Western Storm, the only dual winner in the field, faces a tough task giving weight to the might of the Ramsden battalions in the Somerset 1200 at Kenilworth tomorrow.

Brandon Morgenrood’s mount beat Tar Heel three-quarters of a length over 200m less last month with Ernie another a length and a quarter back third. He now has to give them 2kg, theoretically equivalent to slightly more than a length and a half over tomorrow’s distance.

So can he confirm the placings? “I’m hoping so,” says Glen Puller. “I thought he might have needed his last run – I ran him then because of this race coming up – and he won better than I thought he would. He has come on from that.”

However Tar Heel was slowly away that day, losing more ground than he was beaten, and having Anton Marcus on his back is virtually a guarantee that there will be no idling out of the pens.

Joey Ramsden, the colt’s trainer, is bidding for his third consecutive Somerset success and is responsible for a third of the 12-runner field, the biggest this race has seen for more than 13 years – and all but one of them are winners. Ramsden has also won six of the last 17 Cape Town two-year-old races.

The form book says Tar Heel is the one but impression suggests that Macduff might be better. Bernard Fayd’Herbe’s mount ran green on his Easter Monday debut but produced a tremendous surge of acceleration (a sure sign of a good horse) when his rider asked him to quicken.

He opened yesterday as the 28-10 favourite with Betting World who made Tar Heel next best at 7-2 and went 5-1 Western Storm and Ramsden’s Professor Brian with Ernie on 7-1.

Champery is 15-10 favourite for the Perfect Promise Sprint and the way she beat smart stable companion My Emblem last month suggests she should be able to confirm the placings with the 2-1 second favourite even on 2kg worse terms.

“Champery has very good acceleration and she won easing up,” says Eric Sands whose two-year-olds are doing well this season and who also expects this low-actioned filly to confirm the form “provided the going is on top.”

My Emblem is reunited with four-times champion Marcus and their running here in March makes R40 000 bargain buy Just Felicity (7-2) pretty much the same horse as Champery.

“She is a little filly and so it’s tough for her to give weight but she is very well in herself,” says Greg Ennion. “She has only been on grass the three times that she has raced and she will improve off each run because of that.”

– By Michael Clower

Greyville racecourse stages two mixed turf and polytrack meetings over the weekend on Friday night and Sunday respectively and the latter features the Non-Black Type Highland Night Cup.

One of the most intriguing races is the second on Sunday, a Conditions Plate for fillies and mares over 1400m on turf.

The three-year-old Banbury is 2kg better off with any other horse in the field and is drawn well in barrier two over a trip that should be ideal as she has always been up there over 1600m and, when settling well, has shown a good turn of foot.

She was looking fit and well at Summerveld yesterday and strode out well on her own in some fast work on the beach sand.

Trainer Gavin van Zyl said, “The trip should suit her nicely, her last two runs have been a bit disappointing although she did improve in the second of them and we hope to see her back to form here.”

Maybe Yes also worked on the beach and wasn’t being hard pressed to keep up with the useful sprinter Cuvee Brut, although the latter was also cruising. Trainer Brett Crawford’s assistant Barry Donnelly said that her last run over 1200m at Scottsville had just been a prep and added that she had “come on a lot” since then. She is drawn well in six.

Dean Kannemeyer said that Indaba had been injured on Met day meaning she had only been walked for a while, so would probably need it. However, he added that she would stay further and had lots of scope, so running fresh here could be interesting.

Justin Snaith sad that it would be a “prep” run for Acrostar and he was hoping for a nice run that could be built on.

Topweight Arcetri Pink has her first run for Kumaran Naidoo. She has speed and a fine turn of foot, but is known to prefer soft ground.

Neil Bruss said that the talented Red Flame had been doing well, but lamented her wide draw. She will be suited to the 1400m trip.

Maybe Yes is tipped to beat Banbury with Red Flame next best.

One of the most eyecatching workouts of the morning was put in by the Kannemeyer-trained Classy Fighter, who appeared to be getting the better of the Vodacom Durban July entry Solar Star on the beach sand. He runs in the sixth race on Sunday, a competitive 1400m race on the poly, having been raised three points for a narrow defeat over that course and distance last time out. He now has a wide draw to contend with but should go close.

