The first three races at Greyville yesterday were for two-year-olds and there were some eye catching runs.

In the first over 1200m the horses had to circle at the start for over half-an hour, but this did not stop the Glen Kotzen-trained Philanthropist colt Pack Leader running on to win in impressive style by three lengths under Craig Zackey. He will make an impact in the two-year-old Gr 1 features. What A Winter colt Red Eight stayed on well for second. Pathfork colt Mighty Mercury has a long stride and a lovely action and after carving out a big lead he was only just pipped for third by the Oratorio gelding Storm Ruler. Mighty Mercury should come on from the run and is one to follow. Storm Ruler and fifth-placed Crusade gelding Subtropical should also improve.

In the second race over 1200m the Lezanne Forbes-trained filly Light On Her Toes is well-bred being by Gimmethegreenlight out of the Gr 1 Allan Robertson dead-heater On Her Toes. She did well to get up from a wide draw under Alec Forbes in a time which was 0,1 second quicker than the boys in the previous race. Owner Alesh Naidoo will thus have two Gr 1-winning chances at Scottsville’s Festival Of Speed meeting at the end of May as he also owns the top colt Varallo. Querari filly Zarnitsa improved to finish second by 0,75 lengths. The next two in the running, Ideal World filly Luna Child and Visionaire filly Bridal Veil, were both making their debuts and stayed on strongly. Sail From Seattle filly Coral Queen was just behind them, but this was already her third run.

In the third over 1200m, the Dennis Bosch-trained Trippi filly Victory Trip led from start to finish under Eric Ngwane to win in a time which was 0,77 second slower than the previous race. Second-placed Captain Al filly Esteemal is a big horse, who can be watched over further. The fifth-placed Believethisbeauty was unlucky as she was cramped for room for much of the straight and she can be watched, especially in a 1000m race as she has a lot of pace.

However, from a form perspective the third might prove to be the weakest of the three juvenile events, considering Victory Trip was having her fifth start.

By David Thiselton

Mike Stewart will study the weather forecast this morning before deciding whether to declare the improving Icon King – winner of his last three starts – for the Highlands-sponsored Winter Guineas at Kenilworth on Saturday.

The Noordhoek trainer said: “He is drawn 18 out of 19 and he is also in the 1 400m handicap so I may go for that instead. But there could be a gale force Northerly and, if so, I would be sorely tempted to run in the Winter Guineas as the wind would be coming from behind in the straight.”

For once there was hardly any wind at the Cape Town course last Saturday but that was little compensation for all those punters who saw defeat snatched from the jaws of victory when La Favourari floored Tevez in the 1,200m Pinnacle.

It looked just a question of pressing the button when Aldo Domeyer loomed up alongside the pace-setting La Favourari but the favourite suddenly emptied like a pricked balloon. Seemingly his 12-week absence was taking its toll and he weakened into third at the line where La Favourari was still happily bowling along.

“I was going a little bit fast but I didn’t want to restrain him,” related Grant van Niekerk. “I knew something was coming, I thought it was probably Aldo Domeyer and I felt I was going to get beaten. Then mine seemed to find another gear.”

Andre Nel, left scratching his head for the second race running, added: “We were racing fit and the others were probably not but he has improved. It’s tricky finding races for him but we will keep boxing on with him.”

Watch out for Forest Prince next time. That was the message from Jonathan Snaith after the Var colt, allowed to drift from 9-2, came from a long way back to take third to fellow 14-1 newcomer Virtue in the first. “He is a very smart horse – one to note,” said Snaith.

Blow In The Box should also collect next time after ruining his chance at the start in the Moksh Authentic Indian Cuisine Maiden and failing to peg back Corne Orffer on the Brett Crawford-trained Phelan Lucky by only a diminishing half length.

“He blew it in the box,” quipped rider Bernard Fayd’Herbe. “”In fact he came out alright but he was very green and didn’t want to go. He could have done with a horse in his inside.”

 

The Eric Sands-trained Commander Bond (Greg Cheyne) in the mile maiden bridged a 20-year gap for nuclear physicist Steph Steyn who seemed as delighted as if he personally had thwarted Blofeld from splitting the atom.

“My last winner here was Motocross in April 1997. She went on to win races in Port Elizabeth but we gave up racing soon afterwards because it was so expensive,” he related. “My son Ruan was a small boy then but he has become very keen so we are now back in the game.”

Domeyer, successful on Virtue, sprang a 20-1 shock on the Glen Kotzen-trained Lindleys Lane, thwarting MJ Byleveld’s all-the-way bid on Amazingly in the Racing Association Maiden in the final two strides.

He said: “MJ is normally a lot easier to get past. He has obviously improved!”  Byleveld was not amused, as he made clear after winning the last on Keep The Faith for Vaughan Marshall.

Van Niekerk was given a R2 000 fine for hitting Twilight Trip more than three times in consecutive strides when coming with a devastating late run in the mile handicap. But he was more concerned with the way his mount suddenly hung in three strides from the post, causing the rider to pull his whip through in an effort to avoid interference. “I wasn’t sure I’d get the verdict,” he related. “But luckily the horse put his head down at the right time and I did get it. Thank God.”

Marsh Shirtliff, part-owner of the Candice Bass-Robinson-trained winner, echoed similar heartfelt sentiments after revealing that his money was on.

