Whisky Baron has been promoted to 8-1 third favourite for the Sun Met after making short work of the opposition in the 1 800m Allowance Plate at Kenilworth yesterday.

He was previously as big as 15-1 but the Australian-bred quickly put daylight between himself and the rest after Greg Cheyne sent him on two furlongs out – and he looked value for more than the length and three-quarters he finished in front of Macduff.

Greg Cheyne (Liesl King)

Cheyne said: “The pace was fair – it wasn’t the crawl that I thought it might be – but his turn of foot is amazing.”

Brett Crawford has an open mind about immediate plans and explained: “The L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate (January 7) is an option but he can only get 3kg for winning this so he could go for  the Peninsula Handicap on the same day. I will discuss it with the owners.”

The four-year-old has won all three starts since being gelded and seemingly the operation has had a marked effect with the trainer explaining: “He used to be a big burly horse but he is now much more athletic.”

Brazuca, weak in the market – he drifted from odds-on on Monday to 7-2, faded to finish with only one behind him after making much of the running but rider Randall Simons reported: “He hung out and he needed the run badly. He will come on a lot from this.”

Betting World marked him out from 22-1 to 33-1 for the Met but Macduff, a rather insulting 500-1 before the race, is now down to 150-1. However you can still get 100-1 about Mambo Mime despite his pleasing Dean Kannemeyer by finishing third.

Kannemeyer said: “He deserves a crack at the Met and I’m now looking to nominate him for the Queen’s Plate. He ran a nice race here despite being big and blowing hard afterwards.”

The handicappers have given the first two in last Saturday’s Grand Parade Cape Guineas a hefty hike. William Longsword has been raised 5kg to a new rating of 109 while Gold Standard, beaten only half a length, has gone from 96 to 108. However third-placed Table Bay has been dropped a kilo to 106. As he was over three lengths away, the assessors obviously feel he is capable of better.

By Michael Clower

Royal Life is a talented gelding and although it has sometimes been tough going for him and his connections, he is smart on his day. Alistair Gordon’s runner lines up in the MR 90 Divided Handicap over 1400m at Scottsville this afternoon where he looks to have a strong chance of recording just the third win of his career.

The son of Dynasty can be a difficult ride and often takes a strong hold but Gordon has booked Sean Veale for the ride and Veale can hold an elephant off a peanut if needs be.

Royal Life (Nkosi Hlophe)

Royal Life rounded off last season with a distant second to Sail South in the Thukela Handicap and was then given a four-month break.

He returned to the track in October where he showed good pace under apprentice Eric Ngwane before being out-paced by Buffalo Soldier over a distance well short of his best.

He steps up in trip today over a course where he has record both of his victories. He also gets a tongue-tie on for the first time and if finding his best form he could prove difficult to beat.

Prolific owner Roy Moodley’s horses have hit a rich vein of form and Roy’s Winter Patch looks a possible threat to Royal Life.

The gelding has his first run for Yogas Govender after finishing a close-up third behind Silver Spring in a set weights race for Dennis Drier last time out and is in receipt of 3.5kg from Royal Life. Although he takes on stronger he should be up there when the whips are cracking.

Runners from the Tony Rivalland yard are coming to hand and Spanish Captain was narrowly beaten in a Scottsville sprint after returning from a six-month break. He will much prefer today’s trip and is another to consider.

All things considered punters face another difficult card of maximum fields and moderate horses where form is not always reliable.

One of the better propositions could be Hot Mambo in the opening leg of the Pick 6. A beaten favourite in both recent starts at Greyville, Mark Dixon’s filly is due a change of fortune. She shows good pace but has not been able to finish off her races and her last outing over 1400m may have been just beyond her compass. Dixon has declared blinkers on his charge and if she puts it all in she rates the one to beat.

The dangers could come in the form of Danish Cross and Starwin. The latter has run her two best races on the poly but has not been far back in any of her four starts while the lightly raced Danish Cross comes from an in-form yard and judged on her debut effort behind useful looking stable companion Blaze Of Mystery on debut she is likely to improve lengths.

The fourth has upset written all over it but Veale has made the trip home from Cape Town where he has mostly been aboard the Dennis Drier raiding party. Wild Irish looks to have been set up nicely by Drier’s stable assistant Stuart Ferrie after going down narrowly behind Whatawonderfulworld on the Greyville poly. Today’s trip should be right up her ally.

Veale will have been ‘jocked off’ Great Value in the sixth where Anton Marcus will be aboard for his bosses Mayfair Speculators. It’s an open race but Great Value took on much stronger at his last start. He can be unruly which is a concern as the starters appear to have taken a much harder stance in recent weeks after their  great ‘indaba’ a fortnight back but Great Value appears to have improved his behaviour in pacifiers. If he can build on his last effort he may be the one to beat. Robert Fay’Herbe, in charge of the Candice Bass-Robinson satellite yard at Summerveld, he got his stable humming along and Panga has not been far back at recent outings. This looks to be his optimum trip and he is also down in class.

By Andrew Harrison

Snaith Racing is to make more use of Facebook to keep punters informed about the stable’s runners after posting a full rundown for last Saturday’s Cape Guineas meeting.

Justin Snaith said: “I had 24 runners that day and, when not a single press person rang me for a comment, I felt we should do something ourselves. From now on whenever we feel that we have something to add for the punter we will put our tips and comments on Facebook.”

To be fair, the Sporting Post’s Robyn Louw rang Jonathan Snaith about the Guineas runners. He mentioned the controversy over trainers being asked for comments on first-timers with some refusing to comply.

He said: “There should be a system, as there is in certain other countries, whereby when you declare you pick from some 30 alternative comments and highlight the one that is most applicable. That then appears in the racecard. It doesn’t matter whether the horse proves you right or wrong – you can’t have punters kept in the dark. Without them there would be no racing.”

