Arniston has over four lengths in hand in the All To Come Graduation Plate at Kenilworth today if he can be persuaded to produce his best form – and he has disappointed in his last two starts.

There were legitimate excuses when  he finished plum last on July day – he was found to be not striding out on his left fore – but the reasons for his dropping back in the closing stages of the Matchem were less obvious.

However stable confidence is higher now that he is back at Kenilworth. “He hated Durbanville,” says Chris Snaith, referring to the Matchem performance, “and he will run well here.”

The main threat, certainly on adjusted merit ratings and probably also on form, is the Dean Kannemeyer-trained Lord Marshal who was second to Ready To Attack in both the Langerman and at Durbanville last time. He opened favourite at 18-10 with Betting World yesterday and Arniston was a 2-1 chance.

Half the 16 in the opening maiden are newcomers and Twenty Four Carat, who opened 7-2 favourite,  looks the pick of those that have raced even though Auditorium didn’t do much for the selection’s last Kenilworth run when only fourth on Saturday.

Grant van Niekerk (pictured) has opted for 5-1 first timer Mr Piscato in preference to stable companion Barnstable (10-1) whose form is in the book. Significant? “Not really,” answers Candice Robinson. “Grant quite likes Mr Piscato but I think the horse is going to need it. Barnstable is not the easiest ride and Robert Khathi has ridden him twice before.”

The in-form Adam Marcus introduces Gyre (10-1) and Saint Roch (14-1) with Sean Cormack booked for the latter. “They are both nice sorts and I’ve put Sean on Saint Roch because this is a progressive sort and I’m hoping that Sean will be able to stick with him,” Marcus explains. “But I haven’t wound up either of them so I’m not expecting that much.”

One of the basic Kenilworth punting principles is not to back those drawn wide over 1 400m but Mulher De Branco (woman In white in Portuguese and big in monster movies) has shown so much promise in her two starts that she might well be able to cope with pen eight out of ten in the Place Your Bets Maiden. She is 12-10 favourite with Durbanville runner-up Kryptonite next best on 5-2.

Ma Choix was raised 2kg for her Durbanville win but, as that was her first outing for eight months, she should be able to confirm the placings with Elusive Wave despite being 1.5kg worse for just over a length.

“It’s her second run after a rest which is a concern,” cautions Andre Nel. “But she is doing well and the extra furlong this time is definitely in her favour. We are aiming her at the Victress Stakes in December.”

Aldo Domeyer’s mount is attractively priced at 9-2. The hat-trick seeking Sea Glass and Durbanville scorer Good Grace dispute favouritism on 4-1 but the latter has been raised 2.5kg for her win.

Roman Silvanus lost his Durbanville race in the boardroom but he could be hard-pushed to beat three-year-olds Nebula and Bora Bora in the concluding maiden. Preference is for the Snaith horse who ran on well from some way back over two furlongs less last time and is 5-2 second favourite.
– Michael Clower

Turffontein has the first of its summer series of night races tomorrow evening and there are usually some good opportunities for punters on the fair Standside track.

In the first over 1400m Green Goddess finished well on debut from a wide draw over 1450m on the inside track and although she has another wide draw she looks likely to appreciate the more galloping Standside track. She is six months older than Christmas Carol and only has to give her 1kg. Christmas Carol stayed on well on debut over 1000m and will relish the step up on trip being a full-sister to Castle Tankard winner Winter’s Night. Zafira is by Silvano out of a Fort Wood mare but the full-brother has been disappointing.

Smart Call (Nkosi Hlophe)

In the second over 1400m Magical Moon led over 1600m last time before being run out of it and although he did not really give the impression that the step down to 1400m would be  more suitable, his class could carry him through from a good draw being a half-brother to the like of Jackson, Jade Vine and Heartland. My Favourite Brown likely needed his last start when catching the eye staying on over 1000m on the Inside track from a wide draw and he should love the step up in trip. Koncealed, who is out of a half-sister to the champion Promisefrommyheart, was staying on over 1200m last time from a tough draw at the Vaal and could have done better considering he cast a shoe.

In the third over 2000m Penteliko should be improving all the time being by Go Deputy and his good draw will suit his handy style. He fought back bravely over 1950m at Scottsville last time and will be a tough nut to crack. Scare Tactics enjoyed this trip last time when running on from a wide draw and only just failed to get there in time, so looks likely to appreciate the Standside track’s long straight. Talbec by High Chaparal was not disgraced on debut over 1600m and gave the impression he would relish this trip and further. Piere Strydom has stayed aboard Thiel who made late progress over 1800m last time. Arabian Bay is a well exposed but consistent sort. Yours And Mine is distance suited and could earn.

