Assistant trainer Gareth van Zyl and owner Brian “Buffalo Bill” Burnard will contest the Gr 1 Allan Robertson Championship over 1200m at Scottsville on Saturday with the comfortable debutant winner Poster Girl.

Van Zyl said, “Having just had one run is against her, but she does have ability. The form of her win is not strong and the time of the race was worrying, but she deserves to take her place and can improve. We won’t be expecting to beat the big guns but expect her to be competitive.”

The Ashaawes filly led from start to finish to win a Greyville 1200m Maiden Juvenile Plate for fillies by 3,25 lengths. However, her official time was a pedestrian 76,63 seconds, 2,75 seconds slower than the Maiden Juvenile Plate run on the same day. Furthermore, the runner up Roy Is Second was well beaten next time out over 1400m.

However, jockey Warren Kennedy said, “She won with a lot in hand. She is doing very well.” Kennedy stays aboard and they are drawn two.

The yard’s original chief hope for this race, Mygirldownunder, has been given time off to “grow and strengthen” and the yard “will play it by feel” in deciding when to bring her back.

David Thiselton

Maestro Summerveld trainer Dennis Drier has an enviable record in the Scottsville Festival Of Speed meeting Gr 1 events and, apart from winning five of the last six renewals of the Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion, his yard will also be defending the Tsogo Sun Sprint crown.

Barbosa (Nkosi Hlophe)

Drier, like all great trainers, pays acute attention to detail and expects high standards from his staff and stable jockeys, so his Gr 1 contestants will invariably be tuned to the minute.

He said he did not have a preference between Barbosa and Guiness in the Tsogo Sun Sprint and added both had been “doing well.” Seventh Plain, on the other hand, had suffered a setback which had forced his comeback from a layoff to be put back a couple of weeks.

On May 22 he ran below his best in a Pinnacle event over 1000m at Scottsville, finishing 4,05 lengths back, but he was doing some eye-catching late work under a sympathetic ride. He should do a lot better on Saturday and, as a brilliant winner over course and distance in last year’s Gold Medallion, can’t be discounted despite the less than ideal preparation.

Assistant trainer Stuart Ferrie believes Barbosa is “better than he has ever been”. This six-year-old Captain Al gelding has certainly blossomed and, having remained on a merit rating of 108 after his excellent third in the Gr 1 weight for age Computaform Sprint, he must be a big runner. Former Gold Medallion winner Guiness has to be a runner too having scraped into the handicap with bottom weight of 52kg.

Stable jockey Sean Veale is aboard Barbosa from draw 10, while Seventh Plain has Aldo Domeyer aboard from draw 15 and Guiness is drawn 17 with Callan Murray up.

Seventh Plain (Nkosi Hlophe)

Drier said about unbeaten Gold Medallion hopeful Horse Guards, “He is doing nicely and this will be a nice test for him.”

Drier said it was hard to compare this Horse Chestnut colt to the yard’s previous Gold Medallion winners.

Punters and pundits always look out for Drier’s Gold Medallion candidates in the early part of the year and a valid contender seemed a long time in coming this time around. However, Horse Guards’ debut, a five length romp on the Greyville poly over 1000m on April 29, was actually not as close up to the Gold Medallion as Captain Of All’s debut in 2013.

Horse Guards ran over the Gold Medallion course and distance on May 22 in his second start and, after showing plenty of pace, pulled away to win impressively by 2,25 lengths.

This year’s Gold Medallion renewal has been made weaker by the scratching of the impressive Red Chesnut Road, but there are still some exciting prospects involved, such as Oomph, Always In Charge and Rivarine. However, few would bet against Drier making it six out of seven and seven in total, having also won it way back in 1990 with Spook And Diesel.

By David Thiselton

Leading Vodacom Durban July fancy Marinaresco will stay in Cape Town for another fortnight as Mike Bass puts the final touches to his preparation.

Marinaresco (Liesl King)

The gelding is second favourite with some layers and Candice Robinson said: “The horse won’t travel to Durban until a week before the July gallops  (June 23).”

The Winter Guineas and Classic winner has worn blinkers in his last three races, starting with his third to Its My Turn in the Investec Cape Derby in January, and he will again wear them in the great race on July 2. Last year’s winner Power King was the first blinkered horse to land the July since Eyeofthetiger (also trained by Dean Kannemeyer) in 2006.

Most horses that wear blinkers do so to help them concentrate on the race and often because they have not been putting it all in. But the reason for fitting them to Marinaresco is slightly different – “Otherwise he wants to fight with other horses!” Mrs Robinson explained.

