Three of the best of last season’s Cape Town two-year-olds reappear against older horses at Durbanville tomorrow and the Racing.It’s A Rush Handicap looks by far the most significant race on the card.

Sergeant Hardy beat Attenborough and Our Mate Art in the Cape Of Good Hope Nursery over this trip at Kenilworth in May  – with recent winner Bishop’s Bounty fourth – and in the Langerman next time Our Mate Art, a close second, had Attenborough two lengths back.

But it’s the Joey Ramsden horse that should come out best of the three. He started favourite for the Cape Nursery but was found to have mucus in his lungs immediately after the race, and in the Langerman he failed to stay the 1 500m after over-racing early on. Also he was conceding 3kg and here he meets Grant van Niekerk’s mount at levels.

The question is whether he is fit enough after three months off. “I would hope so, yes,” is Ramsden’s answer and the July-winning trainer confirms that the colt has done a fair bit of work.

The same query, only more so, applies to Sergeant Hardy who has been off for four months. “It’s hard to say,” replies Justin Snaith. “But he has had a gallop and he will run his race.” However the trainer adds that conceding 1.5kg to Attenborough “won’t be easy.”

With Our Mate Art, who is running for the first time since the Langerman, it’s as much a matter of whether this 1 200m will be too short. “Not necessarily – and he is doing well,” says Candice Bass-Robinson who adds that this is a prep for the Cape Classic on October 29. “But I would like to see him settle better than he did last time.”

With such talent in the field – and the older horses are hard to fancy – it might sound sacrilege to name another three-year-old to beat the big three but Vaughan Marshall thinks so much of Rock Of Africa that this one gets the vote.

The gelding’s trainer is convinced that he would have won the Graduation (in which Bishop’s Bounty lowered the colours of the useful Rodney) 11 days ago had the race been run to suit the horse. MJ Byleveld’s mount receives a significant amount of weight and, although the early 5-1 has already been snapped up, the current 4-1 still appeals. Interestingly this horse is also the prediction of the sahorseracing computer.

Our Mate Art, a little surprisingly considering the shortness of the trip – particularly over this tight course, was yesterday a firm 2-1 favourite with World Sports Betting which has Attenborough next best at 28-10 with Sergeant Hardy a 3-1 chance.

The Snaith horses are fairly burning up the turf at the moment and evens favourite Over Drive in the first is taken to beat Captain’s Version despite the money for the Paddy Kruyer four-year-old who has been backed from 5-1 to 33-10.

The stable introduces  Greenflashsunset, a R700 000 half-brother to Legislate, in race three and the colt is favourite at 2-1. But this is a tricky course for newcomers and so Ramsden’s 3-1 shot Rebel Alliance is preferred to 22-10 second favourite Varational.

Michael Clower

Durbanville Wednesday Sep 28 Race Previews by Warren Lenferna

1

Preview: OVER DRIVE has run two fair races thus far and looks ready to go close to winning. He has a good draw which will help. CAPTAIN’S VERSION showed improvement last time and based on that will be concerned in the finish again. ELUSIVE SINGER is surely better than his last run and if running like he did on debut should go close again. (Warren Lenferna 10-2-5)

2

Preview: OUR MATE ART is lightly raced and looks very progressive – he has run well in Feature Company and should be a very hard horse to beat here. SERGEANT HARDY has solid form and has also done very well in Feature Company. He, too, has a very big chance. ATTENBOROUGH is consistent and another bold performance can be expected. (Warren Lenferna 5-3-4)

3

Preview: REBEL ALLIANCE is coming along the right way and was running on well last time to finish second to the favourite. He is confidently selected to go one better. VARATIONAL is coming along the right way and ran a cracker last time – based on that, he should run well here. FLOWER BLUE has a quartet chance. (Warren Lenferna 9-2-3)

