Ready To Attack can live up to his name and return to form in the Racing.It’s A Rush Handicap at Kenilworth tomorrow.

For a horse good enough to win the Langerman, the Justin Snaith gelding has had a disappointing second season even though he was less than six lengths off the winner in the Cape Guineas and fifth in the Winter Classic.

What could swing things in his favour tomorrow is the give in the ground. It was soft when he won the Langerman and, while today’s rain is not expected to amount to a great deal, it should ensure there is plenty of give in the ground.

Cavallino, who beat all except runaway winner Search Party over 200m less last time, keeps going close and is the forecast favourite. The sahorseracing.co.za computer forecast says the Mike Bass runner will beat Ready To Attack by a good three lengths with Blackmore third.

However his chance is not helped by a wide draw while the well-drawn Blackmore ran well in a 1 200m Pinnacle last time despite losing ground at the start and must rate a big danger.

In his last three starts top weight Tomba La Bomba has stood mulishly, losing many lengths, when the gates opened. Vaughan Marshall has taken him over from the Bass stable and has decided to run him without the usual blinkers.

Risky Rambo stands out in the opening Welcome Maiden Juvenile after going so close on debut at Durbanville. Despite losing ground at the start and being hampered in the closing stages, the Greg Ennion colt had odds-on Cape Horn almost a neck behind with Secret Idea half a length further back. Both these two had the advantage of at least one previous run.

Any market move for newcomer Duc De Bourbon would be significant – Joey Ramsden has had more Cape Town two-year-old winners than any other trainer this season – while Illdrinktothat’s good fifth last month suggests he will be a real threat.

Red Light Girl has run on well in the closing stages after starting favourite in both her races but Scandola gets marginal preference in the Infiniti Insurance Maiden Juvenile. She was backed down to favouritism on debut and had the useful Whispering Light over a length and a half behind.

Diva Fever makes most appeal in the Guthrie.Colananni Attormeys Maiden but watch out for Gold Force. She has shown improvements in her last two runs and Glen Puller has now decided to fit blinkers.

Charisma is also first-time blinkered and that may be enough to take the Designamite Incorporated Maiden from Come On Inn and Dontknowhy.

Michael Clower

Mike Bass’ Summerveld assistant trainer Robert Fayd’Herbe made the two mares Fly By Night and Lanner Falcon big runners in Saturday’s Gr 1 Mercury Sprint, while admitting Night Trip was “taking his chances” over a trip too sharp.

They have all been doing well at Summerveld and Fayd’Herbe said, “Fly By Night has been doing well in KZN this season, but is drawn wide (12) so will have to come from off them. There is not much between her and Lanner Falcon.”

Fly By Night (pictured) ran on well in the Gr 2 Post Merchants over this 1200m course and distance a month ago for second, albeit from a good draw. In last year’s Mercury Sprint she ran on well for fourth despite being caught wide behind a slow pace early. She will be out to reclaim the crown she won two years ago when the race was run at Clairwood for the last time.

Lanner Falcon (Liesl King)

Lanner Falcon was a touch unlucky in the Gr 1 City Of Pietermaritzburg Sprint over this trip at Scottsville when having to be switched outward considerably to get a clear run. She only finished two lengths behind Mercury Sprint contender Real Princess there and was only 0,75 lengths behind Fly By Night. From a fine daw of four she has a chance on Saturday at a course where her fine turn of foot is a valuable asset. She last ran on Vodacom Durban July day in the Gr 1 Jonsson Workwear Garden Province Stakes where she was cramped for room close to home and not disgraced. Fayd’herbe expected her to come from about midfield on Saturday.

Officially both mares have a tough task on paper as Laner Falcon is merit rated 107 and Fly By Night 105, way below the 121 rating of Talktothestars.

Fayd’herbe said about the 103 merit rated six-year-old Night Trip, who jumps from a plum draw of three, “It is a bit short for him, but he hasn’t run for a while so is fresh. We had to take our chances from the draw and he will then go for the Darley Arabian on Super Saturday (which he bids to win for the third time in succession). He seems to like a right hand bend and could maybe sneak into the quartet.”

Brandon Lerena is aboard Fly By Night, Stuart Randolph rides Lanner Falcon and Callan Murray rides Night Trip.

David Thiselton

Dean Kannemeyer believes his Gr 1 City Of Pietermaritzburg Sprint winner Real Princess deserves a crack at the Gr 1 Mercury Sprint against the boys and has freshened up his other runner Captain Alfredo.

