The Vaal eight race meeting on Tuesday is on the Outside track where high draws tend to be favourable and there could possibly be two bankers for the Pick 6 and other exotics.

In race five, a MR 67 Handicap over 1400m, Shine Bright was very slow away last time over this trip but was doing eyecatching work late. She is a strong, long-striding sort who should be improving and is now drawn close to the right side. Gavin Lerena remains aboard. A threat could be posed by Artemisia. She won her maiden well over this trip and was given quite a lenient merit rating of 65. She is now a further two points lower on 63 having raced against the boys first time out the maidens over 1600m before staying on for a well beaten third last time over the too sharp 1160m. Back against her own gender and over her likely best trip she should run well, but she does have a tricky draw.

In the seventh race over 1600m, a MR 78 Handicap, Hidden Agenda is three points up after a resolute win over 1700m last time out, despite being slightly keen early on. He will enjoy the slight step down in trip and has a plum draw of seven in the seven horse field. Furthermore, he faces an uninspiring field, so could carry topweight to victory as he could well be a class above this field. The danger could be Lucky Luciano, who is a lightly raced six-year-old who has shown ability over this trip in the past. He now has his third run after a one year layoff. On the downside this run comes just five days after his last outing, which saw an encouraging effort over this course and distance last Thursday, and he also has a tough low draw.

The rest of the Pick 6 looks difficult. The first leg is a Maiden for three-year-olds over 1200m and the betting and pre-race preliminaries will have to be closely monitored as there is not much form to go on. The two first-timers which make most appeal are Russian Dream and Penultimate, while the one to have run who has shown the most is Fearless Fred. Aristocrat by Var is returning from a rest and gelding and should also be included.

The second leg is an open fillies and mares MR 84 Handicap over 1400m which could be entitled a “boxers vs punchers” contest. The boxers are Allegorical and Movie Award who have been shown to be capable of strong finishes over this course and distance. They are selected for the exacta as they could get a tow from the like of the puncher China Beach. The latter is a big, long-striding sort who does not turn it on quickly and will have to make an attempt to gallop them into the ground, which she could possibly do from a plum draw.

The fourth leg is a MR 100 Handicap over 1600m and the obvious choice is the topweight Pivotal Pursuit, who has class as well as a plum draw. However, he does have to overcome a six point raise from his last handicap win and this won’t be easy considering he is a seven-year-old. Liege makes his reappearance over a strip slightly short of his best and has a tricky draw, but he has class and should be coming into his own being by Dynasty. Much the same can be said about the eyecatching Tiger Ridge gelding Netflix. Halve The Deficit has run well fresh before and can’t be ignored here off an atrractive merit rating with a 4kg claimer up. Dennis The Menace is known for his flying finishes and was able to win in such a manner when stepped up to 1400m recently. If switching off well over this trip he is interesting. National Key has to be considered too because on 1400m form there is not much to separate him and Dennis The Menace.

The last leg of the Pick 6 is a weak maiden for fillies and mares over 1600m and the selection is the one of the leading trio who has the most scope for improvement, namely Light House Lady. The Red List could also improve, but does have a tricky draw and an inexperienced 4kg claimer up. Sammi Moosa, Sweet Chestnut and Bank The Bill also have to be considered.

David Thiselton

 

Popular Summerveld trainer Paul Lafferty celebrated being named Personality Of The Year at the KZN Racing Awards on Friday night with a fine double at Scottsville on Sunday.

Lafferty thoroughly deserved the award as he does a lot to promote the Sport Of Kings.

Not only is he trainer, but is also a director of Gold Circle, Chairman Of The KZN Trainer’s association, the South African ambassador for Australian sales company Magic Milllions, he co-hosts two Tellytrack shows,  Winning Ways and a new one about football, and he is also an on course racing presenter.

Lafferty has also had time in the past to be a highly entertaining Master Of Ceremonies at various racing functions. His witticisms on the latter occasions, as well as in everyday life, are the reason he was introduced on Friday night as, among other things, a comedian.

Lafferty has endured the probable toughest period of his life since being diagnosed with cancer over a year ago. He has coped admirably and has been on top of it to date due to his positive attitude as well as a tremendous show of support from the racing industry, which included raising funds for the medical treatment.

He said, “I was very surprised to receive the award, I had no idea it would be me, and I was truly humbled and honoured. It is a good award to win. I cannot state how grateful I am for the support I have received in the fight against cancer and it shows just what a wonderful industry we have. You are down all the time when fighting the disease and working through it, so it has been tough. But the industry were behind me from the jump and we didn’t allow it to get the better of me.”

Paul’s wife Jan is out from her home in England at present and this made Friday night a doubly special occasion for the Lafferty family.

Paul’s season was also memorable from a racing perspective as he made his debut as a trainer in Dubai.

