Trainer Yvette Bremner sends three raiders from Port Elizabeth to Turffontein for the Sansui Summer Cup meeting and all three of them, Copper Parade, Al Don Cumarco and Eros’s Girl, are interesting runners.

The horses leave Fairview today for Johannesburg.

Copper Parade prefers fast ground and will be scratched if there is too much rain, but he should be alright as there is 3mm forecast for tomorrow (Thursday), 10mm for Friday and 10mm for Saturday. The now eight-year-old gelding by Lecture has become a bit cantankerous and Bremner admitted his performance would depend on his mood. However, she added that he had given Anthony Delpech a good feel last time out in an International Jockeys race, a Pinnacle Stakes race over 1000m at Fairview when running on strongly for third, and added Delpech had said he would want to ride him in Johannesburg if not retained for any other ride.

As it happens Delpech will be riding his guv’nor Mikede Kock’s Toro Rosso and instead Karl Zechner is aboard Copper Parade. Bremner also pointed out that Coppeer Parade loves travelling and has always run well away from home. Another plus to his chances is that as a horse with a high cruising speed and an electric turn of foot when at his best, the likely strong pace of the big field Merchants will play into his hands and, furthermore, he has carried 60kg and more in his last 18 runs and now has a featherweight 53kg on his back. The outside part of the straight is often favourable on big Turffonteinrace days so his draw of 18 looks to be another plus. There is no doubting his ability, as he won the Gr 1 Computaform Sprint over 1000m at this course two seasons ago, downing the like of the brilliant Via Africa. Copper Parade is a potential value each/way bet on the day.

Five-year-old Captain Al gelding Al Don Cumarco will also be a runner, although it remains to be seen whether his low draw of five will have any affect will on his chances. Bremner believes national champion jockey Gavin Lerena will be the perfect rider him and said, “He is a big horse and needs to be balanced, so I think Gavin will have him balanced before he flies. His last win was full of merit.” In that last race, the same one Copper Parade ran in, he didn’t break well from a low draw and sat at the back towards the inside and eventually had to be switched towards the outside of horses to find a run. Just as he was going forward he was sandwiched between two horses, affecting his momentum, but then picked himself up again to win going away under S’Manga Khumalo. The big bay ran in the weight for age Gr 1 Mercury Sprint over 1200m at Greyville and interestingly beat Trip To Heaven at level weights as he now receives 3,5kg from him. However, Trip To Heaven, who is defending his crown on Saturday, was coming back from a six month break in The Mercury and has clearly improved since then.

Eros’s Girl, who was rated by former trainer Justin Snaith, is a talented but headstrong sort. The four-year-old Captain Al Filly has only been with Bremner for three weeks and she said she had been “perfectly behaved” so far. However, the yard will still be taking a pony with her up to Johannsburg. Eros’s Girl’s last two wins, both at Fairview, were over 1800m and 2000m respectively. However, she won both of her first two career starts easily over 1200m, at which stage she looked set for big things. Bremner believes she still has the necessary speed to compete in Saturday’s Gr 3 Magnolia Handicap over 1160m. In fact, considering she pulled badly in her last start over 1600m at Kenilworth when finishing 4,55 lengths behind Fear Not in a handicap, the sprint might be what she is looking for. She has also fallen to an attractive merit rating of 87, the first time she has been below 91 in her career. Zechner rides from a draw of 12.

By David Thiselton

Picture: Copper Parade (JC Photos)

Distribution of weight would appear to be the key to Anton Marcus’s extraordinary ability to get horses fast away from the pens – an ability that has puzzled onlookers, profited punters and been the envy of rivals.

The four-time champion does it race after race, seemingly without having to ask his mounts to use up valuable energy, and they are invariably in a handy position within 200m no matter how badly they are drawn.

Close examination reveals that he doesn’t jizz up his mounts either in the pens or before going into them. In fact he sits remarkably still but when the gates open he rises high in the irons, bringing his weight well forward over the horse’s withers.

After no more than a couple of nudges with his hands his horse is running freely and easily – and doing so fast enough for him to be able to position it where he wants.

Most jockeys, finding that their horse is not going fast enough to get a positon, don’t rise at all and instead crouch low in the saddle and start pushing hard. This brings their weight significantly further back than it would be using the Marcus method.

It will be interesting to see if any of them switch to the Marcus way of starting and how successful they are at it.

By Michael Clower

Picture: Anton Marcus

Trainer Dean Kannemeyer has the five-year-old Silvano gelding Power King as well as he had him before his famous victory in the Vodacom Durban July in the build up to Saturday’s Gr 1 Sansui Summer Cup over 2000m at Turffontein.

Power King will travel from Summerveld to Johannesburg on Friday and the one concern could be the altitude adjustment. It is generally agreed that horses raiding the Highveld from the coast will struggle at distances beyond a mile, but what is often ignored is that Summerveld is already a third of the altitude of Johannesburg and this could explain why horses raiding from that particular KZN centre have been successful in middle distance and staying races at Turffontein in the past.

Power King had an excellent seasonal reappearance, when flying up for second in a Pinnacle Stakes event over 1200m on the Greyville turf on November 1.

Kannemeyer has not wanted to over exert him in his preparation and his next serious bit of work was last Thursday, when he had a gallop over 1200m on the Summerveld grass. “Boom, he was ready,” said Kannemeyer, who added big race jockey Stuart Randolph had also been pleased with the workout.