4

Preview: CAVALLERIA has solid maiden form and is lightly raced. She gets a good draw today and is one of the leading lights for top position. Very strong each way claims. EMPIRE RISING showed encouraging improvement from runs one to run two. She should have more improvement to come and if this is the case then she will go very close. KATIE DUBOIS showed big improvement last time and is a must for the quartet. (Warren Lenferna 1-10-11)

5

Preview: PUT THE BERRIES is seldom far off the action and today gets the services of bang in form jockey Andrew Fortune. She is drawn well and is the firm first pick. BEAUTIFUL GIRL and BRINKLEY look set to fight out the minor money in a small and not so strong maiden field. (Warren Lenferna 3-2-1)

6

Preview: A TIME TO KILL was well beaten in second last time but the winner (Red Peril) did win easily. She can go one better this afternoon. Stable mate HAMMIE’S GAME has been knocking loudly at the door in his last two and he will be waiting in the wings to pick up the pieces if A Time To Kill does not win. The stable have a strong hand here. SAINT ROCH ran well last time and looks a solid selection for a place bet. (Warren Lenferna 3-6-5)

7

Preview: ELEVATED has good, solid form. He has run second in his last three starts and is now overdue a win – he looks very hard to beat and a recommended bet! SOLAR NIGHT is seldom far off the action and is one for the shortlist – the apprentice claim will be a huge positive. VOLATILE ENERGY won well last time and could run well again – he is the value bet on today’s card. (Warren Lenferna 2-1-7)

8

Preview: A tough race to close off proceedings at Durbanville this afternoon where all of: TRIP THE WILLOW (the first choice), WHISPERING LIGHT (better than her last run) and JACK AND JILL have to be included. Jack And Jill ran well on debut and could improve to go very close to winning. (Warren Lenferna 2-1-7)

Justin Snaith has been riding Black Arthur himself as he gears the preparation of last season’s Politician and Canon Guineas winner towards the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate and the Met.

He said: “I don’t know when Black Arthur will start but he is doing very well. We were careful with him in Durban where he only had two starts and he was unlucky in the Vodacom Durban July – Dougie Whyte couldn’t get a run.”

Picture: Justin Snaith on Black Arthur at the beach in Cape Town. His father Chris follows on Dynamic (Snaith Racing)

The Markus Jooste part-owned Galileo colt Douglas Macarthur has taken a further walk in the 2017 Investec Epsom Derby market after managing only fifth in Saturday’s Gr 2 Royal Lodge Stakes over a mile at Newmarket.

Meanwhile, the Jooste and Bernard Kantor-owned Yorker, formerly-trained by Geoff Woodruff,  is due to run at the two day Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe meeting in France over the weekend, where the South African-owned and former Paul Lafferty-trained Harry’s Son will also be running. Piere Strydom was due to fly over to France yesterday (Monday). He will be putting the final touches to Harry’s Son’s preparation before renewing his hitherto successful partnership with him in the race on Sunday. Strydom might also ride Yorker at the meeting on Saturday.

Douglas Macarthur was the stable elect of an Aiden O’Brien-trained coupling in The Royal Lodge, but could only stay on at one pace and was beaten 2,25 lengths. None of O’Brien’s five Epsom Derby winners Galileo (2001), High Chaparral (2002), Camelot (2012), Ruler of the World (2013) and Australia (2014) lost a race in their build up to the big race, bar on debut.

Douglas Macarthur appeared to fitting into this trend when slamming his rivals in a Leopardstown maiden over a mile on 21 July by five lengths in his second career start. He had been very green when finishing last at odds of 2/5 on debut over seven furlongs. The way he powered clear of his rivals in his win impressed the bookmakers to the extent that they made him the joint 16/1 favourite for the Derby together with his stablemate Churchill.

However, he drifted out to 25/1 when only managing a 2,5 length 3^rd in his next start in the Gr 3 Champions Juvenile Stakes over a mile at Leopardstown, where he started 8/13 favourite. He has now drifted out to a best price of 50/1.

