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

Richard Fourie, who won the 2014 Vodacom Durban July for Justin Snaith on Legislate, has been booked by his old boss for the plum ride on Cape Derby winner It’s My Turn.

Jonathan Snaith said: “Piere Strydom was originally booked but he is unable to ride anywhere close to the weight of 53kg. Justin is very excited to have Richard up.”

The Daily News runner-up will be Fourie’s sixth July ride. He had his first in 2007 and, bar Legislate, all his mounts so far have finished unplaced.

Michael Clower

Anton Marcus, as possibly the country’s most sought after jockey, surprisingly has only two rides in the jackpot of Gr 1s at Scottsville on Saturday.

One of them is aboard the always vaunted Joey Ramsden-trained five-year-old entire Red Ray, who makes his comeback from a 16-month layoff in the Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Sprint, a race he finished second in two years ago.

Marcus looks to have a top ride in the Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion aboard the Vaughan Marshall-trained colt Always In Charge.

Red Ray (Liesl King)

Red Ray made the long sojourn via Mauritius and England to Dubai after his runner up finish at Scottsville in 2014 but only ended up having one run overseas, finishing a 6,25 length seventh in the Gr 2 Al Fahidi Fort over 1400m on the turf, despite starting 2/1 favourite.

Marcus said about Red Ray’s well-being at Summerveld, “He is doing fairly well and I am looking forward to riding him.”

Markus Jooste’s racing manager Derek Brugman elaborated and said due to previous soundness issues they had not pushed Red Ray to the limit in training, so could only have him about 80% fit. He added, “We would have preferred to have a run under the belt.” However, he said the Western Winter entire was as fit as they could have him under the circumstances, as well as sound, and connections were hoping for a good run. He runs off the identical merit rating of 108 he had in the race as a three-year-old and carries 56kg from a middle draw of eight.

The Captain Al colt Always In Charge, who like Red Ray is owned by Markus and Ingrid Jooste, lived up to his name in his second start over 1200m at Kenilworth on April 23. He was cruising at the head of affairs until the business end where he pulled away impressively to win by 3,25 lengths under MJ Byleveld. Anthony Delpech, who rides the Dean Kannemeyer-trained Paperback Writer in Saturday’s race, confirmed he had been impressed by Always In Charge, having been on the runner up that day, Cock-A-Hoop.  Kannemeyer only mentioned Always In Charge when talking about the horses to beat in the Gold Medallion.

Marcus confirmed, “He is a nice horse.”

Marshall has a fine record in Scottsville’s two-year-old Gr 1s and last won the Gold Medallion in 2009 with Var colt Villandry.

Marcus has a prolific recent record in the Gold Medallion, winning it with Seventh Rock in 2007, Warm White Night in 2008, Delago Deluxe in 2011, Guiness in 2014 and Seventh Plain last year. All of them were owned by Jooste.

By David Thiselton

High-flying trainer Mike Azzie has a strong hand in all four of the Gr 1 1200m races at Scottsville on Saturday.

The most interesting of them is Oomph, who was bought out of a Port Elizabeth yard by Azzie’s chief clients Adriaan and Rika Van Vuuren and runs in the Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion from draw eight.

Mike Azzie (Nkosi Hlophe)

This former Alan Greef-trained Tiger Ridge colt has obliterated all before him in three sprint events at Fairview, including when giving weight away to all bar one runner in the Listed Epol Dahlia Plate over 1200m last time out and winning easing up by 6,25 lengths.

Oomph has been at Summerveld for a week. Azzie has only given him two half pace workouts to date and he will have a sprint up tomorrow (Thursday). He said, “He is a very good looking horse. I have kept Aldo (Domeyer) on, because he knows him well.”

However, Azzie also makes the stable companion, Var colt Rivarine, a “massive runner”. He pointed out he had finished just 0,9 lengths behind the much vaunted and unbeaten filly Cloth Of Cloud in the Gr 1 SA Nursery over 1160m at Turffontein last time out, despite initially tacking over towards the standside from a low draw and then tacking back in again in the closing stages.

He said, “He has been moving well.”

He is drawn seven and Karl Zechner retains the ride.

Azzie runs the temperamental Splendid Garden in the Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Sprint and he must have a shout carrying a nice galloping weight of 54kg under JP van der Merwe. He is drawn high in 13, but horses have been winning from all draws at Scottsville lately, especially when the inside rail has been moved outward, as it will be on Saturday.

Aldo Domeyer (Nkosi Hlophe)

Azzie revealed the four-year-old Black Minnaloushe gelding had been coming off a virus before his below par penultimate start. His staying on 6,25 length fifth in the Computaform Sprint last time out had thus been a “cracker”, especially considering he had jumped from an unfavourable low draw.

Azzie said, “He is doing very well, his coat is glowing and if he behaves in the pens he will run a big race.”

Azzie has top sprinting filly Lazer Star in the Gr 1 City Of Pietermaritzburg Sprint, but revealed the Van Vuurens had bought her out of the Ormond Ferraris yard chiefly for breeding purposes and this might well be her last run.

He said Ferraris had done an amazing job with her considering her feet problems. Azzie and his team have worked on the few niggles she still has and he hoped she would run well for them. The jockey who knows her best, Weichong Marwing, is aboard the Toreador speedster from draw nine in a race where every horse seems to be running for second behind Carry On Alice.

Azzie admitted Trippi filly Announcing Rain had a tough task in the Allan Robertson Championship, but reckoned she was better than her last run when sent clear over 1400m and, not surprisingly, fading. She has been doing well at Summerveld and the yard are taking their chances and hoping she earns black type.

By David Thiselton