Vaal-based trainer Dominic Zaki will raid KZN for Super Saturday at Greyville this weekend with a string of three horses and has two lively chances of Gr 1 success.

In the Gr 1 eLan Property Group Gold Cup over 3200m he runs the Jet Master gelding Storm Warning, who bounced back to his best last time out when sauntering to a five length victory over 3000m on the Turffontein Inside Track, having made up ground quickly in the straight from last.

Zaki said Storm Warning had been doing very well and gave him a big chance provided he travelled well. The gelding lost his form earlier this season due to a breathing issue but his last two runs have shown that the wind operation he has had has been successful.

Storm Warning will stay every inch of the Gold Cup trip. On top of his easy win over 3000m last time out he also finished a narrow second in last season’s Gr 2 Gold Bowl over 3200m on the Turffontein Standside track. He ran off a 94 merit rating in the Gold Bowl and now runs off a 95. He was given a maximum six point raise for that last run, but actually ran to a higher rating, so this makes him one of the best handicapped runners on current form.

He has also had the advantage of altitude training. He has the turn of foot necessary for the tight Greyville track and could be a big runner if producing his best. Zaki said a “bad draw is a bad draw but” was not too overly concerned about Storm Warning’s barrier 16 position over a trip of this length. Furthermore, when dropped out to last in his last run, he settled beautifully in behind horses before turning it on impressively in the straight. Craig Zackey will be champion apprentice by Saturday and has formed a good partnership with the gelding.

Zaki runs the classy Toreador gelding Prospect Strike in the Gr 1 Premiers Champion Stakes over 1600m and said if it were not for his wide draw he would have made him a “massive runner.” This horse’s two wins over 1200m and 1400m respectively were by 12,75 and 4,6 lengths and in his only other start he finished a fine 2,65 length third in the Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion over 1200m at Scottsville, when running on strongly from an unfavourable draw. Prospect Strike has an interesting story behind his breeding. She was bred by the Tawny Syndicate and is owned by two of this syndicate’s members, Larry Nestadt and Greg Blank, in partnership with Knut Haug.

Nestadt and Blank found his Mr Prospector dam, Prospect Fever, in Australia and brought her back to South Africa. Their reasoning was not only that Mr Prospector mares were hard to come by but that she would also likely be an excellent mating for their Danehill stallion Toreador. This was partly due to the famous Northern Dancer-Mr Prospector nick. Toreador is from the Northern Dancer sire line and Prospect Fever herself has the Mr Prospector-Northern Dancer cross close up in her pedigree.

Furthermore, Prospect Fever had already produced the Gr 3-winning Danehill colt Way West, who became known as a speed influential sire at Summerhill Stud. Way West won an Australian Gr 3 over 1100m as a two-year-old in 2004, beating the now sort after sire Oratorio, so it is not surprising that his three parts brother Prospect Strike is also packed with precocious speed. Prospect Strike is in fact the third Toreador foal that Prospect Fever has produced and this emphasises the vagaries of breeding as the other pair, Abstract and Portrait, have not amounted to much, having won just three minor races between them, all over 1200m.

However, Zaki felt that this gelding was now looking for this 1600m trip, and he certainly gave that impression in his last start. He will have the advantage of a champion jockey aboard as Gavin Lerena would have officially secured the title the previous evening. Zaki predicted Prospect Strike would be “up there” in the running in order to overcome the draw.

Zaki was also bullish about the chances of his promising Fort Beluga filly Cataluga, who runs in a MR78 Handicap for fillies and mares over 1000m on the polytrack. She has two wins from four starts over this distance and her breeding suggests she should enjoy the polytrack.

David Thiselton

The Gr 1 eLan Property Group Gold Cup to be run over 3200m at Greyville on Super Saturday this weekend is quite hard to assess and picturing how the race will pan out from start to finish could be the best way to go about an analysis. Here is a predicted commentary of the prestigious staying race. “They are running in the 2015 eLan Property Group Gold Cup. Wild Ash broke well and is right up there down the centre, Coltrane and Wild One are prominent on the inside while Solid Speed and Kolkata and Kingston Mines are also handy. Ash Cloud is in the firing line, but now it’s Kingston Mines who takes it up as they go to the first turn with Wild Ash at his quarter. Wild One has now found the rail behind Kingston Mines! Coltrane is next best running between Solid Speed on the rail and Kolkata on the outside. Vino Veritas is well positioned on the rail about seven lengths off the lead and on her outside is Ash Cloud and Gone Baby Gone. Savage Wind is caught wide outside of them. Disco Al has managed to find the rail from a wide draw and Hot Ticket is alongside him. Storm Warning is in behind them with Balance Sheet on his outside. J’s Outsider and Gold Onyx are at the back.