This race provides another opportunity to take advantage of the Majmu Cape Fillies Guineas-winning form, which has been the form race of the season, as Grey Light was ten lengths back in that race. This big grey filly looked tailor made for the poly when scooting in by 7,5 lengths over 1600m last August. However, it is her first run since February and she is drawn very wide.

Gareth van Zyl said that Buffalo Bill had been prepared for this race, so will appreciate the step up to this trip and he had proven before that he could carry big weights. Garth Puller reported Fortissimo to be well and he was certainly looking in good shape. Alistair Gordon’s Mambo Master is 2kg under sufferance but he has a 1,5kg claimer up and Gordon was expecting a good run. Cat In Command loves the poly and should be right there.

The selection is Classy Fighter to beat Grey Light, with Buffalo Bill, Cat In Command and Fortissimo next best.

The Highland Night Cup has compressed weights and the two topweights Coltrane and Kolkata could fight it out. Jay Power is officially out at the weights but has struck as an up and coming sort who could go places, so he should be included.

The Sunday meeting begins with a Maiden Juvenile Plate over 1600m on the turf and the Garth Puller-trained Mr McSteamy ran a cracker last weekend on debut over 1400m and Puller said he would see how he worked today (Friday) before deciding whether to run him a week later. The Charles Laird-trained Team Guys should improve over this trip.

The third is a weak fillies and mares maiden over 1900m on poly and Dellavera is the selection from West Coast Star.

The fourth is also a weak 1900m fillies and mares maiden over 1900m on the poly and the Craig Eudey-trained Cakewalk is not only the one to beat on form but will love the step up on trip on pedigree  and has been working very well.

In the fifth over 1600m on the poly Guest El Grande could beat Danish Zealot and Popular Blues.

In the eighth over 2400m on the turf, Bratislava should enjoy the step up in trip and is tipped to beat Yearofthedragon and Le Chat D’Amour.

A horse to strongly consider at the Friday night meeting is the Puller-trained You Bolt. This strongly built filly was looking a picture yesterday and returns to the poly on which she won her maiden well. She could produce a storming run from a wide draw over 1200m in the fifth.

– By David Thiselton

Phumelela Gaming will give amateur horseracing in the Eastern Cape a boost by staging three races for horses, trainers and jockeys that compete on the rural racing circuit in the region.

The initiative flows from talks between the Eastern Cape Amateur Horseracing Association and Phumelela management in the region.

It has been agreed to stage three races at Fairview – a 1000m sprint on Friday 15 May, an 1100m race on Friday 12 June and then a 1200m race on Friday 10 July.

There are normal Fairview race meetings on those dates and in each case the amateur event will be carded as Race 1 on the programme.

Trainers, jockeys and horses will score points across the three races and awards will be presented in each of the three categories at the end of the series.

Phumelela will provide transport from selected pick-up points on the day before each race and all horses will undergo a veterinary examination to ensure they are fit to compete.

Prize money will be paid to the connections of the first five finishers in each race. All equipment for the horses and owner silks will be supplied by Phumelela.

All horses currently on the rural racing circuit will be eligible for the three races.

“It’s taken some time to put together and we are delighted that the series is now in place,” said Luciano Passerini, General Manager of Phumelela Horseracing in the Eastern Cape.

“Amateur racing takes place regularly in the rural community and we have wanted for some time to play our part in making it as safe as possible for all participants, as well as giving it the recognition it deserves,” he added.

– Phumelela Racing

Picture: Ingwe Municipality Racing (Nkosi Hlophe)

Summerveld trainer Alyson Wright had her big Western Winter gelding Warcraft on a float to her home country of Zimbabwe a day or two after he had galloped the field into the ground under apprentice Tristan Godden in a handicap over 1900m on the Greyville polytrack on Saturday, and on May 16 he will attempt to land a third Castle Tankard trophy for the yard in the space of four years.

