The Alec Laird-trained six-year-old Bezrin gelding Bezanova relished the soft ground at Turffontein Standside yesterday and produced a strong finish on the outside to win the Gr 2 Victory Moon Stakes over 1800m under Randall Simons.

The big chestnut won the Peermont Emperor’s Palace Charity Mile as a four-year-old. He also won the KZN Breeders Mile later that season, following a cracking third in the Gr 1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge. However, going into yesterday’s race he had appeared to have lost interest and had not made the frame for his last seven starts.

However, he was well weighted on his best form yesterday, carrying just 54kg, and was backed into 9/1.

Bezanova (Nkosi Hlophe)

The meeting was postponed from Saturday and there were five scratchings, leaving 12 runners facing the starter.

Bezanova was slotted into midfield from a draw of six as stablemates Arctica and Amsterdam set a steady pace up front. The 3/1 favourite Liege was next and was followed by the fancied Master ‘N Commander.

Liege got the better of the front runners in the straight and the only three-year-old in the field Bold Rex also ran on well. However, they had no answer to Bezanova’s powerful finish, in which his long stride was seen back at its best. Liege was beaten 0,5 lengths into second and Bold Rex was third. Arctica was next best ahead of Coltrane, while Master ‘N Commander ran a disappointing second last.

Earlier, the Johan Janse van Vuuren-trained three-year-old Gimmethegreenlight filly Green Pepper proved herself a sprinter with a big future when waltzing away with the Listed Gardenia Stakes over 1000m and she provided the first leg of e feature double for Randall Simons. She was officially 6,5kg under sufferance being a progressive sort who had only reached a merit rating of 86 in three runs. To beat older fillies and mares at this stage of the season by a comfortable 2,25 lengths was some performance. Another three-year-old, Queen Laurie, finished second and Crystal Glamour was third. The topweight Joan Ranger was a touch slow away, so did well to finish fourth, and the second favourite, three-year-old Exquisite Touch, was fifth. Green Pepper, a powerful bay, started favourite at 15/10.

Earlier in a hotly contested Pinnacle Stakes race over 1160m, the Equus Champion Sprinter Talktothestars could only manage fifth place as the Tarry-trained Trip To Heaven romped home to a comfortable victory under S’Manga Khumalo. Talktothestars (merit rated 121), Legal Eagle (120), Abashiri (117), Trip To Heaven (114), Dollar Dazzler (107) and Doing It For Dan (105) all carried 61,5kg. Talktothestars set the pace but Trip To Heaven, who was making his seasonal reappearance, enjoyed the conditions and cruised past to win by two lengths. Splendid Garden, merit rated only 99, was officially 8kg under sufferance with Talktothestars, but is known to be a quirky sort and he had one of his going days, running on for second. The reigning Equus Horse Of The Year Legal Eagle made a cracking seasonal reappearance over a trip well short of his best to run a 2,4 length third. Pivotal Pursuit was fourth and Talktothestars faded late to finish 3,1 lengths back in ground which may not have suited him.

By David Thiselton

Sail South will take on Marinaresco in the Green Point Stakes early next month after powering home like a tornado in the NRC Charity Plate at Kenilworth on Saturday.

Richard Fourie, who is quickly building up a rewarding association with Brett Crawford’s big stable, swept his mount to the front over a furlong out and the 9-2 chance drew right away to slam Baritone by three and a half lengths.

Sail South (Liesl King)

“It’s going to be a hard season for Sail South off 110 but he now has to take his chance against the top horses,” said

Crawford. “He runs in the Green Point next and then maybe we will consider the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate.”

Justin Snaith, although pleased with Baritone, blamed himself for 14-10 favourite Black Arthur managing only fifth (“He looked rusty. Good horse – bad trainer. It was shocking”). But maybe the self-flagellation was unwarranted. After all, this was the horse’s first run since the July and he is still a colt.

However it was the end of the road for third-placed Blarney Bay even though he seemed to be enjoying his customary gallop-them-into-the-ground tactics as much as ever. “He is eight and, with the summer course coming up, it’s time to call it a day but at least he went out the way I wanted,” said Mike Robinson who put himself on the map by improving the horse out of all recognition soon after taking him over.

Crawford also has a string of big race targets for the Corne Orffer-partnered Beach Goddess who really exerted her authority in the closing stages of the Laisserfaire to beat 1.5kg-conceding stable companion Chevauchee by three-parts of a length. “Laisserfaire was a brilliant filly who I trained,” he recalled. “Beach Goddess will stick to fillies sprints like the Southern Cross (Dec 10) and Sceptre (Jan 6) for now while, as I have said before, Chevauchee, now goes back round the turn.”

