Andrew Harrison

Rainbow Bridge will defend his title in the 50th renewal of the R1 million Hollywoodbets Gr1 Gold Challenge at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Saturday and will be out to turn the tables on Gr1 L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate winner Jet Dark.

South Africa’s joint second richest race is the final Vodacom Durban July ‘golden ticket’ event and promises to be a thriller with five big race entries lining up.

Although only nine runners are due to face starter Solly Ngcobo, there is plenty of intrigue with runners like Rainbow Bridge and Belgarion warming up for the VDJ against star miler’s whose main target will have been this race.

The Eric Sands-trained Rainbow Bridge could not have been more impressive when winning the Gr2 Drill Hall Stakes over 1400m beating Catch Twentytwo and the pair will face up again come Saturday.

Rainbow Bridge will renew his partnership with jockey Luke Ferraris who has landed a six-month contract to ride in Hong Kong from mid-September.

Jet Dark, the highest rated three-year-old in the country after his defeat of Rainbow Bridge in the Queen’s Plate, has not had an outing since that victory which may be a worry for some. Stable first-call Richard Fourie rides with Grant van Niekerk switching to Seeking The Stars.

Justin Snaith scratched Jet Dark from the original July entry but the colt is sure to be primed come Saturday.

Vaughan Marshall has had a stellar Champions Season to date and will saddle Seeking The Stars who set a solid gallop for stable companion Linebacker in the WSB KZN Guineas. He stayed on well enough for second which will make him a factor on Saturday.

Snaith also saddles last year’s VDJ winner Belgarion who missed his intended warm-up race in the Drill Hall with an abnormal blood picture. He is already assured of a place in the VDJ but this will be a testing warm-up. S’Manga Khumalo rides what will probably be his VDJ mount.

Sovereign Spirit and Cirillo are assured of a July gate while Trip To Africa is 18th on the latest VDJ log and a top showing here will push him further up the table.

Supporting features on the card are the Gr2 East Coast Radio Tibouchina Stakes, the Gr3 Hollywoodbets Dolphin’s Cup Trial,  the Listed Cell C Sharks Gatecrasher Stakes and the (Non-Black Type) Rising Sun Durban Dash.

R1 000 000 1600m

1st R625000, 2nd R200000, 3rd R100000, 4th R50000, 5th R25000

Hollywoodbets GOLD CHALLENGE (Grade 1)

Weight-For-Age

WFA: 2yrs-10.5kgs 3yrs-1.5kgs

No Apprentice Allowance

1          Jet Dark                       58.5     130      A         Richard Fourie  Justin Snaith

2          Seeking The Stars         58.5     121      BA       Grant van Niekerk        Vaughan Marshall

3          Rainbow Bridge            60        134      A         Luke Ferraris    Eric Sands

4          Chimichuri Run 60        125      TBA     Raymond Danielson     Sean Tarry

5          Cirillo                           60        120      T A      Lyle Hewitson   Sean Tarry

6          Trip To Africa              60        114      BA       *Thabiso Gumede        Duncan Howells

7          Belgarion                      60        130      A         S’manga Khumalo        Justin Snaith

8          Sovereign Spirit            60        124      BA       Keagan de Melo           Candice Bass-Robinson

9          Catch Twentytwo         58.5     123      A         Gavin Lerena    Paul Peter

David Thiselton

The Paul Matchett-trained three-year-old Act Of War gelding Battle Force became the first bottom weight for 15 years to win the Grade 1 Golden Horse Sprint on Sunday at Hollywoodbets Scottsville when just getting up under Craig Zackey to beat Eden Roc by 0,25 lengths and he is only the second horse in the merit rating era to win this handicap while racing under sufferance.

 The last bottom weight to win was also trained by Matchett, the Zimbabwean-bred three-year-old Muhtafal colt Let’s Rock’n Roll, who carried 50kg to victory at odds of 50/1 under Randall Simons in 2006, winning by a cosy 1,25 lengths.

