Gerrit Schlechter is unlikely to ride again but he cannot say he is going to be forced to retire until his insurance company gives its blessing.

He said: “I am still on medication and the osteoporosis and arthritis is so bad that my doctor has said that I could end up in a wheelchair if I have another fall.”

Schlechter, 51, is one of a select group to have won both the Vodacom Durban July (Eyeofthetiger in 2006) and the J & B Met (Past Master in 2011) but he has not ridden since last September when the problem was thought to be a prolapsed disc.

Noordhoek trainer Mike Stewart is also in the wars and he came close to losing his left eye in a freak accident a week ago.

He said: “I was leading a horse into the pens at Philippi. I don’t know exactly what happened, whether I was kicked or what, but I managed to drive myself home. I went to the optometrist and I was operated on the next day. I have torn the retina but I hope to get back most of my sight.”

– Michael Clower

Brett Crawford could be the man to follow at Kenilworth today when he has the favourite in the first five races as well as in the last.

But don’t plunge in regardless because he doesn’t think he is going to win the first with 28-10 newcomer Tripolina. “She is a very nice filly but I think she will need the run,” he cautions.

Snaith Racing is also far from confident about 4-1 joint second favourite Harakiri. “Put her in the quartets but I think she is unlikely to win,” is the shrewd Jonathan’s advice.

World Sports Betting reckons the race will be dominated by first timers and also have Honours Degree (4-1) and Interlude (5-1) high up in the betting.

Brett Crawford (Liesl King)

Interestingly the computer prediction on the SAhorseracing and Tabgold websites shows Navarone going straight to the front and stretching away to win by five lengths. “I’ve seen that and I think it’s unlikely to happen,” says an unimpressed Paul Reeves. “But she is doing very well. She is a bit temperamental although we now fit ear muffs and that seems to help her.” At 8-1 she could be each way value.

Crawford’s Impressed stands out at 7-2 in race two after last time’s second to Arctic Blast was boosted by the subsequent win of third-placed Newlands, and there is a line of form suggesting Bernard Fayd’Herbe’s mount is better than Viking Voyage (4-1) and 11-2 chance Tweak The Wind.

Hero Quest – 16-10 favourite for race three – flew home in the final furlong when second on debut but the form is nothing to write home about and it was nearly three months ago. “He had a few setbacks afterwards but he has had a grass gallop,” says Crawford. “He will run a nice race but obviously I would have preferred it if he hadn’t been off for so long.”

In the circumstances 2-1 second favourite King Of The Corn gets marginal preference despite his 11 draw. However Louisiana can do it for Crawford and Corne Orffer 35 minutes later. She finished well to take second to Dark Chocolate over this trip on Winter Guineas day when she had stable companion Electro Diva (9-1 here) four lengths behind. The danger is Sandy Bay who was disputing favouritism yesterday.

The computer prediction for race five is a triple dead-heat between Midnite Zone (9-2), Kingvoldt (12-1) and 5-1 chance Brilliant Crimson. The handicappers would be delighted!

Interestingly Orffer has opted for 11-2 shot Zubbadubbadoo in preference to Midnite Zone even though he has been off since Met day. “He is not an easy horse to ride and Corne gets on very well with him,” Crawford explains, adding: “Midnite Zone is doing very well.”

He certainly looks the one to beat but the snag is that he has been raised 1.5kg for keeping on well to take second to stable companion Orion Quest. But he could be better over the extra 200m here.

Make It Raine is the Crawford 22-10 favourite in the last but this is a big field for an inexperienced horse so tread carefully.

Computer predictions:

1. Navarone
2. Impressed
3. King Of The Corn
4. Louisiana
5. Kingvoldt, Brilliant Crimson and Midnite Zone (dead-heat)
6. Dragon Flame
7. Winter Trade and Zud Wes (dead-heat)
8. Make It Raine and Hanabi (dead-heat)

By Michael Clower

The site has been specifically designed to be mobile friendly as official Google Analytics show that 50% of visitors to the site use their mobile devices and this figure will grow in the future.