Kingston Mines is now setting a fair gallop with Wild Ash in second and Wild One is travelling comfortably on her inside. Solid Speed is beautifully positioned on the rail and Kolkata is now alongside him. Vino Veritas and Coltrane are next best travelling within themselves and then comes Disco Al on the rail inside of Ash Cloud and Gone Baby Gone. Savage Wind is trying to slot in behind them but is being kept out by Hot Ticket and Balance Sheet. J’s Outsider is next on the rail with Gold Onyx at his quarter and Storm Warning is content to sit at the back. There’s about 15 lengths from first to last as they go past the Drill Hall.

Kingston Mines is still setting a reasonable gallop and Wild Ash has now slotted in behind him with Kolkata on her outside.

Wild One is biding his time on the rail about five lengths off the pace and Coltrane is travelling well alongside him. Solid Speed is at the panel with Ash Cloud and Gone Baby Gone on his outside. Vino Veritas is scraping paint about a dozen lengths off the leader and Hot Ticket is keeping him company and looking nice and relaxed. Savage Wind is on the outside of Hot Ticket and behind them are Balance Sheet and J’s Outsider. Gold Onyx is next best and Storm Warning is in the back seat but travelling well within himself.

They start climbing the hill with just over 800m to go and it’s still Kingston Mines out in front but Kolkata is now creeping forward on his outside. Wild Ash is behind Kolkata and is just ahead of Wild One who is on the rail no more than three lengths off the lead. Coltrane is poised to strike at Wild One’s quarter and Gone Baby Gone is moving up on the outside. Towards the inside is Solid Speed still travelling well and alongside him is Ash Cloud with Savage Wind wider out. Vino Veritas and Hot Ticket are in behind that and J’s Outsider is making a forward move. Storm Warning is in behind him and Balance Sheet is hugging the rail inside of that. Gold Onyx is at the back but is no more than ten lengths off the lead as they  begin to concertina.

They swing for home and Kingston Mines kicks for home with Kolkata trying go with him. Wild One is going down the inside and Wild Ash has switched out for a run. Coltrane is  getting a tow from Kingston Mines. Solid Speed is in with a shout towards the inside and Vino Veritas and Hot Ticket are running on.  Storm Warning is still improving towards the outside and Gold Onyx is following him.

250 to go and Wild One hits the front on the inside! But here’s Storm Warning exploding through on the outside and Kingston Mines and Coltrane are staying on strongly down the centre. Solid Speed, Vino Veritas and Hot Ticket are also making bids. But Wild One has got fire in his eyes and he’s going for glory! Storm Warning’s on the outside but he can’t go with Wild One who is still full of running on the inside.

Wild One has won the eLan Property Group Gold Cup for Mike de Kock and Sean Phillips! Storm Warning is next best and Coltrane stays on well for third ahead of a gallant Kingston Mines. Solid Speed and Vino Veritas fill the fifth and sixth positions.

By David Thiselton

Welcome rain over the weekend will have drawn some of the sting out of the Scottsville turf for tomorrow’s meeting and with the weather set fair we should be in for some cracking racing.

The smart juvenile Redcarpet Captain makes his handicap debut when he lines up in the eighth and just how he fares could shed some light on the strength of the current crop.

Gavin van Zyl’s runner has shown a touch of class, having beaten two top gallopers in Mogok Master and Gr1 SA Nursery winner Arabian Beat in his first two starts. He has been racing against the best in feature company and is only a few lengths inferior to the best of his generation, strong Equus contender Seventh Plain. Redcarpet Captain finished just over two lengths back to Seventh Plain in the Tsogo Sun Medallion and then four lengths back in the Golden Horseshoe where a wide draw compromised his chances.

In spite of this form, he will have his work cut out tomorrow as he faces a more than useful field of older horses.

Mark Dixon saddles two smart three-year-olds in Gumbi and The Poet while Dennis Bosch’s pair of Jet On Fire and Gemini Gold will have their supporters. Gumbi’s regular pilot, Keagan de Melo, has switched to The Poet, however, given the weights this is not a surprise and Ian Sturgeon has landed the ride on Gumbi. The chestnut gelding has won twice over the course and distance and has been far from disgraced when stepped up to 1400m. However, at this stage of his career tomorrows trip appears optimum and he should give Redcarpet Captain plenty to do.

Gemini Gold is talented but obviously a gelding with issues. After four wins on the bounce, three on the poly, he was given a lengthy break and made his first start this year with a fair effort behind Tuscan last week. That run should have brought him on and with the going expected to be on the softer side of good he has a lot in his favour.

But the list of possible winners is a lengthy one as Nineteen Fourteen, Astro, Clear Sailing and The Poet are all in with chances and if Jet On Fire can reproduce his effort when beating Muscatt a year ago, then he too comes into the equation with a chance.