However, Let’s Rock ‘N Roll had snuck into the handicap whereas Battle Force was officially 2.5kg under sufferance carrying 52kg off his 106 merit rating.

To put that in layman’s terms, if it had been a true long handicap Battle Force would have carried only 49.5kg, so was carrying 2.5kg more than he should have been.

There is a minimum weight rule in most parts of the world and in South Africa it was changed in recent times from 50kg to 52kg.    

The only previous horse in the merit rating era to have won the Golden Horse Sprint while under sufferance was the Charles Laird-trained Hinterland, who was 3kg under sufferance when carrying 50kg to victory as a three-year-old in 2002. He started at odds of 8/1 and won by the same 0,25 length margin that Battle Force did.

Battle Force is highly progressive and on Sunday proved himself ahead of the handicappers again.

He has now won his last six sprint starts, his only recent defeat being over 1400m.

He has duly been raised to a 113 merit rating.

Battle Force was initially fancied in the betting at around 8/1 but drifted all the way out to 16/1.

Pulling a shoe probably aided the betting drift.

The start was delayed for a long time by the re-shoeing process and it was eventually announced he would race unshod behind.

Owner Roy Wentzel said afterwards, “Paul, to his credit, knows the horse well and suggested he run without the shoes.”  

Nevertheless, his supporters’ confidence must have dropped to a new level of pessimism.

However, Matchett was correct and the rangy bay strode out well throughout from his Standside 16 draw and ran all the way to the line.

It was Matchett’s third Grade 1 win at Hollywoodbets Scottsville in all as he also won the Allan Robertson Championship with Brave Mary in 2017.

Zackey has to be given a lot of credit for Sunday’s win as he had to shed 5kg in a week to make the weight.

It has been a halcyon week for all of Matchett, owners Roy Wentzel and Rose Waterman-Wentzel and sire Act Of War.

Wilgerbosdrift Triple Tiara heroine War Of Athena had won the Grade 1 Woolavington 2000 for Matchett and the Wentzels just eight days earlier.

Fittingly, Battle Force carries Roy’s colours (yellow, green maltese cross, white sleeves, gold and green quartered cap), because War Of Athena carries Rose’s colours (Pale pink, black stars and collar, white sleeves, black stars, black cap, white star).

Summerhill Stud-based sire Act Of War now has two Grade 1 winners in his first crop. He has a good 41.3% winners to runners ratio and his AEPR (average earnings per runner) of R76,997 is the highest of the top 50 sires on the SA national log.

Battle Force was another horse who “spoke to” Rose Waterman-Wentzel at the Sales. She and Roy duly purchased him for R130,000 at the KZN Yearling Sale.

Both War Of Athena and Battle Force were bred by Summerhill Stud.

David Thiselton

Vaughan Marshall, having won Sunday’s Gold Medallion with Ambiorix, has now landed Hollywoodbets Scottsville Grade 1’s in four different decades.

The Vercingetorix colt gave 19-year-old Luke Ferraris his career fifth Grade 1 victory.

Marshall’s Hollywoodbets Scottsville Grade 1 run started in 1994 when Taban won what is today called the Golden Horse Sprint under Anton Marcus at odds of 8/1.

He won that same race in 1996 with Bold Thatch, win converted 20/1 odds under Felix Coetzee.

He also won the SA Fillies Sprint on 1996 with Wonderful World who was ridden by Robbie Fradd and at 20/1 odds she downed the top class sprinter Harry’s Charm.

In 1997 the Gallic League filly Readallaboutit won the Allan Robertson Championship for him at 10/1 odds under Robbie Fradd.

His next Hollywoodbets Scottsville Grade 1 win was in the 2009 Gold Medallion with the Var colt Villandry, who was brought home by Felix Coetzee at odds of 9/1.

Marshall was particularly proud of his next Grade 1 win at the Pietermaritzburg track, All Is Secret, who won the Allan Robertson Championship in 2012, as he trained both of her parents Captain Al and Secret Of Victoria. All Is Secret was ridden by Anton Marcus and converted odds of 38/10.