On January 21 this year his crack Australian-bred colt Harry’s Son made that debut memorable by running second in the Gr 2 US$250,000 Al Fahidi Fort over 1400m on the turf, especially as his time was inside the previous Meydan course record. The prize money the colt earned covered the considerable costs of the arduous five month journey to Dubai. Harry’s Son followed with two fourth place finishes in a Gr 2 and a Gr 1, which qualified him for the prestigious Dubai World Cup night. Unfortunately, he jarred himself in the US$6 million Dubai Turf over 1800m and finished unplaced. He has been recovering in Spain since and the next big step in the roller coaster adventure for his passionate owners is his intended participation in the Gr 2 Prix de la Floret over seven furlongs on Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe day in France.

Yesterday Lafferty won the fourth race with the 14/1 shot Dress For Success, ridden by apprentice Diego De Gouveia, and the sixth with 6/1 chance Ole Gunnar, who was ridden by Keagan de Melo. The yard also had a second, a third, two fourths and a fifth from their total of twelve runners.

David Thiselton

Equus Champion Marinaresco was crowned KZN Horse of the Season at the Gold Circle KZN Racing awards held at the Elangeni Hotel in Durban on Friday evening.

Second in the Vodacom Durban July and winner of the Gr1 Mike and Carol Bass Champions Cup on the last day of the season, Marinaresco hit the headlines from the time he was pencilled in for the July, forsaking the final leg of the Cape Winter Series having already won the Tekkie Town Winter Guineas and the Winter Classic.

Marinaresco was trained by Mike Bass and provided a fitting finale to the veteran trainer’s career as he handed over his yard to daughter Candice the following day.

Ashburton-based trainers dominated the awards with Duncan Howells collecting three trophies. Dawn Calling, owned by Dave MacLean, collected the Best performance by a Two-year-old Filly where Howells had all three nominations including A Womans Way and KZN Million winner Lunar Rush.

The Howells-trained Cosmic Light was judged to have put up the best performance by a three-year-old filly for owner Hester Kuhn and Red Jack Trading while the Drakenstein Stud-owned Same Jurisdiction collected the trophy for Best performance by an Older Filly or Mare.

Weiho Marwing, now permanently based at Ashburton, was on hand to collect trophies for Best performance by an older Male and also Middle Distance for Gr1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge winner Mac De Lago who races in the colours of Hassen Adams.

Best performance by a two-year-old male went to another Ashburton-based trainer Paul Gadsby and a host of owners collected the trophy for Gr1 Premier’s Champion Stakes winner Gunner.

Summerveld-based Dennis Drier was again KZN Champion trainer by number of winners in the province, edging Howells by seven. Drier also collected the Best performance by a Sprinter for Gr2 Cape Merchants winner Triptique who races in Braam van Huyssteen’s silks.

Equus Award winners Ingrid and Markus Jooste were also KZN’s leading owners by prizemoney and Summerhill Stud, the country’s Champion Breeders for the 10^th time, also had the honour of being leading breeders in their home province by stakes won. Roy Moodley was the leading KZN-based owner by stakes won.

Anthony Delpech was leading jockey and Eric Ngwane leading apprentice.

Paul Lafferty, racehorse trainer, television presenter and stand-up comic was a popular recipient of KZN Personality of the Year.

In a new category voted for by the racing public, Piere Strydom got Ride of the Season for his handling of The Conglomerate in the Vodacom Durban July, winning from 18 draw.

Andrew Harrison

KZN HORSE & GROOM OF THE YEAR
MARINARESCO
TANDAS MAKHOBA

CHAMPION KZN APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR
ERIC NGWANE

CHAMPION KZN JOCKEY OF THE YEAR
ANTHONY DELPECH

CHAMPION KZN TRAINER OF THE YEAR
DENNIS DRIER

CHAMPION KZN BREEDER OF THE YEAR
SUMMERHILL STUD FARM

KZNOTA OWNER OF THE YEAR
ROY MOODLEY

CHAMPION KZN OWNER OF THE YEAR
INGRID AND MARKUS JOOSTE

ANITA AKAL PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR
DR NIC LABUSCHAGNE

KZN RACING PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR
PAUL LAFFERTY

KZN RIDE OF THE YEAR
PIERE STRYDOM (The Conglomerate – Vodacom Durban July)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A TWO-YEAR-OLD FILLY
DAWN CALLING
Trainer:  Duncan Howells
Owner:  Mr D D MacLean
Breeder:  Mr & Mrs A W Procter

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A TWO-YEAR-OLD MALE
GUNNER
Trainer:  Paul Gadsby
Owners:   Mr N Lalla & Mrs A Lalla, Mr H Adams, Mr K T & Mrs M I Carelse & K & K Syndicate (Nom: Mrs K S Mahabeer)
Breeder:  Nadeson Park

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A THREE-YEAR-OLD FILLY
COSMIC LIGHT
Trainer:  Duncan Howells
Owners:   Mrs H Kuhn & Red Jack Trading (Pty) Ltd
Breeder:  Maine Chance Farms (Pty) Ltd

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A THREE-YEAR-OLD MALE
EXIT HERE
Trainer:  Charles Laird
Owners:   The Fire Racing Trust (Nom : Mr Alesh Naidoo) & Mr M J Jooste
Breeder:  Moutonshoek