However, there is still hope a South African could present the Epsom Derby trophy to another South African next year (Bernard Kantor is Investec’s co-founder and managing director and presents the trophy to winning connections every year).

O’Brien described Douglas Macarthur as “babyish” after his only win. Jooste’s racing manager Derek Brugman received an email from O’Brien after Saturday’s Royal Lodge which confirmed this still held true. Douglas Macarthur apparently shows the great trainer an immense amount at home. However, he said he lacked pace, so definitely needed further, as well as time to mature.

Jooste owns the horse in partnership with Coolmore kingpins John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith.

Meanwhile, Churchill, after losing on debut in May, has won his next four starts including a Gr 1 over seven furlongs at The Curragh by 4,25 lengths. He is now the lone favourite at 12/1 for the Derby, while Royal Lodge winner, the Godolphin-owned Best Of Days, is 33/1.

Yorker (JC Photo)

Brugman said Yorker, who has his niggles, was as sound as they could possibly have him ahead of Saturday’s race at Chantilly, where the Arc meeting will take place this year due to renovations at Longchamp. The William Haggas-trained seven-year-old Jet Master gelding will travel to France unless the ground becomes too soft. At present the weather forecast suggests the ground will remain good. Yorker made his overseas debut, after an 800 day layoff, at York on August 20 in the Gr 3 Strensall Stakes over a mile and a furlong and finished an excellent 1,25 length second under Pat Cosgrave at odds of 14/1. He then lined up as 6/4 favourite on September 14 at Sandown in the Listed Fortune Stakes over a mile and 14 yards and this time went down by only a neck. The connections were a touch disappointed, but Brugman said there were genuine excuses. “The pace was too slow and he did not have cover. He quickened well enough, but not as well as we know he can, and this could also have been due to the 2^nd run after a rest factor, considering he had been out for 800 days.”

Harry’s Son will be running in the Gr 1 Prix de la Floret over seven furlongs on Sunday.

Harry’s Son (JC Photo)

Lafferty said experienced French jockey Gerald Mosse had described him as a “very, very nice horse” after galloping him last week. He added the five-year-old Haradasun entire’s subsequent blood picture had been exactly how they had wanted it. A look at the Australian-bred’s career record shows he enjoys running fresh, so the connections have duly decided to send him straight into the race.

Harry’s Son has been trained out of Laredo in Spain by Cesar Alonso since departing Dubai. Lafferty’s assistant Roy Waugh has been in Laredo permanently to oversee his program. The Prix de la Floret is usually run over a seven furlong course at Longchamp, which according to Lafferty is known as “The Toboggan” due to its up and down nature. However, the Chantilly seven furlong course is flatter, which will suit Harry’s Son. Seven furlongs (1400m) is his ideal trip.

However, the connections were being realistic about his chances in such an international Gr 1 event and Lafferty said they would be “over the moon” with a place. If he does finish in the first three he will be invited to a US$3 million event in Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, Brugman also spoke of Jooste’s South African-based star Legal Eagle. He said he would likely take the same route as last year, i.e. running a preparation race at Turffontein before going to Cape Town to defend his crown in the Gr 1 L’Ormarin’s Queen’s Plate. He would then attempt to go one step better than his second place finish in the Met. However, rather than head back to Johannesburg after the Met, Brugman said there was a chance he might join a number of other horses who will be flown overseas after the Cape Summer Of Champions Season.

David Thiselton

The Turffontein Inside track stages an eight race meeting today and there look to be some fair opportunities for punters.

The best bet could be Tambalang (G Lerena / S Tarry) in the third race, a maiden for fillies and mares over 1800m. Last time out over 1600m she didn’t settle perfectly from a low draw as she waited on the rail for a wider drawn horse to cross over and set the pace, so that is a slight concern going over this further trip. However, her pedigree suggests she should relish the extra trip being by Go Deputy out of a Western Winter mare who won over a mile.