The following year he won the Allan Robertson again with Happy Valentine, who converted 7/2 odds under Sean Veale.

In 2016 Marshall scored a Grade 1 double at the Festival Of Speed meeting. All Is Secret’s full-sister The Secret Is Out won the Allan Robertson under MJ Byleveld at odds of 14/10. The Captain Al colt Always In Charge, ridden by Anton Marcus, then converted 5/2 odds in the Gold Medallion.

Ambiorix made it a tenth Hollywoodbets Scottsville Grade 1 win for Marshall on Sunday, winning at odds of 25/3.

It is fitting that he has had such success at this track as he was a pupil at Maritzburg College where he excelled at sport, particularly cricket. for which he represented Natal Schools.

Ambiorix gave Marshall his second Grade 1 win in the space of eight days and his third of the season. His stalwart three-year-old gelding Linebacker has won both the Jonsson Workwear Cape Derby and the Daily News 2000 this season and is 4/1 with Hollywoodbets to give Marshall his first Vodacom Durban July win.

Ambiorix gave David Allan’s UK-based syndicate Burns Racing a first Grade 1 winner. Allan bought the Oldlands Stud-bred colt for R250,000 at the CTS Premier Yearling Sale.

Marshall has for a long time been known for his expertise with two-year-olds, although he is certainly not one-dimensional as his CV also contains three MET wins, five Cape Guineas wins and two Cape Derby wins among other big race success.

Sunday’s win was a particularly impressive training feat as the colt had not raced since the 27th of February when finishing a 2,50 length second in the Grade 3 Cape Of Good Hope Nursery.

Ferraris showed his fine race-riding intuition once again, revealing afterwards he had possibly made a mistake in the Cape Nursery by having him in behind horses. He said, “I asked Mr Marshall if I could ride him like in his first race. He has a very relaxed running style. He pinged the gate and just kept rolling.”

Vercingetorix is by multiple champion sire Silvano and the latter’s blood had already provided success in this family as Ambiorix’s dam Darling Moon (Indigo Magic) is a half-sister to the dual Grade 3 winning Silvano gelding Astro News.

Vercingetorix is proving to be a producer of speed and precocity, unlike Silvano, and this might be due to the influence of his National Assembly dam National Vixen. Both of Vercingetorix’s Grade 1 winners to date have achieved their single Grade 1 success in two-year-old sprints at Hollywoodbets Scottsville, the first being Vernichey in last year’s Allan Robertson.

However, Vercingetorix has produced stakes winners up to 1800m and is sire of the Marshall-trained Rascallion, who was a fast finishing second in the Daily News 2000.

Therefore Ambiorix, whose dam won a Listed race over 1400m, should get the 1400m of the Grade 2 Durban Golden Horseshoe on Vodacom Durban July day.

David Thiselton

The Grade 3 Jubilee Handicap over 1800m at Turffontein yesterday was won by the Tyrone Zackey-trained Johnny Hero under Kabelo Matsunane, who celebrated recently attaining his fully fledged jockey’s license by riding a double.

The Jubilee traditionally provides a last gasp opportunity for lower rated horses to make a bid for a place in the Vodacom Durban July field and the pair that fell into that category yesterday were the 111-rated former Dingaans winner Shango and the 107-rated Pack Leader. 

Running Brave and ExpressfromtheUS were other July entries to run but they were high up on the last July log in tenth and twelfth position respectively. 

Eight of the original jockeys had to be replaced because of the meeting coinciding with the postponed Hollywoodbets Scottsville Festival Of Speed meeting.

Matsunyane had landed a chance ride in the previous race on the well-bred Mike de Kock-trained Dynasty filly Desert Miracle. He brought this maiden home to beat some useful fillies going away in the Highveld Winter Juvenile Fillies Stakes over 1400m.