The Gr 1 US$50,000 Castle Tankard over 2000m, run at Harare’s world class Borrowdale racecourse,  is  Zimbabwe’s most prestigious horserace and the Wright’s went within 0,5 lengths of claiming hattrick of wins in the big race last year. They won it with Code Rock, ridden by Francois Herholdt, in 2012 and A King Is Born, by a facile four lengths under Deon Sampson, in 2013. A King Is Born failed by half-a-length to repeat his win last year.

A feature of all three of the aforementioned runs was that the horse came in with bottom weight of  52kg and of them only Code Rock was under sufferance and then only by 1kg. The Wrights have gone one better this year as the weights were published before Warcraft’s win on Saturday and according to the official merit ratings he should be carrying 1,5kg more than his bottom weight of 52kg.

Borrowdale is at high altitude, so a lot will depend on how well Warcraft travels. He followed the same travel plan as Code Rock did in 2012 and arrived in Zimbabwe yesterday (Wednesday).

He will be taken care of by Alyson’s mother Penny Fisher, a fine trainer in her own right, and her brother Alistair Fisher.

Alyson’s husband and assistant trainer Kevin, a many-times Zimbabwean champion jockey, said, “Too many cooks spoil the broth so we leave it to Penny and Alistair.”

Kevin is happy with the draw of nine, “It’s a big course and has a long back straight, so there is a lot of time to get over and Athandiwe (Mgudlwa) knows how to ride him.”

Warcraft is a galloping type and Kevin said he should love the course, “as long as he’s handy.”

– By David Thiselton

Piere “Striker” Strydom closed within three victories of his 5000^th winner in South Africa at the Vaal on Tuesday with a typically brilliant ride on the 14/1 shot Stairway To Heaven. He would like to achieve the milestone on his home base of the Highveld and has a chance of doing it today on the Vaal sand, where he has six fancied rides in a weak meeting.

Strydom became the first South African to ride 5000 career winners when booting home the country’s highest rated three-year-old colt, Act Of War, in the Gr 2 Selangor Cup at Kenilworth on November 22 last year. However, 72 of his winners were ridden overseas, so his next goal was 5000 winners in South Africa.

He summed up today’s meeting, “I am not confident of riding the necessary three winners, but it is a possibility.”

Anything does look possible with this truly great jockey as evidenced by his winner on Tuesday. In running bookmakers would have probably offered at least 20/1 on the formless Stairway to Heaven entering the final 50m of the 1000m event, but the never say die Strydom had noticed the 1/3 favourite Winter Al beginning to wobble and his vigorously driven mount surged past to win on the line.

Strydom is one of the Vaal sand’s fiercest critics and hasn’t changed his opinion.

He said, “A horse should never have to go in that deep, we should be racing on racing surfaces. You can’t be too far back because it is a bit like running on the dry sand at the beach, it is deep and loose and it is very difficult to catch someone, whereas on the firmer, wet sand near the water’s edge you can. So you have to be handy on the Vaal sand, but if you try and jump and go the sand is loose and the horse can slip and stumble, so it’s a catch 22 situation.”

His first ride today is on Fiesta De Espana from draw 3 in the 2^nd race over 1000m. He said that the middle to outside draws tend to be favourable over this trip and he was not sure what to expect from a filly that ran second over course and distance last month but ran poorly over 1000m on the turf on Tuesday.

He said about his ride on the 1/5 shot Movie Man in the third over 1200m, “On current turf form he is the horse to beat. He has run on the sand before and didn’t do well, but the form of this race is weak.”

He rides Lizzie’s Legs over 1200m in the next and said, “She has very bad sand form and the only thing in her favour is her draw, but that doesn’t say she will be able to win.” The Rebel King filly is priced up favourite at 2/1 in this weak race as she is well bred for the course and distance and a couple of winners have come out of both of her sand runs over 1000m and 1450m respectively.

He rides the 5/1 joint-favourite Wishful Heart in the sixth over 1450m and said, “He is drawn badly and Louis (Goosen) said he would need the run (second run after a six month layoff).”

In race 7 over 1600m he is on second favourite Spellbound and said, “She might prefer further but  has a chance.”

In the last over 1800m he is on second favourite Dakiwe and said, “He has won on the sand before and is not without a chance.”

– David Thiselton

Picture: Piere Strydom winning on Act Of War (Liesl King)