In the fourth over 2000m the outcome could depend on how well Peg ‘O My Heart jumps because on visual analysis she has the ability to win this if breaking on terms for a change from pole position. Terepova has been knocking on the door over 1600m and could attempt to dictate with Delpech now up and, although he is not 100% sure to enjoy this trip on pedigree, trainer Weiho Marwing sure knows how to get them to stay. Fortissima stayed on well over 1800m last time and is drawn well with Fortune up.  Laurel Cherry is likely to be staying on dourly but being a typically big daughter of Ideal World she is likely not enjoying the current hard ground. Rich And Dark disappointed last time but on best form will be a threat from a plum draw. Oblivion and Peggy Jay should be staying on too.

In the fifth over 2000m, American Magic has been competitive since his maiden win and over a suitable trip is drawn in pole with Piere Strydom up. Commodore Al is two points lower than his last turf start when not disgraced over this trip. Jubilee Line is well regarded and should be distance suited so could possibly defy a MR 84 merit rating in his first handicap. Africain has proved he is competitive off his current merit rating over this trip. Like A Boss has won twice in three starts over this trip and Lerena remains aboard off a five point higher merit rating for his last win. Ilitshe has won a Listed race over course and distance before but will have needed to have improved a lot from his last start which followed a break of more than a year. Delamere bounced back to form with a win over 1800m last time and is only two points higher but is widely drawn.

The sixth over 1400m the top class Smart Call is well weighted and the key to her, hold up tactics, has been found. She is returning from a layoff, but her yard is in fine form. Bichette is versatile and could be a threat. Kwinta has class and could be dangerous from pole position. Featherfoot is likely to be coming into her own being by Silvano. Drifting Dusk is interesting over this trip as one who always stays on well over sprints.

In the seventh over 1000m Silver Class proved suited to the step down in trip last time and looks hard to beat. Speedy Suzy is the danger and Miss December could earn.

In the eighth over 1160m Rough Justice looks to be off an attractive merit rating and is tipped to win. Will Pays has some class and will appreciate the step up in trip after winning over 1000m last time which earned him a four point raise. The progressive Thrust was staying on over1000m last time and is 1kg better off with Will Pays for a one length beating.

By David Thiselton

Picture: Smart Call (Nkosi Hlophe)

There were two meetings at Greyville this weekend and patrons had a particularly festive time at the Halloween theme gathering on Friday night.

Sunday’s nine race meeting saw the long awaited return of the turf, which staged six of the nine races on the card, and the day was dedicated to Gold Circle staff who had given over 30 years of service.

The highlight was a turf Pinnacle Stakes race over 1200m and all eyes in this event were on Ice Machine and Power King, who were having preparations before heading for big race engagements in Cape Town and Johannesburg respectively. The former had to switch at the top of the straight after a slow start and had too much to do, finishing fourth, while the latter finished a flying third. The Craig Eudey-trained Flyfirstclass was more at home over this trip than the two big names and won comfortably under Alec Forbes.

Future Fantastic (Nkosi Hlophe)

In the previous race, a turf Conditions Plate for fillies and mares over 1600m, trainer Stuart Pettigrew and in form Karl Zechner pulled off a successful Highveld raid with the four-year-old Lateral filly Future Fantastic, who was well weighted.

The ride of the day must have been Sean Cormack’s win on his guv’nor Dennis Drier’s Fort Wood filly Queen Delta in the second, a poly maiden over 2000m. Cormack didn’t take kindly to Muzi Yeni easing outward on the market rival Lady Linda at the 1200m mark and after initially attempting to hold his position he accepted his fate for the time being and dropped his mount in behind the trespasser. He then got the last laugh as a determined finishing effort saw him getting up to beat Lady Linda on the line.

The opening turf race, a Maiden over 1400m, saw a start to finish victory for the Charles Laird-trained first-timer What A Poet under Anton Marcus, who rode a double on the day. The Australian-bred Dylan Thomas colt was well drawn and didn’t beat a strong field but will appreciate further, so this was an encouraging introduction.

The Doug Campbell-trained three-year-old Visionaire filly Lala also did well to win the last, a turf MR 76 handicap for fillies and mares over 1200m, off a merit rating of 86 under Ian Sturgeon.

Friday night’s meeting had eight races on the poly and the most significant happenings on the racecourse were a double for in form trainer Alistair Gordon, both of them ridden by the increasingly confident Mandla Ntuli. Muzi Yeni and Sean Veale both rode doubles too.

Gordon’s second winner, the Noordhoek Flyer filly Gavea Girl, provided a first winner for Protea’s cricketing hero David Miller who part-owns her with his well-known auctioneer father Andrew and others.