There have been teething problems, most notably last week when the system was unable to handle unexpected volumes and punters had difficulty logging on. This has been remedied and the site upgraded to handle the bigger volumes.

The interactive racecard, where punters can access statistics and make notes, is designed to be used on-line and is not printer friendly. There are two other printer friendly options for racecards, namely the TabForm sheet or the Racecard Summary.

By request, fixed odds betting for future meetings will be loaded onto the site as soon as it becomes available instead of only on-day display. Horse, trainers and jockey indexes will become an added feature.

It is important to note that one is required to register before you can access the full menu. All of the content that was on the old website is available to registered users. Registration is free and the site currently has over 23 000 unique users.

“We are trying to be proactive,” says Gold Circle Commercial Executive, Patrick Loker. “We are noting complaints and suggestions and where possible will try and embrace these where we think they will add value. The site has been developed with extensive input from different punters, but satisfying everyone in such a diverse population group is a massive problem but one that we want to overcome using our best efforts.”

For suggestions or complaints e-mail support@goldcircle.co.za or call one of the following telephone numbers for assistance:

+27 31 314 1869

+27 31 314 1870

+27 31 314 1482

+27 31 314 1588

Anthony Delpech was asked shortly after landing the Canon and Daisy Guineas double at Greyville on Friday night which of the two Justin Snaith-trained winners he would prefer to partner for the Vodacom Durban July.

Black Arthur was the answer, the main reason being the horse’s stamina reserves. He waxed lyrical about the classy colt and could not quite believe how far out of his ground he had come from. Later, Snaith said the answer to the aforementioned question lay in the betting. Black Arthur’s July odds were slashed from 50/1 to 12/1 last week and following his Guineas win he is now 33/10 favourite with Betting World.

Bela-Bela (Nkosi Hlophe)

Delpech had earlier called Bela-Bela a “special” filly, but was not sure she would get the 2200m July trip, although he felt against her own gender she would “get away” with the 2000m of the Gr 1 Woolavington.

Both horses have come out of their respective races superbly, according to Snaith.

He confirmed Bela-Bela would be going for the Woolavington, which has always been her aim.

However, Black Arthur is a typically immature son of Silvano and Snaith said, “He is high quality and we want to still have a horse for next season, so must be careful which route we take with him.”

It was the first time both Delpech and Snaith had achieved the Guineas double at the same meeting. However, Delpech had been confident of doing it. He had told his family in the morning how badly he had wanted to add this accolade to his CV and felt this could be the year.

Snaith went close to the Guineas double two years ago. In The Fast Lane was beaten in the fillies race at odds of 15/10, before Legislate won the Guineas at odds of 11/2.

This year it was Legislate who let the side down, running no sort of race in the IOS Drill Hall Stakes over 1400m, despite starting at odds of 11/10.

Snaith said the former Equus Horse a Of The Year had been far too “quiet” in the parade ring for his liking and the yard were still monitoring him yesterday, but nothing obvious had yet been detected.

By David Thiselton

Laurence Wernars has owned horses for some 25 years and looks to have a couple of chances of breaking his Gr 1 duck this season, including with Friday night’s Drill Hall Stakes winner New Predator.

Wernars has won plenty of Gr 2s and went close to landing a Gr 1 last season when the Johan Jansevan Vuuren-trained Brazuca only just failed in the Golden Horseshoe over 1400m at Greyville.

Top jockey Weichong Marwing called New Predator probably the best three-year-old around after his start to finish win on Friday night.

Wernars said he would leave it to trainer Janse Van Vuuren to choose the next target for the Australian-bred New Approach colt.

Wernars believes New Predator will get the Gr 1 Daily News 2000 trip if  “ridden cold.” However, Brazuca is a ready-made Daily News candidate, while New Predator’s speed makes him probably better suited to the 1600m trip of the Gr 1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge.

Meanwhile, a whole new career has been opened to the always highly regarded Dennis Drier Triptique, whose running on second in the Drill Hall proved he is more than just a sprinter.

By David Thiselton