl On The Run has finished runner-up in two starts since returning from a lengthy break and should strip at her peak. She looks the more likely candidate.

Mr Winsome, supplemented for the July by Dean Kannemeyer, is in a similar position in the Derby. He was running on strongly from last when third in the Gr2 Betting World 1900 behind Ten Gun Salute but although his recent form is solid, he will need victory on Sunday if he is to come into the final reckoning. His last two wins have come at Scottsville, the last an exercise canter over the distance, and although he takes on much stronger here, he does look the part.

By Andrew Harrison