By David Thiselton

Brett Crawford will give Captain America just one more run – in the Green Point on November 21 – before attempting to win the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate for the second successive season.

“Saturday’s race was a starting point and he took a little bit of time to get going but I was happy with him,” said the man who used to train Futura and who would like nothing better than to beat that horse in the country’s premier mile race.

His Horse Chestnut Stakes winner, running for the first time in seven months, would have won the Hollard Humdinger Pinnacle in another half stride and this was a fine comeback.

The unlucky horse, though, was 33-1 shot Ashton Park who was only a head back third and who would surely have won had not Robert Khathi fatally dropped his whip just inside the 200m mark.

But what might have been was of little concern to Mike Robinson who hugged his wife-cum-assistant Luella in delight after the stable’s long-time flag bearer Blarney Bay was announced the winner, the 20-1 shot’s first success since he beat Ashton Park in June last year.

Robinson said: “When I saw MJ go to the front on Chestnut’s Rocket I thought I was in trouble because Blarney Bay doesn’t quicken when he is not out in front. I have nominated him for a  1 400m handicap next Wednesday and if he pulls up well he might run.”

This was red-letter landmark for Heavelon van der Hoven – his 20^th winner, reducing his claim to 2.5kg – and the 22-year-old was landing his second double after also scoring on the exciting Illuminator in the Prescient Maid In Pink Handicap.

The 3-1 favourite more than made up for his slow start by producing a sparkling turn of foot and Glen Puller said: “There is a lot more development to come and I think he will get better and better. He should get up to a mile, especially with his style of racing.”

Donovan Mansour, in double form on the Joey Ramsden-trained Free Agent and Targaryan for Mike Bass (who also won with Spirit Of Hamilton under Grant van Niekerk), reckons he is in Cape Town to stay.

He said: “When I came here just over two months ago I thought it would be very difficult to get in with the various trainers but I have found that they have a much more homely relationship with the jockeys than they do in Jo’burg, and you can build on that.

“I have also found that in Cape Town there is no punting pressure whereas in Jo’burg it’s all about the punt. Here they are just happy to win and that’s a big help.”

Adam Marcus is on a roll and half his 12 winners this term (strike rate 22%) have come at the last four Cape Town meetings with Gorgeous Gaby arriving with a tremendous run under Aldo Domeyer in the Capital International Handicap.

Marcus said: “This is the best run I’ve had in my short career. I switched many of mine off during the Durbanville season and they have come right with the weather, especially the fillies.”

He did, however, have an unexpected reverse with La Flambee who started 2-1 favourite for the Fig Fillies Maiden and managed only seventh. The course vet could find nothing wrong but Domeyer said his mount continuously changed stride.

Punters got off to a disastrous start, plunging on unplaced newcomer Shamrock Skipper from 7-2 to 9-10 and allowing the Chris Puller-ridden winner Chennai Spice to drift from 5-1 to 14-1.

A bemused Darryl Hodgson said: “At the beginning of the week I felt couldn’t lose. Then I started hearing the rumours and by Saturday I thought I would be lucky to run a place!”

The Snaith team, on a lucrative high at Turffontein, left their local course empty-handed but they wouldn’t have done so had Greg Cheyne not stolen the Miton Optimal Handicap. He quickly built up a commanding lead on the Glen Kotzen-trained Pearl Oyster Bay and then held on by the rapidly-disappearing skin of his teeth from Snaith’s Jets-A-Blazing.

By Michael Clower

Picture: Captain America (Wayne Marks)

The Gr 1 2 R1 million Peermont Emperor’s Palace Charity Mile at Turffontein on Saturday saw a similar finish to last year as trainer Alec Laird recaptured the race, this time with the Argentinian-bred five-year-old Giant’s Causeway gelding Bouclette Top, and once again it was at the expense of trainer Gavin van Zyl, whose charge M L Jet fought on for second. Last year the pair of trainers finished first and second with Bezanova and No Worries respectively.

Bouclette Top, who was ridden superbly by national champion jockey Gavin Lerena, has sharpened up notably in his racing since being fitted with blinkers for the first time in March this year. His improvement with the headgear saw him having to carry joint-second topweight of 58kg yesterday. He also had to overcome a tricky draw of eleven. However, that didn’t stop him producing a resolute finish from off the pace to master M L Jet, who fought bravely throughout the straight after turning for home in second place. Bouclette Top won by a comfortable 2,25 lengths. Mitraad flew late from some way back to snatch third from Mac De Lago, who also finished well, and Bezanova had to settle for fifth this year.

Bouclette Top is owned by Wilgerbosdrift Stud.

Bouclette Top (Nkosi Hlophe)

The lucky Charity attached to Bouclette Top was the Thembakazi Primary After Care Centre and the celebrity representing them was Jonathon Boynton-Lee.