However, Redcarpet Captain may just have too much class and is taken to get home ahead of Gumbi and Gemini Gold.

Dixon will have been hoping for an earlier strike when he sends out Charles My Boy in the seventh. Relatively lightly raced, Charles My Boy has been slow to find his feet but ran two excellent races in blinkers, culminating in an almost end-to-end maiden victory over the Scottsville “mile” – not an easy feat.

First time out of the maidens he took on a tough handicap field and did well enough behind the hard-knocking Joshuas Crown. He takes a big drop in class tomorrow and given a chance he should be running at them over the final furlong.

Princess Beach is the only filly in the race and caught the eye with a late effort behind Mambo Master over the course and distance last time out and could trouble the judges and Charles My Boy.

Andrew Harrison

Dennis Drier has already won an incredible five Gr 1’s this Champions Season and could add another two on Super Saturday this weekend, so racing historians could well be sifting through the archives to see whether he has broken any records in this regard.

His best chance of Gr 1 success on Saturday could be with the Horse Chestnut filly Chestnuts N Pearls, who won the Gr 1 Zulu Kingdom Explorer Golden Slipper over 1400m on July day in the manner of a top class sort, and now has a plum draw of five in the Thekwini Stakes over 1600m. The postponement of the Super Saturday meeting to this weekend would have also aided her cause because  it would have given rider Sean Cormack an extra week to recover from his nasty fall on Mercury Sprint day.

Drier’s assistant trainer Stuart Ferrie said, “She will have no problem with the trip and if she repeats that last run she will be the horse to beat.” She is not a big filly so the yard have been able to just keep her ticking over. She has seven horses held on form from the Golden Slipper, so the dangers could be the two unbeaten fillies  Flying Filly and Persian Rug, although on a line through Lauderdale she comes out slightly ahead of both of them.

The Miesque’s Approval gelding J’s Outsider has his third run for the yard in the Gr 1 eLan Property Group Gold Cup over 3200m, having finished fourth in the Gr 2 Gold Vase over 3000m on July day. Ferrie said, “He is getting better and better and must have a chance. The wide draw (17) is a bit of a hassle but on his last couple of runs he is on the improve.” He will have no problem with the trip having proven he stays every inch of it when winning the Gr 2 Gold Bowl over the tough Turffontein 3200m in slightly soft going. Sean Veale rides him work every day and felt he would have been “a massive runner” if better drawn. However, Veale said he would “take his chances” from this draw, meaning he would probably drop him out. J’s Outsider is 2kg worse off with Solid Speed from the Gold Vase, despite having been beaten by him by 1,75 lengths, but he is 1kg better off with Gold Vase runner-up Wild Ash for a 1,9 length beating.

The yard run the Jet Master mare Gathering Fame, who turns five on Super Saturday, in the Gr 2 Gold Bracelet over 2000m. She has a tough task at the weights but is lightly raced and could surprise from a good draw of five.  However, she is 4,5 kg worse off with Gallica Rose, despite being beaten 1,5 lengths by her in the Listed East Coast Cup over course and distance, so will have to show considerable improvement. Ferrie said, “She‘s shown enough to take her chance and this is her trip.”

They run Barbosa in the Listed Umgeni Handicap over 1000m on the polytrack and he showed his liking for course and distance last time out when finishing a two-lengths third in a MR 104 Handicap on July day. He is 2,5kg better off with the winner Tiger Territory and 2kg better off with the runner up Mod Barley who beat him by 1,75 lengths, so he has every chance. Ferrie said, “He ran well on July day and Scottsville and he is a big strong horse so he can carry big weights. He shows plenty of pace and is drawn well so will run another honest race.” Barbosa hasn’t had a lot of racing for a now six-year-old so looks to have a bit left in the tank.

They run Space Launch over 1400m on the poly in the first race, a MR 78 Handicap and Ferrie said, “It’s his first run on the poly but we rate him. In his last two races (both at Scottsville) we thought he would win both times so he has been a little bit disappointing but he definitely has the ability.” He should enjoy the poly being by Jet Master out of a Western Winter mare and should also enjoy the step up in trip. He has drawn well in six. This is his third run since a bit of a layoff after winning twice over 1200m at Kenilworth and he should be cherry-ripe, although Ferrie said he had not needed those last two runs.

The yard run the Trippi filly Trick in the second, a MR80 Handicap for fillies and mares over 1400m on the poly. Ferrie said, “Trick shows good work at home but has disappointed plenty at the races.” He added that she had been doing well at home but said it was difficult to know what to expect from this slightly temperamental filly.

The yard run the Var filly Black Velvet in the eleventh, a MR 78 Handicap for fillies and mares over 1100m on the poly. Ferrie said, “She ran a cracker last time. She was given a bit of a chance (from a high draw of eleven over 1000m at Scottsville) and ran on nicely. She’s usually handy so let’s hope she gets a bit of a lead.” She is drawn well in five but faces Easy Game on the same terms at Scottsville despite being beaten 1,4 lengths.

