Wayne Badenhorst only as a small string under his care at his Richmond yard next door to Doug Campbell and he will be pinning his hopes on his useful mare Mark My Card in the Itsarush.co.za Handicap that heads up the first of the regular Greyville Friday night meetings that will run for the next seven months.

Mark My Card has been battling from coffin draws in her last five outings and finally cracked pole position this evening. Badenhorst has also booked the useful 2,5kg claimer Diego de Gouveia and the combination of a good draw and a claim could be enough to see the mare home.

Duncan Howells saddles Wind Singer who could prove the biggest danger to Mark My Card. She won her penultimate start on this course very easily but was then dropped back to a sprint and was caught for finishing speed. She will much prefer tonight’s trip.

Anthony Delpech, who has been confirmed to ride Met winner Smart Call in her UK debut, is beholden to the Kannemeyer yard and rides Little Chapel so Kegan de Melo gets the leg up on Wind Singer.

Harry Da Wheels can get Candice Bass-Robinson’s satellite yard off the mark in the Download The SA Racing App Handicap. The gelding has some consistent Western Cape form and makes his local and poly debut this evening. Weskus Klong has his second outing since arriving from the Cape and can improve over this extended trip while Des Egdes thinks Trendy Guy will be suited to the poly and will trouble the judges.

Scottsville was washed out last Sunday and the meeting moved to the Greyville all weather. The forecast for Sunday’s 10-race card looks more promising with today’s forecast of light rain due to clear by tomorrow. But as a consequence of last Sunday’s wash-out trainer’s looking for the turf have emptied out their yards.

Duncan Howells has a busy afternoon ahead with 16 runners to saddle but unfortunately for punters Magic Memory, a winner without a penalty and probably a cast iron exotic bet banker, has been scratched from the Electric & Pump Services Maiden.

However, A Womens Way is one of the stable stars after her victory in the Gr2 The Debutante and can give further notice of her ability when she takes on a more than useful field in the White Heart Décor Handicap where Howells also saddles the top weight in Littleblacknumber.

Although starting at long odds for The Debutante, the stable was quietly confident, the optimism tempered only by a wide draw on the tight Greyville turn. It proved to be a dog fight to the end with A Womans Way prevailing by the narrowest of margins.

On Sunday she has a handy galloping weight and although taking on some smart and seasoned older horses she has a lot in her favour.

Littleblacknumber and the lightly raced Free State are obvious dangers but are giving lumps of weight to a filly that seemingly has plenty of scope and a bigger threat could come from Call Me Winter. Mike Miller has saddled relatively few runners this past winter but is starting to step them out.  Call Me Winter landed her first two starts at short odds and found plenty of market support in a Gr3 at her next outing. That was over seven furlongs and she didn’t feature from a tricky draw.

She has not been out since June but has obvious ability and is in receipt of a kilo from A Womens Way.

The Niresh Gayadin Financial Planner open sprint has attracted some seasoned geldings and a lot could rest on how the top weight Asstar takes to blinkers and is able to lump 62kg to victory.

A month back Garth Puller’s charge was all the rage in the market for a Pinnacle Stakes but had an off day, finishing last of the 12 runners, that after winning the Umgeni Handicap and finishing third in a strong Gr2 Post Merchants line-up.

If blinkers put him back on track he rates the one to beat. Alec Forbes, who was aboard Asstar in his last three starts, partners stable companion Saint Marco but that may have more to do with the weights rather than anything else as Gavin Lerena goes to scale at around 57kg.

Saint Marco is obviously talented, winning his first two sprints before going down narrowly over a mile. However, he has not been out since November last year.

Andrew Harrison