The Vaal stages another intriguing eight race meeting on the sand and as always on this surface punters will need to do their homework.

In the first race over 1000m the speedy Angie The Rebel, whose pedigree for this course and distance could hardly be better, looks hard to oppose on form. Windinmyhair appears best when held up off the pace so with a lot of speed in this race it should pan out to her liking and she could run on strongly for second. Matron Prilly has a suitable sand pedigree and is a noteworthy first-timer. The Berry Lady has speed but has made breathing noises before, although she does now have a tongue tie on. Pendulum Of Life is by Count Dubois and was purchased for R500,000, but a concern is that her two siblings to have raced have not amounted to much.

In the second over 1450m, Rock Me Var has come class and is a full-brother to Solarium who is generally kept to sprints but has won over 1400m, so he is interesting stepped up in trip with Andrew Fortune up, although he has a tricky draw of five in the seven horse field. Battle In Seattle has a better draw than last time when probably going too fast in front and it would be no surprise to see him make amends. Mighty Manzi is by Windrush, whose progeny are known to love the Vaal sand. He cast a shoe in his first start on the surface, but won second time out over this course and distance when flying up late. He has a better draw this time but runs off a two point higher merit rating and the concern is that he benefitted from horses going too fast in front last time out.

Olympic Owen is better than his last start in which he stumbled and overreached and was caught wide from a wide draw before being rushed around them , so from a good draw his class could possibly see him reversing form with Mighty Manzi, who beat him comfortably last time out. Vulcan is a speedy sort but won his only start over course and distance. He is now seven points higher in the merit ratings and he continually interfered with Rock Me Var last time over 1200m on turf  so the latter could reverse form. Raise The Red likely needed his last start and can improve but his wide draw will make it tough.

In the third over 1450m the Windrush filly Bluemoonrush  improved when switched to sand last time out over 1000m and on pedigree will love the step up in trip. Ginger Sioux ran well the last time she tried the course and distance and is now drawn in pole with Fortune up. Lindeman Lustre beat the latter in that race but there is now a reversal in draw fortunes. Eastside can earn if repeating her last start over course and distance. Somerset Skye’s best run in Cape Town was over this trip and she could improve on her Highveld debut.

In the fourth over 1200m, Don Christo should enjoy the switch to sand having run two fair races on turf and has Gavin Lerena up from a fair draw. Le Clos has run well three times on turf, twice over this trip, and is well drawn but a concern is that he has made breathing noises every time. Seven Cheers ran a cracker from pole position over course and distance in his penultimate start and now has a draw midway between that and the draw he had last time, also over course and distance, when well beaten.

In the fifth over 1600m, Dancing Escudo won well over course and distance in her penultimate start and then was found to not be striding out when disappointing over 1800m, so she could be a big factor here if back to her best, although her wide draw is a bit of a concern. Fashion Secret won easily in just her second career start last time over course and distance and Lerena has kept the ride although her time was over three seconds slower than Escudo’s victory. Fire Dancing ran well in a Gr 2 on Saturday over 1450m and has the ability, but a concern is that she has been below par twice when stepped up in trip to this course and distance.

In the sixth over 1000m High Game is interesting as he was considered good enough to contest a Gr 1 and his merit rating of 76 is reasonable. He showed pace in a 1300m event last time out so the trip shouldn’t be too sharp. Maji Moto should be a runner here over an ideal course and distance with Fortune up. Chief Sioux did well over course and distance last time out and Lerena retains the ride. Flag Of France’s best recent performances have been over 1000m and he has come further down the sand merit ratings. Benbow is back to the merit rating of his last win over course and distance.

In the seventh over 1200m Knock Knock is off a competitive merit rating and ran a cracker over 1450m last time on the sand, so this shouldn’t be too sharp and he should be running on strongly from a wide draw. Play Date is interesting stepped down to this course and distance with Lerena up off a very much lowered merit rating as she has done well over course and distance before when in the maidens. Tabanna ran well over this trip on the turf last time and in her only sand start was outclassed in what proved to be a strong race over 1000m, so she could feature in the finish.

In the eighth over 1450m, Sub Shaawes used to be known as a shirker so now that he has won a race well last time and has the same experienced jockey aboard, he can be followed despite being given a six point merit rated raise. Cumberland should handle this trip and the form of his last start over 1200m looks good.  Pay As You Go has run well in his last two sand starts over 1600m and as a handy sort is interesting over sharper from a fair barrier position.
– David Thiselton
Picture: Champion jockey Gavin Lerena rides Don Christo (Race 4) at the Vaal today

Futura and fellow stable star Legislate are building up for their five-year-old campaigns but there is no indication yet whether either or both will take on Act Of War in the Green Point Stakes at Kenilworth on November 21.

