Joey Ramsden’s repeated bid to overcome what he regards as a miserly weight allowance with a two-year-old should be rewarded with victory for Tarsus in the Betting World Maiden at Kenilworth tomorrow.

It is quite common for juveniles to beat the three-year-olds in maidens towards the end of the season but less so in April. They receive only 3kg over 1 000m whereas the weight-for-age scale says they should be getting almost three times as much – the reasoning being that a good two-year-old should already be six lengths better than a three-year-old who is still not good enough to win after racing for over a year.

Joey Ramsden

Indeed only interference coming out of the pens stopped Ramsden’s Yolta doing it last Saturday while on Tuesday stable companions Carnage and Sans Regrets were second and third. Tarsus has the form to collect and is a confident choice.

Riaan van Reenen and Carl Burger are doing it the other way round with Celestial Storm in the first. They pitched her against older horses on debut and she led them a merry dance, quickening at halfway and looking like holding on until Capaill finished fast to catch her 50m out.

Punters have been unimpressed, so far at any rate, and have allowed her to drift from 9-2 to 13-2 but the booking of Bernard Fayd’Herbe is a major plus and she can beat Santa Clara who is 13-10 favourite with World Sports Betting.

Captain Of Tortuga is very short at 11-10 for his debut in the TAB Telebet Maiden Juvenile – he is a R4.5 million Captain Al out of triple Grade 1 winner Ebony Flyer and so a half-brother to Cot Campbell – and 22-10 shot Shadowing is chosen to confirm last time’s placings with Perfect Symmetry.

The TAbonline.co.za Maiden (race three) is more difficult because there is so little between 16-10 favourite East Lynne, Hammie’s Fan (17-10) and Everdene (5-2) who has more scope for improvement than the other two. Maybe Hammie’s Fan.

The much-improved Northern Corner has won three of his last four and is on a hat-trick in the Winter Series Handicap. A little surprisingly he has only been raised three points for his last win and, with the capable Sandile Mbhele still able to claim 4kg, the 28-10 favourite may be able to defy top weight. Pillar Of Hercules, 7-2 and only raised a kilo for his most recent win, together with Virtue (7-1) look the most obvious dangers.

The handicappers must have been feeling generous recently because Omega Force was not raised at all for last time’s second and Grant van Niekerk’s mount looks good for the Supabets Handicap.

By Michael Clower