Power King has a plum draw of five and was only given a three point raise for his July win. He will still have to shoulder second topweight of 58,5kg off his 109 merit rating in what looks to be an ultra competitive race, so it is not going to be easy, but he is the fancy of a number of pundits and is the second favourite at 6/1 with Betting World.

There is about 23mm of rain forecast this week up to and including Saturday. Kannemeyer pointed out, “Power King won the Winter Guineas in soft going, finished second in the Winter Derby in the mud and won a Scottsville race on firm ground, so he can handle all conditions. He is a genuine horse with a big heart and his preparation has gone like a dream, he’s very well.”

Kannemeyer, whose main base is at Milnerton in Cape Town, has been with Power King at his Summerveld satellite yard this week.

By David Thiselton

Picture: Power King (Nkosi Hlophe)

If there is a surprise packet in the Gauteng SANSUI Summer Cup then Zimbabwe champion Yer-Maan could fit that bill and raise a few eyebrows at Turffontein on Saturday.

Imagine the scene with the St John Gray-trained gelding, Horse Of The Year in Zimbabwe in 2014-15, belying the 66-1 odds currently readily available about him with Betting World.

But for that fairy-tale scenario to have even a chance of developing, Gray is adamant the Quinton Riddle-ridden Yer-Maan must enjoy a strong pace from gate to wire, and he is conscious of the fact that in recent Summer Cups those who galloped handily off a slow pace were able to assume their positions at the business end.

St John Gray

Gray, who’s Dancewiththedevil plundered the race in 2011, opined: “My horse will start at long odds, but providing the pace is on from the start he will finish his race off powerfully.”

The trainer is not slow to criticise some of the rides given Yer-Maan in the past but has faith in Riddle, whose family are part of racing folklore in Zim. He added: “We have brought Quinton Riddle down from Borrowdale and he knows the horse well. The key is that this horse needs to be ridden in a specific fashion.

“Hopefully Quinton will ride the necessary race. Providing the pace is on and it doesn’t rain he’ll run well.”

Yer-Maan is a complete roughie with the majority of judges at 66-1 but Gray doesn’t think he is actually too far short in ability of his merit rating of 104.

He went on: “South African pundits have us believe he’s 10 pounds (5kg) inferior but I’m not certain that’s an accurate assessment.
In truth, his actual mark is somewhere between two (1kg) and five pounds (2.5kg) lower.

“Against that he’s an older horse and stronger these days. A lot of mine don’t like to be bustled early and are given an easy time after the start, and unfortunately guys here believe you need to be handy no matter what.

‘‘So if we don’t have a pace and they dawdle on Saturday we might be left a little flat-footed. On the other hand if they go quick and we have a strong pace he could finish off well, just like Dancewiththedevil did.’’
– Neil Morrice for TabNews

Most punters missed Albarakah when he scored at 25-1 at Kenilworth 11 days ago and, while you won’t get this sort of price in today’s ICA Laboratories Handicap, the remarkable seven-year-old should be a decent price and he has a real chance of winning again.

Glen Kotzen

Greg Cheyne’s mount has won three of his last five, going up in the ratings from 74 to 89 in the process. He was raised five points (2.5kg) for last time but won comfortably, suggesting there is another win in him.

So how come the incredible improvement? “Tender loving care,” says a grinning Glen Kotzen but he is not joking. “At one stage Albarakah was rated 90 but he then had problems with his feet and last season we were going to retire him. But he is a happy horse once more and that means a lot.”

Forward Drive, seventh in the Magnum Cape Classic, reverts to 1 200m. “He had to be gelded because he was haemo-concentrating badly – his blood was like soup,” explains Paul Reeves, “and this run is to get him back.”

The tough little grey doesn’t know what it means to have an easy race so expect to see him up there all the way. However in the circumstances The Tripster, who probably needed last time’s run, may prove the main threat. He opened 3-1 joint favourite with Russian Speed yesterday with Betting World who went 7-2 Macduff and 5-1 Albarakah.

Overshadow stands out at 22-10 in the opening Macsteel Maiden  –  despite Grant van Niekerk riding 9-2 chance Mr Piscato rather than Jiggery Pokery – but he has been off for almost three months. Will he be ready enough? “I think so, yes,” answers Justin Snaith. “He is doing very well at home.”

Albarakah (Nkosi Hlophe)

Snaith and Donovan Dillon can follow up with Sabrina Fair (2-1) in the Investec Maiden 35 minutes later but watch out for Skip A Beat who started favourite for her debut last month only to lose ground at the start and run green. “She has come on since and she will be right there,” says Andre Nel who took his total to nine from 76 runs when La Favourari landed the odds in the first last Saturday. Skip A Beat opened favourite yesterday at 16-10.

Mr Bond’s chance in the Bradbury & Sankfin Handicap has been given a boost by the good Selangor run of Illuminator who was the only horse to beat him last time. Brett Crawford’s gelding remains on the same mark and looks the one.

However don’t be tempted into taking too short a price, certainly no shorter than the opening `16-10, because this is a cleverly handicapped race with several in with a chance after having their ratings adjusted. Notable amongst these are 5-1 chances Professor Brian and Another Idea.

Stable jockey Corne Orffer rides the badly drawn Bezamod (4-1) rather than form horse Silver Snaffles (18-10) in the Market Toyota Culemborg Maiden but apparently this is because of owner arrangements. “Silver Snaffles ran a good race last time [when second to Black Arthur] and I think he would be the stable select,” says Crawford.

By Michael Clower