The early pace was sedate in the Jubilee and the known front-runner Running Brave had every chance to get over from draw five to take the lead but Greg Cheyne, riding her  for the first time, opted to try and unsuccessfully restrain her instead. 

Bingwa led and kept the pace steady with Running Brave racing too strongly on his outside.

Oyster King was in third between the pair with Green Haze in the box seat on the rail and Jet Start caught out wide. 

Johnny Hero had nice cover behind Oyster King and Shango was behind him.

Christopher Robin was caught wide the whole way. 

Pack Leader had nice cover third from last, while Chijmes tried the hold up tactics which had worked well last time over shorter and was on the rail one from last and ExpressfromtheUS was at the back having been dropped out from a wide draw.

Running Brave was soon a spent force, not surprisingly, as Bingwa strode out well in the front and was the target for the chasers.

Johnny Hero, who had snuck into the handicap with the minimum weight was the first to chase and was moving ominously well. 

Shango and Pack Leader were also making a bid on the outside.

Johnny Hero forged to the front 200m from home and kept going to beat a charging Shango by 0,75 lengths with Bingwa staying on to be just a head behind that. Pack Leader was fourth, beaten four lengths, and ExpressfromtheUS was too far back and could only manage a 6,35 length fifth.

Running Brave ran her second shocker in succession and was beaten 26 lengths, although the riding tactics did not help, so her July place might now be in jeopardy. The breeding shed might be calling for this admirable mare.

Shango would likely have needed to win to get into the July and Pack Leader’s chances of qualifying for the big race are gone. 

Johnny Hero runs in the same colours as the 2012 narrow July runner up Smanjemanje and it will be interesting to see whether he is supplemented. In 2017 Coral Fever was supplemented after winning the Jubilee with 53.5kg but he was not included in the final VDJ field.

Later the Johan Janse van Vuuren stalwart filly Lady Of Steel landed the seventh win of her career, a Pinnacle Stakes event over 1400m, in comfortable fashion under Marco van Rensburg, from Orpheus who enjoyed the step down in trip and strode out well in the front throughout.     

Callan Murray took advantage of the jockeys’ absence and flew up from Cape Town to ride the first two winners on the card and both look promising. Big Burn by Elusive Fort is a full-sister to Catch Twentytwo and won the first over 1160m by three lengths for the Paul Peter yard.

Murray rode the Peter-trained Mufasa to a 4,25 length win in the second over 1160m. He is by What A Winter and is a half-brother to the Grade 3-winning Grade 1 runner up Magico.

The Fabian Habib-trained SA Derby winner Out Of Your League bounced back to form by winning the next over 2400m under Diego De Gouveia.

The Alec Laird-trained Spice Market won the fourth over 1400m from start to finish under 4kg claimer Mfanelo Zuma.

The fifth over 1400m was won by the Sean Tarry-trained Rain In Holland under Luyola Mxothwa. She easily accounted for the 1/4 favourite Smorgasbord.   

Andrew Harrison

Hot on the heels of War Of Athena’s win in the Gr1 Woolavington 2000 last Saturday, Paul Matchett and owners Roy Wentzel and Dr Rose Waterman-Wentzel were back in the Grade 1 spotlight as Battle Force recorded his sixth win in just a dozen starts when landing the Gr1 Golden Horse Sprint at Hollywoodbets Scottsville yesterday.

 The Golden Horse is always a competitive handicap sprint but Matchett, many times champion trainer in Zimbabwe, knows how to play the handicap game. Battle Force was 2.5kg under sufferance in the official ratings in spite of carrying joint bottom weight but the gelding was still under the radar as far as the handicap was concerned. He had received the maximum of 8 points for each of his last two wins but it could have been more.

Matchett also persuaded Craig Zackey that it would be to his benefit if he lost a few kilos to make the weight. “I haven’t ridden 52 for at least four years,” panted Zackey. “I had to lose 5kg in a week.”