Thembakazi received R150,000, Khangezile Primary After Care Centre (attached to M L Jet) received R100,000, San Michele charity (Mitraad) received R80,000 while the Highveld Horse Care Unit (Mac De Lago) received R70,000. All twelve of the remaining charities involved received R50,000 each.

The Justin Snaith-trained Australian-bred colt by Star Witness, Lineker, started 12/10 favourite for the R2,015,000 Bloodstock South Africa Ready To Run Cup over 1400m and there were a few anxious moments for the connections when he went into his number nine stall early and then started slowly. However, it worked in his favour because there was a scrum at the front and he was able to find cover and settle. Piere Strydom was patient in the straight and eventually produced him with a perfectly timed challenge to beat the Gary Alexander-trained and Andrew Fortune-ridden 16/1 shot Crystal Glamour with the widely drawn Gavin van Zyl-trained Redcarpet Captain next best. Snaith praised the magnanimous nature of Lineker’s owner Michael Leaf, whose horse Wylie Hall was the victim of a heartbreakingly controversial upheld objection in the Vodacom Durban July of 2013 at the expense of the Snaith-trained Legislate.

Alexander and Fortune made up for that defeat by winning the R2,5 million Emperor’s Palace Ready To Run Cup with Champagne Haze, a Kahal colt who is half-brother to a previous winner of this race, the Alexander-trained Pierre Jourdan. Champagne Haze, drawn 6, was backed in to 5/2 despite the presence of the unbeaten Mike Azzie-trained Gr 1-winner Rabada, who was drawn 16 but still shortened from 15/10 to 13/10. The two market rivals ended on opposite extremes of the course but Champagne Haze was still full of running after stealing a march and Fortune was able to wave at Anton Marcus and Rabada on the outside before crossing the line three lengths clear. The 55/1 shot King Of Chaos’s third-place finish completed a lucrative day at the office for the Alexander yard. Champagne Haze was bred by Summerhill Stud and has a big syndicate of owners.

The Mike de Kock-trained Australian-bred O’Reilly colt Muwaary was too strong for the Gr 3 Graham Beck Stakes field after the favourite Bull Valley had bolted and had to be scratched. Muwaary overtook the pacemaker Unbelievable Chad quite early in the straight and powered clear to win comfortably by 2,25 lengths under Anthony Delpech. Liege was second and Malak Al Moolook just pipped a brave Unbelievable Chad for third. Lunar Approach was next best.

Lineker (Nkosi Hlophe)

Strydom landed his second feature of the afternoon on the Robbie Sage-trained Madame Dubois and did it so in brilliant fashion in the level weights Gr 3 Starling Stakes for three-year-old fillies. Jumping from a tough draw of 14 over the 1400m trip, Strydom had the Count Dubois filly wide but slipstreamed throughout the turn and kept her covered down the straight until exactly the right moment. She ran on strongly to nab the Mike Azzie-trained Mella Maria and the Lucky Houdalakis-trained Joan Ranger on the line. The odds of the first three were 10/1, 20/1 and 20/1 so this was an upset for the Place Accumulator. Madame Dubois, who finished third in the Gr 1 Allan Robertson Championship over 1200m for two-year-old fillies in May, is owned by Colin Bird and was bred by AJ McNabb and E Miliotis.

The Mike de Kock-trained New Zealand-bred filly The Centenary by Mastercraftsman was allowed to go off at generous odds of 14/1 in the Gr 3 Yellowwood Handicap over 1800m. She was admittedly six points higher in the merit ratings since her last win over this trip on the Inside track, but she was always going to relish the Standside course and distance as one whose new tactics of running on strongly from behind have been most effective. She duly cruised through to win comfortably under regular jockey Randall Simons, beating the favourite Marmalady by 1,5 lengths. Gr 1-winner Bilateral was third. The much vaunted De Kock-trained three-year-old Persian Rug started second favourite but faded tamely after being prominent.

Weiho Marwing did it yet again in a feature staying race on the Highveld when his six-year-old Captain Al gelding Fulcrum, who caught the eye going down, was sent for home early in the straight of the Listed Java Handicap over 2400m by his nephew Wesley Marwing and just held on from the gallant seven-year-old Henry Higgins with Arch Rival next best.

The two R250,000 HSH Princess Of Charlene Of Monaco Maiden Plates, over 1160m and 1600m, saw impressively easy 3,5 length and 6,25 length respective wins for the Sean Tarry-trained three-year-old Silvano filly Tahini, under Raymond Danielson, and the Johan Janse van Vuuren-trained Australian-bred New Approach three-year-old colt New Predator, under Weichong Marwing.

By David Thiselton