By Michael Clower

Whisky Baron takes on fellow Sun Met entry Brazuca in a fascinating clash in the Allowance Plate at Kenilworth today when four of the six runners are in next month’s R5 million showpiece.

Brazuca, second in last season’s Cape Guineas, Cape Derby and SA Classic plus third in the Premiers Champions Challenge, is a class act and the obvious choice yet he is a bigger price for the Met (22-1) than the Baron who is a short as 12-1 with some layers after being backed in the last few days.

Brazuca (Nkosi Hlophe)

Johan Janse van Vuuren has followed a similar procedure to last season when he sent the colt to Brett Crawford to complete his big race preparation and this time Brazuca travelled from Johannesburg shortly after making a winning reappearance at the Vaal last month. The plan is the Queen’s Plate as well as the Met.

Crawford trains Whisky Baron who was second to Marinaresco in both the Winter Guineas and Winter Classic. Of course it’s who you beat that counts – something has got to finish second –but Greg Cheyne’s mount has won both his starts this term in good style even though he is not favoured by the conditions here.

“It’s a big ask and I am sure it will be tough for him,” Crawford admits. “Brazuca is rated 11 points better but, that said, it will be a good test for Whisky Baron.”

The gelding opened at 14-10 with World Sports Betting who have Brazuca favourite at 17-20. It looks a two-horse race although Mambo Mime has been nibbled at (8-1 to 7-1) despite finishing well down the field in the Cape Merchants, his first run since the Durban July. He is 100-1 for the Met.

“He was to have run in the Champions Cup after the July but he developed a thrombosis and he was in hospital in Durban for a month,” says Dean Kannemeyer. “He was badly in need of his run in the Merchants and he still not 100% but you can’t leave him out.”

You can get 500-1 about Macduff for the Met and he is a 14-1 chance here. He went close in an 1 800m handicap here a week ago but he has a lot to do at the weights.

Tahini (8-1) was third in the Grade 2 Ipi Tombe Challenge over a mile but also has it to do on these terms which are the equivalent of her not getting the sex allowance.  Waiting For Rain (14-1) is a useful handicapper but has hardly a prayer at these weights.

Some of Andre Nel’s newcomers have proved worth backing in recent weeks and the money came for Head Honcho in the first in no uncertain manner mid-morning yesterday. One minute he was a 7-1 chance and the next he was favourite at 22-10. It wasn’t the trainer’s money – Nel doesn’t bet – but he describes the Querari colt as “a very nice horse.”

Border Control has been backed in the last and could well go off favourite for the third time on the trot. His last run, though, suggests he could be vulnerable and it is significant that Adam Marcus, who took last Saturday’s Cape Summer Stayers with 22-1 shot Royal Badge, is putting blinkers on the consistent Verdier.

That said, I have been waiting for Loadshedder to go over a mile and he is taken to repay this column’s recent losses with interest.

By Michael Clower

If you took a fancy to the name ‘Roy’ this weekend you would have been in front with the bookmakers as three runners racing in the silks of prolific KZN owner Roy Moodley provided handsome returns for the faithful.

That said, there were a lot of ‘Roy’s’ that did not feature.

Roy Moodley (Nkosi Hlophe)

The names Roy’s Taxi and Roy’s Donkey are not exactly inspiring but as the adage goes, there is never an ugly horse in the winner’s enclosure.

Taxi and Donkey both scored at long odds under apprentice Tristan Godden at Greyville on Friday night and it was the turn of Brandon Lerena and Yogas Govender at a scorching Scottsville yesterday as they opened the card with Roy’s Amazing Ash, although this win was not unexpected if you followed the money.

The five-year-old son of Greys Inn was having his 21^st outing but his were odds trimmed from an opening call of 14-1 to 7-1 at SP to beat home the two fancied runners Glen Coco and Seattle Spell.

Lerena had Roy’s Amazing Ash hard at work at the top of the straight and his mount was game to the challenge as he kept finding to the line to hold off Glen Coco and Seattle Spell, who both at one point looked likely to go on by.

Top weight Muscatt was game in defeat in the itsarush.co.za Handicap with weight rather than the firm going proving his undoing. Getting the measure of pacemaker Arabian National with 100m to travel, he was a spent force as the grey Isca rattled home on his inside to nail him close home. Gavin van Zyl’s runner was slow out but with the blinkers off, Kegan de Melo built him up nicely and he finished with a wet sail.

Ticky Tin is not the largest specimen but gave Godden, who finishes up his apprenticeship in a week’s time, a memorable finale to his time as he shunted the Des Egdes-trained filly home ahead of Quena and Victory Cross in the Rockafella’s Restaurant Maiden.

Baltic Amber has been something of an enigma for the Duncan Howells yard. The gelding has shown that he has what it takes to rise to bigger things given his homework so three wins are below what has been expected.

But given a strong early pace, Anton Marcus was able to keep him in the box seat from a favourable draw and accelerate when it mattered.

Baltic Amber raced in the familiar silks of Geoff Perkins and they were back in the winner’s box two races later as Dressed For Success turned in another smart performance under apprentice Denis Schwarz for Paul Lafferty. Arriving from well off the pace, the daughter of Ashaawes came away to win as she liked and looks more than just useful.

Earlier apprentice Liam Tarentaal gave Aqua Blue a peach of a ride for Therese Mitchley in The White Horse Function Room Handicap after Godden, aboard veteran Royal Zulu Guard, has pinched an early lead but was just not able to hang on.

It was a stable double two races later with Tarentaal teamed up with Whatawondefulworld to a comfortable win from rank outsider Tide Is Turning, the exacta paying in excess of R500.

By Andrew Harrison