Best Bets And Tips: Scottsville And Turffontein

It’s once again a feature weekend to look forward to as the Track And Ball Horse Race Derby and Oaks takes place on Saturday. We also share our best bets and tips on Sunday where Turffontein throws up a tricky card.

Scottsville – (Saturday)

Race 2 – Ensuing

One of the best bets on the card on Saturday comes in Race 2 where S’manga Khumalo teams up with Vaughn Marshall for the top selection, Ensuing. The 2-year-old colt has improved in each run and looks to be at home over 1600m. He finished runner-up in his last start with the sixth horse in the race coming out to frank the form, while a few other horses in the race have been campaigning in much tougher tasks since that outing.

Race 6 – Track And Ball Derby (Gr 3) – Senso Unico

Senso Unico comes into this year’s Track And Ball derby as the top-rated horse in the race. He finished off strongly in the Daily News 2000 and will be suited to the extra 400m. This will be his third run after a rest and after campaigning in a few features to date, he should be one of the first horses to cross the finish line. Sean Veale has ridden the son of Twice Over in his last two starts and should make it third time lucky for the Vaughn Marshall stable.

Race 7 – Track And Ball Oaks (Gr 2) – Light Of The Moon

Light Of The Moon has a tough task ahead of her to beat She’s A Keeper, but the 3-year-old daughter of Futura has plenty of scope about her and should give the tote favourite a run for her money. She does carry a light mass of just 56kgs on her back and has gone on to win in her only attempt over this distance. Over 50m more in the SA Oaks, Light Of The Moon was outrun very late on by Triple Tiara winner, Rain In Holland. Muzi Yeni is in top form and knows this filly very well so she should go close here.

Race 8 – After The Rain

Another strongly fancied runner on the day comes in the form of After The Rain from the Gareth van Zyl yard. The 4-year-old son of Master Of My Fate has a proven track record at Scottsville, winning all three of his starts on this course. He hasn’t, however, run over the minimum trip, but with plenty of gate speed and being a known frontrunner, he should be right on the money in this race. Calvin Habib gets the ride and is in superb form after winning a couple of Grade 1 events this month.

Turffontein – (Sunday)

Race 3 – River Romeo

Not often do you see confidence from a first-timer because you never know how green they could be on the track? Word on the street says River Romeo is a very highly-rated horse from the Mike and Adam Azzie yard though and cost Mr. Pandaram R800 000. The betting market will be the key indicator here, but with S’manga Khumalo aboard, a confident ride is expected.

Race 5 – Team Gold

Raymond Danielson’s only ride for the day comes in Race 5 in the form of Team Gold. The 3-year-old gelding has had two eye-catching runs in his last two starts, winning in his penultimate run before finishing runner-up over this course and distance last time out. He’s in great shape, solid form and should take a power of beating despite this being a competitive field.

Race 7 – Captain Chorus

There seems to be some value in this race with Captain Chorus opening at hefty odds. The 5-year-old gelding ran third behind one of the best stayers in the country, Nebraas, last time and stayed on nicely over 2400m. Craig Zackey gets the ride and knows this sort well, winning whilst on his back in the past. In fact, he has never finished outside the first four under Zackey so he is certainly worth following here.

Race 8 – Lamborghreeni

This son of Gimmethegreenlight improved massively to come out of the maidens in his last start. He won by 4 lengths in his last run and should follow that up here in this weak field. Lamborghreeni will likely set the pace and will benefit from the inside draw of gate 2. Calvin Habib gets the ride for the first time, and as mentioned, he looks very difficult to look past considering the way he is riding at the moment.