There were many anxious moments for the connections as Battle Force first cast a front shoe on the way to the start and while being re-shod, cast a hind shoe. “He was a handful,” admitted Zackey. It was finally decided to remove both hind shoes. “We thought he may be scratched at one point,” conceded Wentzel. “But Paul to his credit knows the horse well and suggested that he run without the shoes.”

“To go through all that frustration and win shows that he’s a good horse,” concluded Zackey.

Sean Tarry saddled Eden Roc to win the Gold Medallion two season’s back and he came up just short as he finished runner-up ahead of a wall of horses headed by MK’s Pride in third.

It was also a second Gr1 win in a week for freshman stallion Act Of War.

Singforafa, third behind Celtic Sea and Run Fox Run last year, put the record straight as she galloped her opposition into the ground in the Gr1 SA Fillies Sprint Brought to you by The Witness. Singforafa is well travelled as Corne Spies is never one to sit back home with a fit horse.

However, Singforafa had something of a patchy record in two recent visits to Scottsville. On both occasions she looked a blinder at the weights in lesser company but failed to deliver.

That was not the case yesterday as she found her best form. Ryan Munger had her out with the pace early and she just kept rolling.

Favourite True To Life was in trouble early as Gavin Lerena hunted daylight but she was never travelling well enough to take any gaps and she finished a well beaten fourth with Vernichey, last year’s Allan Robertson winner, just getting the better of Gallic Princess.

Vaughan Marshall has an eye for a yearling, one only needs to go back in his record, starting way back when with Cape Guineas winners Sea Warrior and Captain Al.

He looks to have picked another plum in Ambiorix who added to an already phenomenal Champions Season for Marshall with victory in the Gr1 Gold Medallion.

An end to end winner on debut, Luke Ferraris admitted to making a mistake when beaten in the Cape Nursery. “I may have made a mistake. I had him in behind horses and it didn’t look like his run.

“I asked Mr Marshall if I could ride him like in his first race. He has a very relaxed running style. He pinged the gate and just kept rolling.”

Calvin Habib is slowly building a reputation as a reliable rider on a big occasion and he cemented that opinion with his first Gr1 winner when steering Under Your Spell to a convincing win in the Gr1 Allan Robertson Championship, giving Sean Tarry a one-two with Sound Of Warning edging out hot favourite Sheela.

Given that Lyle Hewitson is the Tarry first-call rider, Sound Of Warning appeared to be the stable elect after Under Your Spell took a seven-length drubbing at her last start in the Gr2 SA Fillies Nursery.

It was obviously a below par performance as she had twice previously had the better of Nursey winner Heavens Girl.

Racing handy for much of the race, Under Your Spell went clear 300m out and was not for the catching. Short-priced favourite Sheela was in trouble a long way out but was game enough to make Sound Of Warning work hard for her second place.

Andrew Harrison

SOME unseasonal rain during the week has forced Gold Circle to postpone today’s scheduled meeting at Hollywoodbets Scottsville to today in order to give the track extra time to dry out.

Scottsville hosts its biggest meeting of the year with a jackpot of Gr1 Sprints, the Golden Horse backed up by the Gr1 Gold Medallion, Gr1 Allan Robertson Championship and the Gr1 SA Fillies Sprint brought to you by The Witness.

A soft track adds an extra dimension to the Gr1 Golden Horse Sprint, the toughest handicap sprint in the country, and always an intriguing contest with all 16 runners fairly evenly matched in spite of some smart sprinters being under sufferance.

Out to defend his crown in the Golden Horse is Sean Tarry’s runner Warrior’s Rest. He fought a thrilling duel with Ultra Magnus last year, scraping home by the shortest of short heads but he has only had two further outings, the last in November last year when down the field behind stable companion Eden Roc.

Tarry has a knack of earmarking big races for his charges and getting them there with as much in their favour as possible and although Warrior’s Rest has not seen a racecourse in seven months, you can bet that he will be ready to deliver tomorrow and some give in the ground is likely to suit.

Whether he is good enough, only the race will tell as the list of possible winners is a long one.