Ante-post betting for the Gr1 Vodacom Durban July courtesy of www.trackandball.co.za

4-1 Black Arthur; 13-2 Bela-Bela; 7-1 Marinaresco; 8-1 Its My Turn; 10-1 Abashiri; 11-1 Legal Eagle; 12-1 Solid Speed, Rabada, St Tropez; 13-1 French Navy; 15-1 Mac De Lago, Deo Juvente, The Conglomerate; 28-1 Mambo Mime; 30-1 Rocketball; 33-1 Paterfamilias, Negroamaro, Ten Gun Salute, Dynamic; 40-1 Master Sabina; 45-1 Samurai Blade, New Predator, Judicial; 50-1 Trophy Wife, Balance Sheet; 66-1 Prospect Strike; 80-1 The Centenary; 125-1 Punta Arenas; 150-1 Olma, Saratoga Dancer, Bankable Teddy, Romany Prince, Master Switch; 200/1 upwards the others

By Michael Clower

In form trainer Dean Kannemeyer’s Tsogo Sun Sprint contender Captain Alfredo is interestingly weighted and could be his yard’s best chance of a Gr 1 winner at Scottsville’s Festival Of Speed meeting on Saturday.

However, he is also bullish about City Of Pietermaritzburg Fillies Sprint runner Real Princess and hopeful about Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion contestant Paperback Writer.

Kannemeyer’s first comment about Captain Al four-year-old gelding Captain Alfredo was, “He carries a bit of pudding.” Connections had hoped to get him into the race carrying closer to 52kg or 53kg but instead he has 56,5kg to contend with. However, on the bright side, his merit rating of 109 is almost certainly capped.

He beat line horse Ernie by a wide margin of 4,75 lengths last time out in the Listed In Full Flight Stakes over 1100m at Scottsville. He was given a maximum eight point raise in accordance with the new guidelines for a Listed handicap race winner, but without the restriction it would likely have been more.

Captain Alfredo (Nkosi Hlophe)

He will face In Full Flight runner up Captain’s Causeway on only 0,5kg worse terms, despite a 1,75 length beating, and he will be 3,5kg worse off with Ernie. On paper he should have the beating of both of them again, although the In Full Flight was run in “very soft” going, which tends to cause fields to be more spread out.

On the other hand, Exelero is 1,5kg better off with Captain Alfredo from their last meeting in mid-April over the Tsogo Sun Sprint course and distance, despite beating the latter by 1,25 lengths.

However, Kannemeyer believed there was a possible explanation for that run and said, “It seemed faster down the outside that day (Exelero stuck to the outside), and we followed Natal down the inside.”

Kannemeyer has been pleased with Captain Alfredo at Summerveld and said, “He is a tough, solid horse and is sound-sound, so he takes his races very well.”

Jockey Anthony Delpech worked him on Tuesday morning and confirmed he was “doing well”.

Delpech has already won five Graded races this SA Champions Season and rides Captain Alfredo from draw 11.

Real Princess (Nkosi Hlophe)

Kannemeyer pointed out Real Princess had been squeezed at the start before running on to win the Gr 3 Poinsettia impressively over the City Of Pietermaritzburg Fillies Sprint course and distance on May 1. That was despite it having been her first start since finishing a 0,8 length third to Carry On Alice in the Gr 2 Southern Cross Stakes over 1000m in late December.

He said, “She has got ability and has been thriving since that last run. Carry On Alice is probably the best sprinter in the country, but if Real Princess puts her best foot forward she is going to be very competitive, you could see in her last win how she turned it on.”

On the downside the four-year-old Trippi filly will be 2kg worse off with Carry On Alice from the Southern Cross Stakes and 2kg worse off with Lanner Falcon for a mere 0,25 length beating in the Poinsettia. She is drawn eight with Delpech up.

Kannemeyer said he had probably made a mistake running Paperback Writer at Scottsville on debut around the bend over 1400m, but had wanted to take advantage of a good draw. He over raced in the early stages of a messy affair and was never in it.

In his second start the well-bred Var colt, who is out of Gr 1 SA Fillies Guineas runner up Classique Story, showed pace throughout over 1400m on the Greyville poly and after opening up a big lead in the straight held on to win by a comfortable 1,75 lengths, albeit against a moderate field.

Kannemeyer said, “He will be better over 1200m at this stage as he has so much speed and I am not just running him for the sake of it.” Delpech is up from draw five.

David Thiselton

This year’s top SA Champions Season trainer to date, Justin Snaith, has only one runner at Scottsville’s Festival of Speed meeting on Saturday.

He said about the Captain Al filly Victoria Lavelle, who runs in the weight for age (wfa) Gr 1 City Of Pietermaritzburg Sprint over 1200m, “She is doing very well at home. She is a beautiful filly and is an out and out sprinter. She will be a nice horse for trifectas and quartets.”

However, he believed, especially being a three-year-old, she had a tough task at the weights.

She did beat City Of Pietermaritzburg Sprint contender Real Princess by 1,1 lengths in the Listed Laisserfaire Stakes over 1100m at Kenilworth in December, but was 2kg better off than wfa on that occasion.

In her first KZN start last time out, in the Gr 3 Poinsettia Stakes over 1200m, she was beaten only 0,3 lengths by Real Princess on wfa terms and a short-head by Lanner Falcon on terms 2kg better than weight for age. However, that was her first run for four months.

Victoria Lavelle is drawn six on Saturday and Piere Strydom rides.

Meanwhile, the connections have not yet decided whether Saturday’s Snaith-trained Gr 1 Woolavington 2000 winner Bela-Bela will take her place in the Vodacom Durban July.

David Thiselton