Furthermore, Go Deputy’s progeny are known to improve as they get older. However, the main factor on her side is simply the formline. The two horses who beat her over 1600m in her penultimate start, Red Pomegranate and Little Swift, both won next time out. The horse who beat her last time, Komeshan’s Flight, also looks decent and was beaten only 0,2 lengths over 1450m by Little Swift in her penultimate start. Tambalang’s opposition tomorrow do not have nearly as strong form. Cidada, being by Galileo, should enjoy the step up in trip and coming from the Alec Laird yard should show improvement in her second career start. However, on the downside she made a breathing noise in her fair debut over 1600m. Nevertheless, she looks to be the chief danger.

The highest rated race of the day is the second, a Graduation Plate over 1600m. The classy Negroamara would prefer a bit further now but running fresh it is easy to imagine her running on strongly from off the pace to get up. She is 6,5kg better off with any other horse in the field on official merit ratings. However, Querari Falcon, who won the Gr 1 Thekwini Stakes over this trip on Gold Cup day could be a big danger if able to dictate from the front and use her decent kick to steal a march. On the downside she has a wide draw to overcome and also the Thekwini form has not worked out well to date.

The value bet of the day comes in the seventh race, a MR 68 Handicap over 1200m. The Alec Laird-trained Endearing has dropped to a mark six points lower than her last win. In her penultimate start she ran a decent race over 1160m when appearing to be a bit outpaced but staying on well. The 1200m over this slightly tougher track should suit her down to the ground, and in fact, she won her maiden over course and distance by a facile 5,25 lengths, albeit against a weak field. On the downside she is the only female in the race. She was also drawn two in the aforementioned maiden win, whereas this time she has a tricky draw of six. The horse who does have the plum draw of two is the Mike de Kock-trained Springhills, who just got up on debut over 1000m despite having to be switched inward in the closing stages. He is superbly bred being by top Australian sire Redoute’s Choice out of a Gr 1-winning sprinter by Volksraad. However, he didn’t actually reach his reserve of AUS$100,000, the final bid being AUS$90,000, so might not be the perfectly conformed sort.

However, his debut suggested he would enjoy this trip and it isn’t the most inspiring of fields so he can be involved off a reasonable merit rating of 77. Side Show has come class and will be perfectly course and distance suited from a draw of two. However, he was accorded a merit rating of 84 for his easy win against weak maiden opposition and it is never easy for a three-year-old to carry topweight against older horses off such a merit rating. His stablemate Copper Pot won his maiden in taking style over 1450m. However, he has to race off quite a harsh 81 merit rating, considering that was a weak workrider’s event. On the other hand he has a 4kg claimer up. Quattro is distance suited and could also earn from a fair draw off a competitive merit rating.

One of the most difficult races is the sixth, a MR 84 Handicap for fillies and mares over 1200m. Paree, in the typical fashion of an older horse by Silvano, has suddenly come into her own. The ease with which she has won her last two starts over 1160m and 1450m respectively suggests she has more to offer, so she is selected to make it a hattrick. However, one horse who could go off at decent odds and has a definite winning chance is the topweight Perfumed Lady. She has always had a touch of class and, after being hampered in her penultimate start over 1000m at Scottsville and then finding it too far last time out over 1400m, she is now back to a suitable trip and has been dropped to an attractive merit rating. Furthermore, she has a plum draw with Delpech up. Penny Serenade has also been dropped to an attractive merit rating. She was undone by a wide draw over course and distance last time and is now drawn well off a three point lower mark.

An intriguing runner on the day is Al Fahad in the fifth, a MR 80 Handicap over 1450m.  He likely has a feature campaign lined up for him, so this might be a preparation outing in his first run around the turn. Furthermore, he has to race off a merit rating of 89 in a handicap in just his second career start. However, the way he kicked again when challenged on debut over 1200m and then the courage he showed to get up in a ding dong tussle makes him the one to beat with Delpech up from a plum draw.

David Thiselton