 Paul Matchett, successful with War Of Athena last Saturday, saddles Battle Force who is one of four three-year-old’s in the field. He is 2.5kg under sufferance in spite of carrying joint bottom weight but he may still be under the radar as far as the handicap is concerned. He has received the maximum of 8 points for each of his last two wins but it could have been more. Most of the recent winners have come from the bottom of the handicap and Battle Force has been in excellent form of late. Paul Peter’s colt MK’s Pride is a smart three-year-old and has the distinction of having beaten War Of Athena and Got The Greenlight. He was far from disgraced in the recent WSB Guineas but could be better suited to this tough 1200m. Mike Azzie is a bit of a Wizz when it comes to sprinters and he saddles Bohica who finished second best to top sprinter Rio Querari in the Computaform Sprint last time out wearing first-time blinkers. He is overdue although he does carry the steadier of 60kg.

Var’s Vicky is no slouch and has had a look at the course and Captain Tatters, although under sufferance, was given a poor ride in a workriders race and off 52kg he could easily make the frame.

True To Life is the highest rated runner in the SA Fillies Sprint brought to you by The Witness and strictly on paper should prove difficult to beat. She finished fourth last year behind multiple Grade 1 winner Celtic Sea and subsequent Gr1 Cape Flying Championship winner Run Fox Run and if she brings that form into the race, it will take a good one to beat Johan Janse van Vuuren’s filly.

It will be a scrap for the minor places. Paul Peter saddles Sarah who showed improved form in blinkers last run although she has always been consistent while although Gallic Princess ran below par last time out with three of today’s opposition having finished in front of her, her form before that was solid and she should be ideally suited to this course. Frank Robinson fitted Love Bomb with blinkers for her last start and last year’s Golden Slipper winner roared back to form. She has always been held in high regard by the stable.

Azzie has made no bones about his unbeaten filly Sheela labelling her as one of the best, if not the best filly that he has trained. The form suggests that he’s not far wrong after she put one over the colts in the Gr1 SA Nursery winner. She looks to be something special.

Possibly standing in her way is the unbeaten Sounds Of Warning who has drawn in the gate alongside. She has had the benefit of a look at the Scottsville track, winning last time out and Tarry has a smart record at this meeting.

The Gr1 Gold Medallion looks more competitive with a number of unbeaten runners testing their mettle. Good Traveller has the best record in that he is unbeaten in three and boast two wins on this course which could just give him an edge over the Tarry-trained Pyromaniac who has won both of his starts on the Highveld. However, he comes from a strong stable that had three other runners entered. Isivunguvungu shed his maiden at first time of asking in open company. The opposition is stronger this time around but he should have come on with the experience and Gimme The Prince is also a winner of his only start.

David Thiselton

HOLLYWOODBETS SCOTTSVILLE’S FESTIVAL OF SPEED meeting is the only one in the country to stage a Jackpot of Grade 1s and this TAB exotic is always well supported.

The first leg is the Allan Robertson Championship for two-year-old fillies and Sheela, one of two possible meeting bankers, runs here. Mike Azzie called her the best filly he had trained since Harry’s Charm, who won seven of her first eight starts in the 1990s including two Grade 1s. Sheela, by new sire The United States (Galileo), has proved it by winning easily on debut despite being squeezed out at the start and then winning the Grade 2 SA Nursery against the boys, beating the talented Smorgasbord with the rest of a well performed field in a different race. In form twice SA champion jockey S’Manga Khumalo takes the ride. The chief danger could be another filly unbeaten in two starts, Sound Of Warning, who is trained by Sean Tarry, who has won a total of twelve Grade 1s at Hollywoodbets Scottsville. This filly recorded a faster time than Good Traveller, second favourite for the Gold Medallion, when winning the Strelitzia Stakes over 1100m here last time out. Stablemate Under Your Spell disappointed in the SA Fillies Nursery but had a tough draw and she had looked all class before that so can bounce back. SA Fillies Nursery winner Heaven’s Girl had been defeated twice by Under Your Spell before that but is improving and can be in the shake up. Super Siri has to be respected coming from Cape Town form. Crimson Causeway and Opening Shower are dark horses to consider. 