Justin Snaith said yesterday: “They both went for a rest on a farm after Durban and they are now slowly getting there but we haven’t yet decided on any plans.”

The pair started off in the Green Point last season with Legislate setting a new mile course record and Futura finishing third before going on to take both the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate and the J & B Met for Brett Crawford, and later winning the Champions Cup for Snaith to clinch the Equus Horse of the Year award. Legislate won the Gold Challenge.

Act Of War was left on his 117 merit rating despite breaking the 1 400m Durbanville record in last Saturday’s Kuda  Matchem and Anton Marcus casting doubt on the handicap mark, saying: “Joey Ramsden will probably call me a prophet of doom but I am not convinced the horse is 117.”

However Heartland, beaten a length and a half when in receipt of 1.5kg, has been raised five points to 102. Bernard Fayd’Herbe felt that the colt wasn’t at ease on the tight course and Snaith’s immediate reaction was that he had banged a fetlock.

The former champion trainer said yesterday: “I couldn’t find much wrong with him even though he knocked himself but he didn’t feel right on the track. I might run him in something like the Diadem (Dec 26) later.”

Snaith’s Baritone, twice a winner at Kenilworth in August, is set to give weight all round in the Magnum Cape Classic at Kenilworth a fortnight on Saturday. Easily the highest-rated horse among the 44 entries is Brazuca who went under by only a short head to Seventh Plain in the Durban Golden Horseshoe on Vodacom Durban July day despite being still a maiden.

Joey Ramsden, who  has won the last two runnings of the Cape Classic with Red Ray and Act Of War, has entered six including the highly regarded pair Hard Day’s Night and Tar Heel who has his first run of the season at Durbanville on Saturday.

Ronnie Sheehan reported yesterday that Cape Nursery winner Captain Chaos “has come on a lot” since his reappearance but he was disappointed by the colt’s 35 draw.
– Michael Clower

Picture: Legislate left Futura right (John Lewis)

Mystical Twilight can make amends for last time’s disappointment and score at a rewarding 5-1 in the Gold Circle Graduation Plate at Durbanville today.

MJ Byleveld’s mount has the form to win as he had Met day Listed winner Buckinghamshire nearly two and a half lengths behind in the SA Nursery in April.  He was an easy winner of maiden over this course and distance two months ago but things went wrong when he started second favourite here last time.

“He got bumped coming out of the gate and I think you will see a vastly improved performance this time,” says Vaughan Marshall. “I believe he will like the five furlongs even though you wouldn’t expect that from his pedigree.”

Buckinghampshire comes out nearly two lengths better on adjusted ratings and opened at 9-10 with Betting World yesterday but he has been off for over 11 weeks. “He will run very well although I think he is better over a little bit further,” says Justin Snaith.

Ernie, who started favourite when fourth in the Langerman and is 3-1 here, also has strong claims but he has not raced since June. “It’s not so much that he will need the run but that it’s a bit short for him,” says Candice Robinson. “He has been gelded since his last race.”

Bernard Fayd’Herbe had three winners on Saturday and he should waste little time in striking again because his mount Duke The Duke looks capable of beating fellow 5-2 joint favourite Barnstable and Rit Mo Total (28-10) in the first.

He can also win race three on Durban Beach who opened at 9-10. The gelding has not raced since starting odds-on for his debut ten months ago but bookmakers have long memories and they have not forgotten how the money poured on this one. “He was a precocious, speedy type,” Snaith recalls. “But his knees came up after that first run so he has had a long break. He is a nice type of horse.”

Snaith also trained the Darryl Hodgson pair Cardinal Call and Chennai Space when they made their January debuts but neither has raced since. Chennai Space has the better chance of the pair according to the bookies and Betting World had him second favourite at 5-2 yesterday. “I think he will probably need the run,” is Darryl Hodgson’s verdict.

Ravishing Lad doesn’t have the same potential but is expected to go close and the 7-1 chance could be worth a small place bet. “I am going to put cheek pieces on him and he will go to the front,” says Mike Stewart. “When Richard Fourie rode him here in July he was beaten less than half a length into third. Richard told me that he had the second and third stone cold but the horse wouldn’t go past them.”

Midnight Spy, 5-2 joint favourite for race four, was only caught on the line when running a cracking debut here a fortnight ago but Taffety Tart (also 5-2) has slightly stronger form and is preferred.

Big Ed has run well over shorter distances in his last two races but Shane Humby’s five-year-old is in his element over 2 400m and looks another for Fayd’Herbe in the Gold Circle Handicap. However yesterday’s 14-10 looks short enough.

By Michael Clower 

Picture: MJ Byleveld

The Australian-bred Aces United will bring South Africa a world first today in race nine at The Vaal when running with a breathing device invented by Dr. Ralph Katzwinkel of the Summerveld Equine Hospital.