He said, “Real Princess has got the credentials. I said before the Scottsville Sprint if Carry On Alice could win it then on form so could she (having finished on top of Carry On Alice in the Gr 2 Southern Cross Stakes) and she then proved it.”

The beautifully bred Trippi filly also beat Fly By Night and Lanner Falcon in the City Of Peiermaritzburg Sprint and Kannemeyer rated that pair as ”very good fillies.”

Real Princess (Nkosi Hlophe)

He continued, “I stayed out of the Gr 2 Diadem Stakes and Lanner Falcon and Fly By Night beat the boys there and finished one-two (six months ago in December). Real Princess is a better horse as a late four-year-old than she was six months go.”

She will be suited to Greyville as Kannemeyer pointed out she had “fantastic cruising speed” and she also showed at Scottsville how good her turn of foot was.

He said about Captain Alfredo, “He’s a tough campaigner and was a little below his very best in his last two starts. He found a bit of interference in the straight last time in the Post Merchants and before that in the Tsogo Sun Sprint didn’t quite finish, so I have freshened him up now. He is a bull of a horse and is tough and sound, but he hasn’t got a great draw.”

Real Princess has a good draw of six with Anthony Delpech retaining the ride and Lyle Hewitson rides Captain Alfredo from draw eleven.

Kannemeyer concluded, “They are both very well, but it’s a very strong race.”

Kannemeyer said his first-timer in race one over 1600m, The Slade, who is a big colt by Philantropist and a half-brother to Gr 1 winner Afrikaburn, would likely need a run or two for the penny to drop  but felt he could develop into a promising sort.

David Thiselton

Vodacom Durban July-winning trainer Joey Ramsden has no doubt Red Ray is as good as he was before leaving for overseas two years ago and is happy with his work ahead of Saturday’s Gr 1 Mercury Sprint.

However, Ramsden does have a little doubt whether running the five-year-old Western Winter entire in first-time blinkers from a tricky draw is the right thing to do for obvious reasons (he could end up caught wide.) However, it is difficult to tell where the pace will come from in the race and it could pay to have him handier than he was in the Gr 2 Post Merchants.

Red Ray ran a good fourth in the Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Sprint, despite likely needing it in his first run since his only disappointing run overseas a year-and-a-half before. That run is one reason Ramsden believes he still retains his ability.

In the Post Merchants he had traffic problems in the straight and could have got closer. Anton Marcus stays aboard from a draw of nine.

David Thiselton

Trainer Justin Snaith said his Gr 1 Mercury Sprint contender Heartland had been doing very well at home since gelding and he made him the dark horse in Saturday’s weight-for-age 1200m race.

He said, “He won very well last time at Scottsville over 1400m. He is a brilliant 1400m horse so this is a bit on the sharp side. But there is a slight hill at Greyville which makes it more testing. It is certainly a lot harder than the Scottsville 1200m. He is drawn well and it was very important to have a good jockey, so we are very happy to have Weichong Marwing aboard. I think the pace will be quite fast and he will come from just off them.”

The four-year-old Dynasty gelding displayed his liking for Greyville when winning the Gr 3 Byerley Turk over 1400m at Greyville last year. He was handy in a slow run race there and won the sprint for home, which augurs well for his chances on Saturday. He then disappointed in the KRA Guineas and was laid off for the rest of the season.

He finished second to Act Of War in the Gr 3 Matchem Stakes over 1400m at Durbanville in his reappearance last October and then won the Listed Jet Master Stakes over 1600m at Kenilworth in December two runs later. However, he disappointed in both the L’Ormarin’s Queen’s Plate and Calulo Mile, so the gelding was clearly necessary. This always highly regarded sort is indeed an intriguing runner, despite having a lot to do on paper off an official merit rating of 106. He jumps from draw two.

Snaith has one other runner on the day, three-year-old Dynasty gelding Shenyang, who runs in the eighth over 1000m on the poly. He said this horse had been doing “better” at home. He pointed out the horse had “run away” down to the start last time so that run could be ignored.

Shenyang has speed and finished just 1,5 lengths behind Captain Swarovski over 1200m at Kenilworth in January with Piere Strydom up, albeit when receiving 2,5kg. Now off a four point lower merit rating, pole position draw and Strydom back aboard, he can’t be ignored despite having finished last in both of his KZN outings to date.

David Thiselton