Following heavy showers at Scottsville over the weekend, and a Pen reading of 31 with some areas recording 40, Gold Circle yesterday took an early decision to move the race meeting scheduled for Scottsville today to the Greyville turf.
Times remain the same but race eight will now be run over 1800m.
The money came in spades for Upskilled when making her debut at The Vaal late last month. It was a gamble that went astray as she found one too good for her and her backers will be hard-pressed to get their money back at Greyville today as she is destined to start at much shorter odds than the 20-1 initially on offer on debut and the 7-10 when rolled over the same course and distance last Saturday in a work riders plate.
Paul Peter is riding a hot streak at present but Upskilled faces another difficult race as the likes of Ambra, Sand Queen and Marzipan Path will be no pushovers.
Sean Veale is up from Cape Town to partner a few for his boss Dennis Drier including Ambra who made marked improvement at her second start behind I’m Free. Significantly that was in yielding going and rain this past week will likely produce similar conditions at Greyville today.
Sand Queen is sure to improve on a promising debut effort while Marzipan Path, second at her last two and the now blinkered Paarl Rock are others to consider.
African Angel finished a close-up third behind second-placed Ambra when last they met and while Drier has elected to keep Ambra to a sprint, Mark Dixon has opted for an extra two furlongs for African Angel. She does not have the best of draws over the tight Scottsville 1400m but is improving quickly.’
Her biggest threat is the Drier-trained Tarocco. Beaten favourite in both starts so far, she has a plum draw and given her pedigree this seven-furlong trip should be right up her street.
Ashburton-based Shame Humby is a trainer who is shy of publicity but there is no doubting his ability as a trainer. He got one on the board with Cause And Effect at Greyville on Sunday and it may be a toss-up between his two runners Socrates and Neala in the fifth.
Socrates has an exemplary record, winning four of his eight races and he may prove the pick ahead of the carrot-loving Neala. Although Buffalo Soldier has not franked the form of Socrates’s last run, there were excuses so Socrates can follow up on his last victory.
But the opposition is strong. Autumn In Seattle is quick as is On That Boulevard who gets plenty of weight and Lyle Hewitson is in superb form. Calvary appears to have a touch of class and Louis Goosen has three useful sprinters in the line-up.
The Goosen-trained fillies Imbali and Bonnie Dawn are both speedy and in with chances in the sixth although again it is a difficult handicap. Imbali is back on her favourite surface while Marcus has taken the ride on Bonnie Dawn, always a good sign.
Clinton Binda has been a regular visitor to KZN in recent weeks and saddles Sugoi who was not far back in an Assessment Plate at the Vaal last time out while Candy Galore comes off a two-race winning streak and a stable that is bang in form.
Don Pierro is not the easiest at home and gives Gary Rich many a sleepless night but he has ability and can build on his forward showings in his last two starts. He does not have the easiest draw but looks good enough to get the better of Viking Red and Two Stroke.
Walterthepenniless has been costly to follow but he gets the blinkers on this time around and he could get one over All Aboard and Victorious Man in the last.
By Andrew Harrison