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN OLDER HORSE – FEMALE
SAME JURISDICTION
Trainer:  Duncan Howells
Owners:   Drakenstein Stud (Nom : Mrs G A Rupert), Messrs D C Howells, L C Vermaak, Dr R H Katzwinkel & Mrs M A M Powell
Breeder:  Klawervlei Stud

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN OLDER HORSE – FEMALE
MAC DE LAGO
Trainer:  Weiho Marwing
Owners:   Messrs H Adams, C F Delport, D Chinsammy, Lawrence Pillay, T J Smith & O D T Visser
Breeder:  Mr G Downey, Vic, Australia

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A SPRINTER
TRIPTIQUE
Trainer:  Dennis Drier
Owners:  Messrs A J van Huyssteen, William Henderson & J W Rauch
Breeder:  Moutonshoek

BEST PERFORMANCE OVER A MIDDLE DISTANCE
MAC DE LAGO
Trainer:  Weiho Marwing
Owners:   Messrs H Adams, C F Delport, D Chinsammy, Lawrence Pillay, T J Smith & O D T Visser
Breeder:  Mr G Downey, Vic, Australia

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A STAYER
ENAAD
Trainer:  Mike de Kock
Owners:   Al Adiyaat South Africa (Pty) Ltd
Breeder:  Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Maktoum

Unseasonable and almost ‘monsoon’ rains have disrupted racing in KwaZulu-Natal this past fortnight resulting in a backlog of meetings. In an effort to accommodate runners and make up the leeway, Scottsville hosts an 11-race card on Sunday and there is an added meeting to the programme scheduled for Greyville next Wednesday.

The logjam has resulted in a Scottsville card with maximum fields in all but one race and punters will again have their work cut out finding winners let along exotic bet bankers with no outstanding runners in any of the races.

A possible PA banker comes in the opening leg where Duncan Howells saddles the Trippi filly Online in the third but her promising recent form has to some extent been compromised by a coffin draw in this 1400m maiden.

In a maiden where Howells-trained runners finished second, third and fourth, the most fancied of the trio fourth, Online finished with a rattle in second place behind the highly regarded Maple Story. Howells was of the opinion that Online would prove more effective over a trip so was more than happy with her showing.

If the reserve runners don’t make the line-up, Online will come in three gates to 12 but still a disadvantage over this sharp 1400m trip. That said, Online is likely to be dropped in by Brandon Lerena and should be doing her best work late.

Anton Marcus has kept faith with Gath Puller’s runner Intercept, a beaten 3-10 chance on the poly at her second start. Her smart debut over course and distance obviously contributed to her short price and with a plum draw on Sunday she looks the biggest threat to Online.

Dennis Bosch mostly put up the shutters during Champions Season but has since opened the stable doors and has eight runners on Sunday. The Summerveld-based trainer does well at Scottsville and Iced Up in the opening leg of the Pick 6 looks to have all the right credentials. The daughter of Western Winter has improved with each outing and was a close-up fifth over the Scottsville mile last time out starting from the widest draw. She jumps from four on Sunday and the extended trip should be to her liking.

Also likely to enjoy the trip is the Howells-trained Louella. She makes her seasonal debut with Anthony Delpech aboard and the Delpech / Howells combination has been deadly since Howells dispensed with a stable jockey, relying instead on freelance riders.

Louella was caught for finishing speed in her first race beyond 1200m in a race that unfolded into a canter and a sprint for home. With a maximum field of runners there will be one or two likely to get on with racing from the jump and Louella should fare better this time around.

Juddering Angel and Wealthy look the most likely contenders to fight out the finish of the fifth although the top weights could be pressed in the finish by a few at the bottom end of the handicap. Juddering Angel has a tricky draw to negotiate but when last these two met over course and distance Juddering Angel finished two lengths to the good. Wealthy has since franked that form and is now 5.5kg worse off with Joey Ramsden’s runner so the draw may not be a deciding factor.

The lightly weighted Newton Spark and the maiden Osuna are possible ‘hares’ but both will need plenty of luck in running if they are to upset.

Delpech is off the mark for his new sponsor, squeaking home aboard hot favourite Friend Request for Mauritzfontein Stud and Dennis Drier at Greyville on Wednesday and dons the same colours for Drier aboard New Hampshire in the sixth. The gelding has only missed the money once in nine starts and is hunting a hat-trick.

At his last two wins he has had the benefit of useful four-claiming apprentice Diego de Gouveia and it was probably the claim that was the difference between winning and losing when touching off Mountain Master in a tight finish.

New Hampshire takes a rise in class so still has a handy galloping weight but he also faces a mixed bag of talent. Catkin has been close-up at his last two and has been running on stoutly to the line. Marcus gets the leg up and they will be a threat to New Hampshire.

Ole Gunnar has always been well thought of by Paul Lafferty but after a string of average performances the vet was called in. The change was immediate and Ole Gunnar put in a much better performance behind the smart Sylvester The Cat over course and distance last time out.

Run Rhino Run took the scenic route home at his last start giving Billy Jacobson a horseback view of Woodhouse Road down the back stretch but although the gelding is a tadpole short of a swamp, if he gets him mind straight he can prove very dangerous.

Andrew Harrison