Drier has already recaptured the KZN Trainer Championship this season, being well clear of reigning champion Duncan Howells, and his perennial rival Mike de Kock will finish third.

By David Thiselton

Joey Ramdsen could end the Champions Season on a high note as his pair of Gr 1 eLan Property Group Gold Cup runners Coltrane and Disco Al appear to both have good chances.

He was bullish about both of his runners and said on his blog last week: “We maybe went a bit too hard with Coltrane early on in the season so we have freshened him up and his last two pieces of work and his gallop were quite out of the ordinary.  On his day, he is more than capable of accounting for this type of field. He appears to be a horse that is running off a reasonable mark here.

“I can say exactly the same for Disco Al. I am not entirely sure he gets the two miles but he is a horse which drops the bit in a race and needs an exceptionally strong ride when coming from off the pace. He will get that as the Master Marcus (Anton Marcus) is in the irons and the two seem to complement each other like a hand in a glove. He could be a lively runner and is also off what seems to be a reasonable mark.  Overall, the race does seem to be an exceptionally competitive affair and a high quality event and it is really good to see a strong Gold Cup.”

Disco Al (pictured) is currently a 7/1 shot with Betting World and Coltrane is an attractive 20/1 shot.

Disco Al, a gelding by Captain Al who will turn six on Gold Cup day, was only given a one point raise forwinning the Gr 2 Track And Ball Derby over 2400m at Scottsville last time out. That might not have been the truest paced race as the field finished on tip of each other. However, before that in May he ran on well over 2400m at Greyville to be runner up in the Gr 3 Lonsdale Stirrup over 2400m and is now 1kg better off with the winner Solid Speed for a 1,25 length beating. He is many a pundits idea of the winner, especially as Ramsden has always been known for his expertise in training stayers. Ramsden won the Gold Cup in 2004 with Major Bluff.

Coltrane, an Argentinian-bred Giant’s Causeway gelding who tuns seven on Gold Cup day, appears to have been overlooked by the bookmakers and the pundits on the grounds of two below par staying races at Greyville this Champions Season. He was 3,65 lengths behind Solid Speed in the Highland Night Cup over 2400m and was then 5,6 lengths behind the same horse in the Lonsdale Stirrup Cup. However, he is 1,5kg and 2kg better off for those respective runs and Ramsden’s news that he has been freshened up will be another plus point.

Coltrane beat Disco Al by 1,7 lengths in the Gr 2 J&B Urban Honey Stayers over 2850m at Kenilworth on J&B Met day, but he is now 1kg worse off. That should put them together on paper. Coltraine did benefit from a slow pace that day as he was able to sit handy from pole position draw, while Disco Al was disadvantaged by the pace as he was dropped out from a wide draw. However, in the Gold Cup it is once again Coltrane who has the draw advantage, as he jumps from barrier three and Disco Al has to jump from draw eleven. Furthermore, Coltrane has the 5000-winner rider Piere Strydom aboard.

Marcus’s only Gold Cup win was in 1991 with Icona, while Strydom has also won the country’s premier staying race only once, on the Brett Crawford-trained Reveille Boy in 2005.

Ramsden runs Gallica Rose in the weight for age plus penalties Gr 2 Gold Bracelet over 2000m. She turns five on Gold Cup day and is typical of a Silvano in that she is blossoming with age. The 102 merit-rated horse is the third highest rated horse in the race but has escaped a penalty so is the joint second best weighted horse together with Athina and the three-year-old Zante. She won the Listed East Coast Cup in good style over this course and distance in her penultimate start and she has the horses she defeated there, Bilateral, Supercede, Gathering Fame, Counting Angels and Mohave Princess held at the weights. However, she does have a wide draw to overcome. Bernard Fayd’Herbe rides.

In the Listed Umgeni Handicap over 1000m on the polytrack, they run the useful Brutal Force and this big horse should be cherry ripe having benefitted from gelding earlier in the year. He at last gets a good draw of three and Marcus will likely make use of both his early pace and his ability to go through with it all the way to the line. He is by Western Winter whose progeny tend to love all weather surrafces.

The yard also run Grey Light in the second race and the 1400m trip on the polytrack looks ideal for this robust daughter of Tapit. She has shown a liking for the polytrack and will appreciate the step up in trip from her two Champions Season efforts on the surface over the too sharp 1200m. She jumps from draw 8 in the MR 80 fillies and mares handicap and has to shoulder 62,5kg, but Fayd’Herbe is a heavyweight riderso she won’t have to carry much dead weights and she looks to be a big runner.

David Thiselton