The in-form Craig Bantam had his claim cut to 2.5kg after making most to reach the 20-winner mark on State Ballet in the TAB Handicap.

By Michael Clower

It’s still early days but Justin Snaith will have been well pleased with what he saw in the Listed Sledgehammer Handicap at Greyville yesterday as two of his Vodacom Durban July entries put up their hands. But Snaith will not have been the only one with his head resting easy on his pillow last night; fellow Cape Town colleagues Candice-Bass Robinson and Brett Crawford will have been equally comfortable come bedtime.

Snaith’s gelding Elusive Silva under Anthony Delpech came home lonely in the Sledgehammer and was eased up before the line while stable companion Prince Of Wales came from well off the pace to snatch second.

It was a race tailor made for the pair and a good blow-out for things to come.

Both have been relatively lightly raced but Winter Derby winner Elusive Silva will have his July odds slashed by the time you read this, this morning. This was his first outing since the Derby back in June last year and a ‘tweaked’ muscle at the pull-up was responsible for the interim break and also missing the Cape Summer Season. But this was an excellent return to the track and there will be a few punters looking to nail the early worm this morning but it may already be too late.

Prince Of Wales was also returning from a break and made up plenty of ground in the stretch to get up for second and he too will be a lot shorter in the market come opening time.

Also smiling yesterday will have been Candice Bass-Robinson and Brett Crawford. Bass-Robinson was handed a stable full of talent that also included a ladle full of pressure when her father handed over his license to his daughter as along with the package came the R5 million yearling buy, Horizon.

As most racing sceptics will attest, yearling price seldom equals a return on the track, but Horizon has given himself and his owners a chance. By super sire Dynasty out of a full sister to another champion sire, Silvano, few pedigrees boast more blue-blood. A winner of the Gr3 Politician Stakes, the Gr 2 Daisy Guineas in a fort night’s time will add lustre to Horizon’s track record but the Gr1 Daily News 2000 and the Gr1 Vodacom Durban July would cement his place as he is a horse that appears to be looking for further than eight furlongs.

The scratching of Epona will have left a gap in the betting for the Listed The Scarlet Lady, but Corne Offer made the most of her absence as he drove Crawford’s runner to a comfortable victory. The daughter of Ideal World had the race won a long way out but the back-up pf traffic behind her will give fuel to some thought.

The start of racing was delayed for half-an-hour as there was an issue with the placement of the starting stalls on a narrowed tack.

By Andrew Harrison

Nother Russia has been cut from 40-1 to 20-1 for the Vodacom Durban July after Saturday’s big race success and Heavenly Blue now heads the market at 8-1 with World Sports Betting.

Previous favourite Marinaresco has been pushed out from 7-1 to 11-1, Bela-Bela from 10-1 to 14-1 and It’s My Turn from 11-1 to 18-1. Empress Club disappointment Star Express has gone from 25-1 to 75-1 while fourth-placed Safe Harbour has been marked out from 22-1 to 40-1.

Betting World makes Heavenly Blue 13-2 favourite and goes 10-1 Marinaresco, 12-1 Black Arthur, 14-1 Brazuca, 16-1 Bela-Bela, Edict Of Nantes, It’s My Turn, 20-1 Nother Russia, Captain America, French Navy, Horizon, Master Sabina, 25-1 and upwards others.

>    The odds on Elusive Silva and Prince Of Wales are likely to have shortened as well following impressive displays at Greyville on Sunday.

By Michael Clower

The annual Charity Turf Challenge now sponsored by Track And Ball always adds spice to the SA Champions Season and is open for entries.

This is a competition that is a must for racing fans to enter as it generates huge excitement and is highly rewarding for astute studiers of form.

The competition requires patrons to choose a list, or lists, of ten horses which accumulate points throughout the Champions Season for winning or being placed in certain races.

Previous renewals of this competition showed that finding the Vodacom Durban July winner is one of the keys to winning the competition. The July is one of four races alongside the Tsogo Sun Sprint, the Rising Sun Gold Challenge and the eLan Gold Cup where the winning horse earns a five point bonus for CTC entrants.

Horses capable of winning or being placed in Gr 1 races are the ones to find, because these races carry more points. Therefore, it should be noted staying races have generally been downgraded this year and horses will not earn as many points as they did in previous years for winning or being placed in them.

It is always wise to include a top three-year-old filly as horses in this category have plenty of opportunities.

The entries must be submitted before the opening Champions Season meeting on May 7. The submitter of the winning list will win R100,000 and there is a R20,000 prize for second and R10,000 for third.

Furthermore, there is a R20,000 stand-alone prize for the list which generates the most points on Vodacom Durban July day. Spot prizes will also be drawn randomly throughout the competition.

Entries are R50 per list and as many lists as desired can be submitted. Online entries (visit www.charityturfchallenge.co.za) are offered a free bonus entry for every five lists they enter.

Furthermore, if you open a Track And Ball account (www.trackandball.co.za) you will receive free betting vouchers to the value of your entries up to a limit of R200 per person. Entries van be done online at http://www.charityturfchallenge.co.za.

Manual entry lists can be found at participating Totes, Track And Ball outlets, and Independent Bookmaking Outlets, or On course at specified KZN race meetings, including the May 7 meeting.

David Thiselton