Scottsville has received 23mm so far this morning and it is still raining steadily, with a forecast of further rain over the next few days.

As a consequence, and in a good faith move to ensure that racing goes ahead, Gold Circle has decided to move tomorrow’s Scottsville race meeting to the Greyville Polytrack, with the clear proviso that the Company reserves the right to abandon the meeting if there are too many scratchings as a result of change of venue.

As it currently stands there are only 68 runners engaged at tomorrow’s meeting and any significant drop in this number will result in the abandonment of the meeting.

ends

Cloth Of Cloud, hugely impressive on debut at Kenilworth on the day of the CTS Million Dollar, may take on the best in Johannesburg in one of the two SA Nurseries at Turffontein at the end of next month.

“Either the colts’ race or the fillies’ – we will see which one,” said Sean Tarry yesterday. After her win in January, Tarry expressed concerns about the temperament of the R2.2 million Captain Al half-sister to Silver Mountain but he said yesterday: “She seems to have it under control.”

Cloth Of Cloud scored by six lengths at Kenilworth and, while the form has not worked out – the third and fourth have been beaten since, she won with incredible ease.

By Michael Clower

Picture: Sean Tarry 

Trainer Gareth van Zyl showed a rare display of emotion at Scottsville yesterday and the horse which had caused it was the highly promising Australian-bred two-year-old filly Mygirldownunder.

Anton Marcus (Nkosi Hlophe)

Meanwhile, Michael Roberts now looks to have two strings to his bow for the Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Sprint as his Argonaut gelding Natal obliterated a strong Graduation Plate field over 1200m.

Mygirldownunder was backed into 12/10 in her debut over 1000m in yesterday’s first race and never looked in danger of defeat under Anton Marcus.

She had the odds-on favourite Ebtihaal off the bit a long way out and just had to be shaken up to win by 4,75 lengths. She was receiving only 0,5kg in actual weight from the runner up, whose 2,5kg claimer alleviated some of the 3kg penalty she had earned for her impressive debut win.

Van Zyl had followed this filly’s pin-hooking auction in last year’s Emperor’s Palace Ready To Run Sale with keen interest, as she had been consigned by his chief client Brian Burnard. Upon seeing her knocked down for a sales-topping R2 million, he presumed she would soon have new connections and a new trainer. However, he was overcome to discover Burnard had bought her back and was sending her back to him.

Gareth also thanked his father Gavin for allowing him the opportunity to train all of Burnard’s horses on his own under the banner of the now compartmentalised Van Zyl yard.

“It has changed my life,” he said.

Marcus vouched for the amount of work which had gone into preparing Mygirldownunder for her all important debut, describing her as perhaps too precocious, meaning she had at one stage been headstrong. He had even on occasion seen Gareth himself aboard her on the training tracks.

Mygirldownunder (Nkosi Hlophe)

Burnard has had the biggest monetary win of his career since Gareth took over the reins, landing the R2,5 million Lanzerac Ready To Run Stakes over 1400m at Kenilworth with Budapest last November. Mygirldownunder could well repeat the dose next November. However, races like the Gr 1 Allan Robertson are likely to be on the agenda before then.

Later, Natal showed high cruising speed, allowing Brandon Lerena to sit still on him in front. He came away to beat the decent Bunker Bill by four lengths, despite conceding him 3,5 kg.

Natal had shown a blistering turn of foot from off the pace when winning his previous start over 1000m by 2,25 lengths off a merit rating of 96, so is by no means a one-dimensional sort.

The Nick Labuschagne and Benji Jonsson-owned Cheveley Stud-bred gelding was knocked down for just R60,000 at the KZN Suncoast Yearling Sale. This was despite her USA-bred dam having produced a number of winners, including a Listed winner. The cheap price might have been due to sire Argonaut having fallen completely out of favour.

Roberts’ older sprinter Muscatt broke the Scottsville 1000m course record last weekend and the yard, which had gone through a bleak spell, has turned the corner in no uncertain terms.

