ANDREW HARRISON

HORSES with only one serviceable eye are banned from racing in Australia but there is no such restriction in South Africa. I am not sure of the reasons for the Australian ruling but horses, with what to most would be a handicap, have done pretty well in this country.

Australian-bed Traces, banished from his land of origin, is one of them. His restricted vision may have been the cause of his loss of form when promising much early in his career but he finally brought his A-game when touched off in the Umgeni Handicap jumping from the worst of the draw on the final day of Champion Season.

Muscutt

Peter Muscutt, who runs Brett Crawford’s satellite yard at Summerveld, appears to have got the gelding’s confidence back and if he can repeat his feature race effort, he will have a strong chance in a competitive sprint that heads the card on the poly at Hollywoodbets Greyville this afternoon.

Traces has a big weight in a race where one can make out a winning case for many of the runners and although atop the bookmaker’s boards in the early ante-post market, 3-1 does not instil any confidence.

Coldhardcash is among the longer shots in the race but could prove good value.

His breathing problems are well documented but Duncan Howells has remedied that with a Cornel Collar that keeps the gelding’s air passages open.

Coldhardcash is a horse that showed top class ability before his ailment manifested its self and in spite of that the gelding has racked up five wins from his 16 starts.

That said, he does not go much further than 1000m as he showed over 1200m at Hollywoodbets Scottsville last time out where he was in contention all the way until the last furlong found him out. He will much prefer today’s trip on his favoured surface and first-time blinkers should bring out the best in him.

At around 14-1 in the ante-post market he could prove to be a fair wager.

It’s not quite that simple though with Shane Humby declaring first time blinkers on Waywood who has had two warm-up runs leading into this race. This stable is beginning to warm up after getting all of their African Horse Sickness jabs behind them, their runners could pay to follow.

Of the balance, Candy Galore is a smart mare who seldom runs a bad race while the likes of Goliath Heron and Winter Blues are sure to be competitive.

Wayne Badenhorst does not have too much in the thatch department but he will have been pulling out what’s left with his filly Rachel. She has let the side down on numerous occasions and one has to be wary of her doing any further damage to the wallet. But she may still be worth one more stab today as she has the best of the draw in the seventh and the drop to 1200m may be what gets her home.

Macara

Her biggest threat could come from Wendy Whitehead’s recent maiden winner Macara. Donovan Dillon was under pressure to get her home in that race and earned a seven-day holiday in his effort to find the rail from a tough draw. Macara responded with a smart turn of foot in the chase for home and looks progressive.

Others that warrant consideration are Flaming Desire who is plagued by many niggles and is way better than her last effort. She put five lengths over her rivals at her penultimate start but did take the maximum penalty for that win. Lowan Denysschen’s filly Passivity took time to come to hand but has come well over course and distance. With a 4kg claimer up she also has winning prospects.