Beach Goddess (Liesl King)

Loading for this race proved a starter’s nightmare – it took almost six minutes with more and more of the 13 runners playing up – and the longer it went on the more upset the horses (and their trainers) became but the legendary Ralph Rixon and his wife Val have lived with this sort of thing for over 60 years and they were understandably thrilled with Our Destiny’s third place.

So too was Dean Kannemeyer with the Diadem-targeted Real Princess’s second to Search Party (yes, Crawford again!) in the last while the Milnerton trainer explained that he had reason to believe that Cape Speed’s performance when runner-up to Kilrain under top weight in the Swartz Family Handicap heralds a return to the winner’s box. “He was so fat that this will have taken 50lb off his gut,” said Kannemeyer who has his eye on the new version of the J & B Stayers.

Candice Bass-Robinson is aiming Kilrain at the Peninsula Handicap on January 7. This horse was sold for R1.4 million as a yearling but, when breeder Robin Hamilton later bought him back for R200 000, Robert Bloomberg shrewdly stepped in to take a quarter share.

Owner-breeder Paul Zeeman, who has just had an operation in Cape Town’s Panorama Hospital for heart and shoulder problems, had the sort of tonic that no doctor can match when Nutbush Citilimits got up on the line for Harold Crawford and Ossie Noach at 22-1 in the Elite Fibre Maiden.

By Michael Clower

Rabada, injured in the Charity Mile nine days ago, is to undergo further tests in an effort to discover the full extent of the problem.

Rabada (Nkosi Hlophe)

Brett Crawford said: “His near-fore was quite swollen after the race. We are not quite sure what it is and we are going to have to rescan the leg but he will be rested for three months.”

Last season’s Daily News winner was the original favourite for the Sansui Summer Cup but Vodacom Durban July winner The Conglomerate is still as short as 14-1 despite finishing only ninth in the Charity Mile.

Joey Ramsden, reporting him on the course for the big Turffontein race on Saturday week, said: “He was fine afterwards. It was just that he didn’t catch a draw and he was slowly away.”

Stable companion Table Bay (Anton Marcus) will start at short odds for the Selangor Cup at Kenilworth on Saturday, not least because he has 7kg in hand on official ratings. Ramsden, bidding to win the Grade 2 for the fifth time in six years, said that going straight to the Cape Guineas was never really an option – “there is such a big gap between the Cape Classic and the Guineas that you have to do something in the meantime.”

Marcus also partners the highest merit-rated in the Lanzerac Ready To Run whose winning purse is five times as much as the Selangor at R1.25 million. The Vaughan Marshall-trained Grade 1 winner Always In Charge has a theoretical 2kg in hand over the next best, Sergeant Hardy. Anthony Delpech rides this one for Justin Snaith.

By Michael Clower

Jo’s Bond and Anthony Delpech can take the Laisserfaire Stakes at Kenilworth tomorrow when so many of the top weight’s 13 rivals have question marks against them.

Anthony Delpech (Liesl King)

Four of them have not raced for three months or more and another four will effectively be carrying overweight. Although this is a handicap it is also a Listed race and therefore apprentices can’t claim.

Mind you, Jo’s Bond is not proven off her new mark (up from 93 to 99) because she had the benefit of a useful 4kg claimer when she won last time and her task here is considerably stiffer. But she is provenly race fit and that is a huge plus.

Some horses – but not that many – can give of their best after a lengthy break but few Cape Town trainers really have the facilities to get the others fully racing fit first time and that could make things difficult for the likes of forecast favourite Chevauchee. Glen Kotzen may be able to do it with Our Destiny and Trip To India and Andre Nel is similarly in a position to overcome things with Hoist The Mast.

The three-year-olds have scope for improvement in them and it could well be significant that after Live Life won at Durbanville Candice Bass-Robinson said: “We are very excited about her – and she has a lot of speed.” Grant van Niekerk can get within half a kilo of the allotted 52kg.

Miranda Frost is 2.5kg wrong with most of the field but she is almost certainly better – much better –than her 88 handicap mark because she was found to be suffering a significant naval discharge after the Perfect Promise when she gave Live Life 2kg and finished two lengths behind her. But Akshay Balloo can’t claim here and nor can Brandon May on Primrose Lane who is, by my calculations, already 4kg under sufferance with most of the others.