By David Thiselton

National Jockeys log leader S’Manga Khumalo’s six-timer at Turffontein on Saturday took him further clear in the title race, while Sean Tarry’s five-timer provided further proof he could dominate the National Trainers Championship for some time.

S’Manga Khumalo (Liesl King)

Tarry landed both Juvenile features on the card and said this was without doubt the best crop of two-year-olds he had ever had, at least as far as their performances in juvenile races had gone.

Tarry has won all six of the Juvenile Fillies races he has contested this season, with five different horses.

Var filly Exquisite Touch became the first of them on Saturday to land a feature and her 1,3 length victory in the Listed Ruffian Stakes over 1000m looked effortless.

Tarry regarded Exquisite Touch as the standout of the Emperor’s Palace Select Yearling Sale and felt fortunate to clinch her for only R350,000. Her Elliodor dam Lavender Sky’s four wins were all in the weaker centre of Port Elizabeth and she had not produced much from a few foals before Exquisite Touch, which perhaps explains the relative lack of interest from buyers.

The yard’s Trippi colt Flying Myth was workmanlike in winning the Listed Storm Bird Stakes over 1000m on his debut, but he did show pace and Tarry was not sure whether he would stay much further. This colt will likely be close to Tarry’s heart being out of the  talented and speedy mare Mana Mou, whom he trained to five wins without her ever quite fulfilling her potential.

Both of Saturday’s juvenile feature winners were owned by Chris van Niekerk.

Sean Tarry (Liesl King)

Tarry’s other juvenile filly winners this season have been Water Lily Lake (Trippi), Cloth Of Cloud (Captain Al), Safe Harbour (Elusive Fort) and Kahula (Kahal).

He said it was too early to tell which route they would all take.

Tarry and Khumalo also won the Non-Black Type Gold Rush Sprint over 1100m on Saturday with the classy Western Winter colt Buckland.

He said, at least until gelding, Buckland would likely stick to 1200m and the Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Sprint was a possibility.

He added Kahal filly Intergalactic, who relished the Standside 1600m on Saturday, might take her chances in the Gr 1 Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Classic over 1800m.

Tarry has had a couple of five-timers before, which is his record number of winners in one meeting.

By close of play on Sunday, Khumalo was ten winners clear of Anthony Delpech in the title race and he added 3 more winners at Flamingo Park yesterday.

By David Thiselton

Captain America will have his first race since finishing third in the J & B Met in a pinnacle at Turffontein on Saturday as he bids to repeat last year’s HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut win.

Brett Crawford said: “He is with the Mike de Kock yard in Jo’burg at the moment and goes in a 1 450m race on Saturday before running in the Horse Chestnut on April 2.”

Captain America (Liesl King)

Crawford travelled to Melbourne to buy one horse at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale for the second successive year. Twelve months ago he bought the AUS$ 560 000 sale-topper for Ridgemont Stud and this time he picked up a Fastnet Rock filly out of a full sister to Holy Roman Emperor for AUS$ 300 000 for the same operation.

De Kock, Joey Ramsden, Johan Janse van Vuuren, Candice Robinson and Derek Brugman were also in action. Ramsden will train two of the three Brugman purchased on behalf of Markus Jooste and Mrs Robinson the third. She bought two others and was also acting for Marsh Shirtliff, Bryn Ressell, James Drew and Mike Fullard.

Jooste, for whom Brugman also bought two to stay in Australia, was among the sellers as well and sold four by the 2012 Golden Horse winner Delago Deluxe who was bred in Australia and stands at the Newhaven Park Stud in New South Wales.

Brugman said: “Delago Deluxe has been very well received in Australia and his yearlings are selling fantastically well.”

Jooste, the leading owner in South Africa for each of the last eight seasons, is now part-owner of a significant number of horses with the great Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien at Ballydoyle, one of the most impressive and most successful training establishments in the world.

By Michael Clower