In the Gold Medallion Gimme A Prince, whose mother Real Princess won a Grade 1 at this meeting, hardly came off the bit when winning over course and distance on debut and won with ears pricked so he will be hard to beat and is the other possible banker. The Tarry-trained Pyromaniac makes appeal too having won both of his starts well and as one with stout breeding he should relish the testing nature of this course. It’s About Time won well second time out at Kenilworth and is the dark horse. Ambiorix, Gallic Chief and Irfaan’s Boy make most appeal of the rest.

In the SA Fillies Sprint True To Life is in devastating form and can produce her strong on the back of her high cruising speed to win. Vernichey was unlucky in the Computaform Sprint when just a length behind True To Life and she won the Allan Robertson last year so knows her way around this course. Winter Smoke finished a fine third against the boys in the Listed In Full Flight Stakes last time over 1100m here and should be right there.  Ecstatic Green bounced back to form last time and was a narrow runner up in the Allan Robertson last year. Sarah finished second to the smart Celestial Love last time and that puts her in with a shout here. Sweet Future was third in that race and has scope for improvement. Mind Reader is the dark horse as one who has blossomed into a powerhouse sprinter and although all her wins have been over 1000m she has often won going away. Vihaan’s Pie comes off a good win here. Singforafa, Gallic Princess and Tropic Sun are hard to ignore.

In the Golden Horse Sprint Battle Force is officially 2.5kg under sufferance but his merit rating is likely capped as he has been given maximum eight point raises for his last two wins. He is all power and is the one to beat. Vars Vicky has been targeted at this race and makes most appeal as the danger. However, it is as open as usual. Cartel Captain, MK’S Pride, No Laying Up, Chimichuri Run, Ultra Magnus, Bohica, Kasimir and Captain Tatters all warrant consideration.   

David Thiselton

The Grade 3 Jubilee Handicap, run over 1800m at Turffontein today, is a traditional Vodacom Durban July pointer and this year it could fall to a horse who has already booked his place, the Stuart Pettigrew-trained ExpressfromtheUS.  

He has to carry topweight but regular physiotherapy has helped bring the best out of this horse and his class could carry him to victory with topweight of 61.5kg.

Chijmes produced a late charge over 1400m in his first start for the Johan Janse van Vuuren yard so will be interesting here if the same hold up tactics are employed from a wide draw as he is more suited to this trip. 

Bingwa is drawn well over a suitable trip. He is capable of winning this, having won two of his last three starts and having finished third in the Dingaans and fifth to top three-year-olds four times this season.

Running Brave has Greg Cheyne aboard, a hint that he will ride her in the July. Her last run was all wrong as she did not break well and then took hold of the bit and over-raced. When she settles in front of smallish fields like this, she proves difficult to overtake, so she has a fine chance if bouncing back to her best.

Johnny Hero has a fair draw over a suitable trip and has snuck into the handicap with the minimum weight so he also has to be included.

Green Haze lost by a quarter of a length to Johnny Hero last time over this trip on the Inside track and is half-a-kilogram worse off if apprentice claims are ignored and 3kg worse off is they are considered. However, there is a reversal in draw fortunes as he is now drawn in pole. He has won over this course and distance before.

Jet Start is an in and out horse but if it pans out well for her she can beat fields like this. However, a wide draw does not augur well for her.

Pack Leader has become as disappointing on the Highveld as he was in the Cape and KZN but he does have the ability so is another who can’t be ignored.

Shango is a former Dingaans winner who has been beset by problems since then. However, he has his third start after a long rest and gelding so is another who is difficult to ignore. Christopher Robin has not been seen since February but is course and distance suited. He enjoys rain softened ground but is unlikely to get it according to the sunny weather forecast. Oyster King has improved but is way out at the weights and will have to improve again.