Please be advised that Gavin Lerena will not be riding in the following Grade 1 races at Scottsville on Saturday, 23 May 2015.

Allan Robertson Championship – La Strada to be ridden by S’manga Khumalo

Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion – Just Africa to be ridden by Keagan de Melo

City Of Pietermaritzburg Fillies Sprint – Garibondy to be ridden by Keagan de Melo

Picture: Gavin Lerena

Madame Dubois is an interesting runner in the Gr 1 Allan Robertson to be run over 1200m at Scottsville on Saturday, added to the fact that Robbie Sage has booked Piere Strydom for the ride.

Sage said about her three-length win over 1000m at the Vaal on debut, “I don’t work horses very hard before their first runs unless they are doing everything themselves and sometimes they come out and surprise you. She is very well in herself but this will be her first time at the track so how she will handle it is an unknown.” However, on the downside she has landed a high draw which by trends is unfavourable.

She started at 20/1 on debut and what made the win even more impressive was that she jumped from a high draw on the Vaal’s inside turf track, where the low draws are invariably more favourable. She also recorded a time 0,45 seconds quicker than the facile winner of the next race, Just Africa, a Paul Peter-trained Just As Well colt who is one of only ten horses standing their ground in Saturday’s Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion. Furthermore, Madame Dubois’s form has been franked as the runner-up Faberge Style won by 10,25 lengths next time out over 1000m on the Vaal sand and third-placed Aldiara also came out and won next time out over 1200m on the turf.

Sage said a lot would depend on how she travelled, adding that this was always an unknown quantity with young horses. He was still waiting for the final field to be published before planning the journey, but said Friday was the likely date of travel.

Owner Colin Bird will have a double interest on the day as Jet Belle, a top class filly he owns in partnership with Drakenstein Stud, runs in the Gr 1 City Of Pietermaritzburg Fillies Sprint. Jet Belle was originally trained by Sage and is still trained by him when campaigning on the Highveld but she is otherwise conditioned by Glen Kotzen.

Madame Dubois is by Count Dubois, who is 14^th on the season’s national sires log despite having significantly less runners than all of the horses above him. Madame Du Bois’s fourth dam was the champion sprinter of Argentina, but her first dam, Miss Jet Set, who was also trained by Sage, won from 1400-1600m. Sage will therefore see how she runs on Saturday before planning a possible tilt at the Gr 1 Golden Slipper over 1400m at Greyville on Vodacom Durban July day.

By David Thiselton

Picrture: Robbie Sage

Futura was left on an unchanged 7-2 when Betting World reopened its book on the Vodacom Durban July yesterday.

The country’s biggest bookmaker suspended betting shortly before the Queen’s Plate and J & B Met winner made a winning return in the mile Pinnacle at Greyville on Sunday. He had been backed on the day of that race at 9-2.

The four-year-old shares favouritism with Mike de Kock’s star Majmu while the supplemented Wylie Hall, first past the post in last year’s race, disputes 7-1 third favouritism with the Joey Ramsden-trained KRA Guineas winner The Conglomerate.

Dynastic Power has been the big mover in the last few days, being slashed from 150-1 to 25-1 following his triumph in last Friday’s Betting World 1900. Runner-up Power King was cut from 50-1 to 16-1 and third-placed Punta Arenas from 150-1 to 66-1. Stan Elley’s gelding has been backed at that price and is now 50-1.

Mac De Lago has been marked out from 40-1 to 100-1 and fellow supplementaries Mljet and It Is Written from 100-1 to 150-1. The 2013 July winner Heavy Metal is also on the drift, going out from 75-1 to twice that price.

By Michael Clower

Picture: Futura (Nkosi Hlophe)

One of the most interestingly bred horses at Saturday’s Scottsville Festival Of Speed meeting will be the Dominic Zaki-trained Prospect Strike, who displayed his class on debut when waltzing in by 12,75 lengths over 1200m on the Vaal turf. He recorded a fast time that day and could be a big threat in Saturday’s Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion over 1200m at Scottsville.

Zaki said, “His preparation has gone smoothly and he is as fit as a fiddle. I am very happy with him, he is top class.”

The bay gelding 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.

Toreador’s only Gr 1 winner to date was the Dennis Drier-trained Gold Medallion winner Link Man. This speedy grey was also bred by the Tawny Syndicate and part-owned by Nestadt and Blank.

Nestadt has also part-owned two other Medallion winners. The first was the National Emblem colt Rip Curl, whom he owned in partnership with the late chairman of Turffontein, Collie Fram, as well as with MD Moritz. Scottsville’s reputation as a graveyard of champions was displayed that day as the Nestadt-owned Palace Line started odds on favourite and could only manage fourth place, his only defeat in seven outings in South Africa. Palace Line later exacted revenge on Rip Curl in the Gr 1 Premier’s Champion Stakes. Nestadt’s other Medallion winner was also by National Emblem, the Mike de Kock-trained 2005 victor Carnadore, whom he owned in partnership with Barry Irwin’s Team Valor syndicate.

Prospect Strike has an unfavourable high draw, by trends, but there is only a small field of ten runners so it shouldn’t be too much of a disadvantage. Craig Zackey keeps the ride.

Nestadt and Blank will be hoping Prospect Strike earns them another Gold Medallion victory, especially as this would help Toreador find his way back into the limelight.

By David Thiselton

Picture: Dominic Zaki

Turffontein-based trainer David Nieuwenhuizen has the lowest rated horse in probably the strongest event at Saturday’s Festival Of Speed meeting at Scottsville, but there are some positives that could see his rags-to-riches Malhub filly Virgo’s Babe earn a cheque in the Gr 1 City Of Pietemaritzburg Fillies Sprint over 1200m.

Nieuwenhuizen said that the speedy Michael Leaf-owned four-year-old had needed her last two runs badly and had come on a lot from them. Furthermore, she was caught in the worst going down the middle when finishing a 7,85 length fifth last time out in the Gr 2 Camellia Stakes over 1160m at Turffonten. She had some good horses behind her that day including City Of Pietermaritzburg Fillies Sprint contender Sarve and the crack three-year-old sprinter Lazer Star.

Virgo’s Babe has landed a plum draw of one on Saturday, which by trends is on the favourable side of the Scottsville straight. Niewenhuizen said that the other positive was that she is a filly who is helped by the rail. He believed Muzi Yeni would give her a confident ride and he just hoped that she wouldn’t be squeezed out on the rail.

Virgo’s Babe was from a 2010 crop of just three foals produced by the out of favour stallion Malhub. She turns in, an apparent trait of Malhub’s progeny, and went through the ring unsold before originally being leased for just R10,000.

She has caused a massive big race upset before as she won the Gr 2 SA Fillies Nursery for Nieuwenhuizen by five lengths at odds of 28/1.

She was bought by popular owner Michael Leaf after she had finished downfield in last year’s Gr 1 Computaform Sprint and this decision immediately paid dividends as she won her next two races, including one at Greyville in one of only two runs she has had in KZN.

Nieuwenhuizen has done a fine job of keeping the filly sound, considering her less than perfect legs, and in 23 runs she has had five wins and nine places for earnings of R751,575.

By David Thiselton

Picture: Virgo’s Babe (Nkosi Hlophe)