Beach Goddess has a big chance – she didn’t feel right last time according to her rider – but she has repeatedly lost ground at the start. She is quite close with Come Fly With Me on Champagne form but that could be unreliable here as the race was run in the soft. Varumba should not be far away but her last two runs have suggested that the handicappers have her measure. Recent form puts Dixie Express quite close with her.

Sean Veale has to get down to 52 kg for Twinkle Toes who has won three of her last four but he is going to have to sit tight. This is the horse who nearly decapitated Shadley Fortune at Durbanville.

Sail South appeals in the NRC Charity Plate Pinnacle and old reliable Tevez can do it again in the Haak Fourie & Snyman Pinnacle.

By Michael Clower

The Gr 2 Victory Moon Stakes over 1800m at Turffontein on Saturday is the last big pointer to the Sansui Summer Cup, but is never an easy race to assess as some horses use it as a preparation while others need big runs to make it into the Summer Cup field.

Liege (Nkosi Hlophe)

Liege should start coming into his own a four-year-old being a son of Dynasty and he looks ideally course and distance suited. He won the Gr 3 Jubilee Handicap in June over the course and distance. He has had two starts this season, winning the last of them over 2000m. He beat Bankable Teddy by 0,75 lengths in that race and now faces him on the same terms. Furthermore, he should be cherry ripe and is drawn in pole position.

St. Tropez enjoys a galloping track like this one and will require a big run to make sure of his place in the Summer Cup field. He is another who could well come into his own this season being a five-year-old by Silvano. He moved up well in the Charity Mile before running out of steam, which suggested he needed the run. The wide draw is a concern but Anton Marcus is up. Marcus must think a little bit of him considering he chose to ride him in the Vodacom Durban July ahead of the ultimate winner The Conglomerate.

Master Switch is yet another horse who will likely reach his peak this season and he proved it with a good win over this trip at the Vaal, beating his stablemate Master Sabina. Geoff Woodruff has an unbelievable recent record in the Summer Cup, so this race will likely bring Master Switch to his peak for that race.

Coltrane (Liesl King)

Prince Of Orange is an interesting contender as one who has always been highly tried. He won from a tough draw on Grand Heritage day and should enjoy this step up in trip. He has a plum draw of two. Judicial is a perennial contender for the Summer Cup, in which he has placed in the last two renewals. Last year he won the Victory Moon but carries 6kg more weight this time around. He will still be a factor as his sustained finish suits the Standside track.

Coltrane is a staying type who has proved effective over this trip before. That will particularly be the case on this galloping track. He has a wide draw, but has Piere Strydom up, so is one of the dark horses.

Master ‘N Commander is well weighted and has a fair draw of eight. He comes from the Woodruff yard and will need a big run to get into the Summer Cup field. This is his third run after a layoff and he has proved he stays this trip before. He also showed himself to be in good heart last time when winning over 1450m.

Bankable Teddy can’t be ignored. Bold Rex is a three-year-old on the up who will love the course and distance. However, he is officially 7kg under sufferance with Judicial, so has a tough task. Easy Love caught the eye last time out when unlucky behind Master Switch and could be coming back to his best. Rocketball has a huge stride and will love this course and distance, but he has been a bit disappointing lately. Enaad is another with an outside chance and although he would prefer further he should be cherry ripe and can stay on into the money.

St Tropez (Nkosi Hlophe)

Joan Ranger is a classy sort who has won a feature over 1160m here and also finished a fine third in the Gr 1 City Of Pietermaritzburg Sprint. She runs in the Listed Gardenia Stakes and has landed a high draw, which is sometimes favourable at this track. She is officially well weighted in this race and has her third run after a rest, so is the one to beat and is a potential banker.

The best bet on the card is likely in the last race, a MR 72 Handicap over 1160m. Ebony Knight cruised to a wide margin victory in a maiden last time over 1200m. The handicapping rules state a four-year-old maiden winner in a major centre cannot be merit rated above a 70 nett. This horse’s merit rating of 70 might well be capped, so he likely has a weight advantage.

The value bet is in the fourth race over 1600m in the form of Misty Roller. He caught the eye in  no uncertain terms over 1400m here when running the fastest time from 400m to finish. He can upset the hard knocking Pajama Party, who over raced in his first attempt at the trip and has drawn one outside of Misty Roller.

The Equus Champion Sprinter Talktothestars appears in a Pinnacle Stakes races over 1000m. He is officially very well weighted but does have a low draw which might make him vulnerable to the speedy Buckland. The latter is out at the weights but has excellent gatespeed and early speed and the best has unlikely been seen of him yet.

By David Thiselton