Katzwinkel emphasised that the device is not at all performance enhancing, rather it allows the horse to receive sufficient oxygen and therefore perform to its natural ability. The National Horseracing Authority (NHA) has approved the device.

Aces United  ran second in his first two starts over 1000m at Kenilworth to two decent sorts in Equity Kicker and Tomba La Bomba.

Then on L’Ormarin’s Queen’s Plate day he won over 1200m. However, he has not run since J&B Met day, where he was well beaten over the same course and distance.

The well-bred four-year-old colt by Lonhro was starting to become anxious at both the races and in training and sweating up in the ring until eventually one day he finished extremely distressed and wanted to fall over.

It was then discovered that he had a rare condition, which can usually not be detected when a horse is at rest, called “a fourth branchial arch defect.” It apparently occurs at a rate of two horses in every 20,000 and the end result of the condition is that a horse does not receive sufficient oxygen while galloping.

Aces United not surprisingly scoped normal at the Sales. Katzwinkel was only able to pick up the cause of the problem through the use of an Overground Exercise Laryngoscope, a device which transmits a live video of a horse’s throat while at full gallop.

A fourth branchial arch defect, or “four bad”, is a congenital condition affecting the fourth branchial arch.

It is a malfunction in the upper airways whereby the nerve endings and muscles do not develop properly. This leads to multiple defects in the upper airways. Horses who have had surgery in an attempt to solve the condition inherently do not do well.

Katzwinkel and his team first performed a “permanent tracheotomy” on the horse. This is where a permanent opening is created and in Ace’s United case the opening was made high up on the neck just behind and between the jaw mandibles.

When Aces United was put back into work, it was discovered the opening was acting like a valve and was collapsing. In other words the horse was sucking the opening closed.

Katzwinkel had Aces United transported from Cape Town to Summerveld in order to find a solution to this problem. He consequently invented a removable plug to keep the incision open. The device is covered with gauze, so that no dirt can enter the opening.

The device worked very well and the horse has not made any noises in training since it was applied and he is no longer showing any signs of distress either.
– David Thiselton

The profitability issues of staging Western Cape racing is again in the spotlight after racing operator Phumelela issued a warning to local owners and trainers that unless field sizes were boosted up to 12 horses and above per race, stakes might be reduced or meetings shelved.

The topic of field sizes evokes a divergence of views. Stats in the Western Cape bear out the virtually universal trend that horses are being run less often and field sizes have come down. Nine is the average field size at Durbanville, with around 10 runners going to post in each race at Kenilworth.

Heavily invested owner Marsh Shirtliff is adamant his horses must run as often as possible and field numbers must increase. He downplays the supposed impact of dodgy draws, a common reason for horses not taking up engagements, and is instead advocating fuller participation to promote a well-supported, sustainable local racing scene.

But, more typically, owners or trainers are reluctant to race horses from bad draws. No owner likes to see their horses fare badly, and draws can be tough to overcome, even if not the insurmountable problem they are sometimes made out to be. Critics may also cite the awkward camber that can see runners at Durbanville become unbalanced. The threat of their valuable bloodstock sustaining a career threatening injury may prompt cautious connections to keep them tucked away safely in the stables.

Mooted improvements to the racing surface at the country course would make a significant difference, meanwhile when racing reverts back to the flatter, sweeping expanses of Kenilworth next month, field sizes ought to bump up.

The racing programme, which currently comprises 84 meetings and 694 races across the season in the Western Cape, is also a continual source of debate. Racing secretaries find that it’s virtually impossible to keep everybody happy. Depending on the shifting composition of their strings, trainers may want more top-level handicaps or lower grade contests, races for stayers not sprinters, or set weight affairs races rather than merit rated handicaps.

For example, Candice Robinson, who is skillfully managing the Mike Bass stable, counts Shirtliff among their most prominent patrons and would love to oblige by running horses more regularly. However, she is currently frustrated by the lack of viable opportunities for their many above- average horses, who are caught out by being just not quite good enough for feature races.

While field sizes are an issue, at the heart of the controversy is the need to boost betting revenues which makes the wheels of this racing game go round. The Western Cape, where close to 1500 individual runners compete each season, is one of the lowest per runner contributors when assessed against betting turnovers. This, despite being home to quality thoroughbreds, outstanding horsemen, a proud tradition of historic stakes races and a sterling breeding industry.

Western Cape racing has much in its favour, and resilient industry players who have risen to multiple challenges over the years are again committed to sorting things out. Recent meetings suggest that, be it dealing creatively with the draw issue, administrators imaginatively tweaking the racing programme or genuine improvements being made to course conditions, a collaborative solution with the operators will be found.

– Mark van Deventer for TAB News