One World, despite running as green as the grass he was racing on, confirmed that he is something special with a brave, front-running display in the Play Soccer Juvenile Plate in uncharacteristically testing ground at Kenilworth yesterday.

Dan Katz (SportingPost)

MJ Byleveld decided to make it “because this is a big striding horse” but he had more than a few anxious moments, notably when the 21-10 chance decided to head straight into the rails. His mount looked beaten when Carnage came at him in the final furlong but, despite not keeping entirely straight, he kept answering his rider’s every call to prevail by a hard-fought fifth of a length.

His rider reported: “I probably went a bit slower than I wanted but he was green and at the junction he nearly went off the track. That said, he is a really nice horse.”

Vaughan Marshall, watching from Durban, said: “He is a big baby, still green, but a very good horse. We will see how he pulls up but we’ve got to go the Langerman route. That’s why I left him in Cape Town rather than take him to Durban.”

Arabian Air, who started favourite at 21-20, was beaten over four lengths into fourth but there were excuses. A veterinary examination showed him to be not striding out and Donovan Dillon said: “After he broke though the pens before the off he wasn’t himself and I was outpaced at the 800m mark which wasn’t him.”

Dan Katz is predicting a bright future for Hassen Adams’ Var filly Bouvier who made a winning debut at 14-1 under Louis Burke in the opening maiden juvenile fillies.

He said: “She is very small – I wish she was a hand higher – but she can run and she is good. I am expecting big things from her.”

The Betting World Juvenile Plate, already an exclusive match between Joey Ramsden and Candice Bass-Robinson, was decimated when three of Ramsden’s four runners were scratched ‘off-feed’ at 8.45am. But the opposition’s Cruise Along and Aldo Domeyer were made to fight for every metre by Dillon on Ramsden’s Sparkeling Fire.

Piet Botha, who took that horrible fall from Steel Rose in the Solid Speed Pinnacle at Greyville 11 days ago, sees his doctor today and is optimistic that he will be given clearance to resume next week.

BLOB Rocket Countdown is reported to have come out of his fine Winter Classic run in good shape. Deez Dayanand apparently has other trainers keen to have Jeff Lloyd in the irons in the Vodacom Durban July. He stresses that he will make the booking and that nothing has yet been confirmed.

By Michael Clower