There’s plenty of fascinating feature racing to look forward to this weekend, coming your way from Turffontein and Scottsville.
Turffontein (Sartuday)
Race 3 – Zeus
Zeus returned to winning ways last time despite another slow start, losing two lengths out the gates. The son of Soft Falling Rain quickened up when it mattered most and found a bit extra to get his fifth career victory. Gavin Lerena retains the ride and will hope to maintain Zeus’ unbeaten record over the 2400m mark.
Race 5 – Big Burn
One of the speediest fillies in the country gets to show her class in the first Graded race of the day. Big Burn won her last start by over 3 lengths and goes for a hat-trick of wins this Saturday. The daughter of Elusive Fort has plenty of gate speed and gets the services of Richard Fourie, who is fresh from winning the Cape Met last week. She’s drawn wide at barrier draw 11 of 12, which should suit her up the straight, getting a good run up the outside of the track.
Race 6 – Gimme A Shot
The first leg of the Triple Tiara could be quite easier to call than what the field suggests with Gimme A Shot tipped as one of the better bets on the card. She’s won her last two starts by over 3 lengths each under JP van der Merwe and the form lines from her recent runs have been franked, which gives some confidence coming into a race of this magnitude. Her turn of foot is extraordinary and with luck in running, she could be very difficult to beat here.
Race 7 – Anfields Rocket
Anfields Rocket produced a run to remember last time out, losing over 4 lengths at the start, but fought hard to get back into the race to eventually win by a half a length. Raymond Danielson is once again the pilot on board and will hope to get a better start this time around. The chestnut gelding has won five of his seven races and is unbeaten on this course. It looks like the first leg of the Triple Crown will be going his way.
Scottsville (Sunday)
Race 1 – Variety Fair
Variety Fair looks for the right horse in this maiden field of fillies. The daughter of Var produced a great run for the Mike Miller stable the first time out and will come on from that run. Serino Moodley is once again on board the former Peter Muscutt-trained filly. She steps up her trip by a furlong and will be at home over the 1200m mark.
Race 2 – Super Fast
One of the better bets on Sunday comes in Race 2 as Super Fast leads the betting market. The son of Querari produced a great comeback run to finish a short head in the second spot. He made great progress in the latter stages and will relish the extra 400m in the trip. Keagan De Melo retains the ride and should be able to get this 3-year-old gelding out of the maidens.
Race 6 – Sea Master
Race 6 throws up a tricky contest at Scottsville, but Sea Master looks to be slightly ahead of the field. He returns to KZN and will show that he is much better than his last two starts. The son of Master Of My Fate gets the services of Richard Fourie and despite carrying 61kgs, he should be able to coax a bit more from the Carl Hewitson-trained gelding.
Race 7 – Diani
The top jockeys could be worth following at Scottsville on Sunday with Keagan De Melo expected to get another winner on board Diani. The son of Ideal World has won three in a row now and is unbeaten over the 1400m distance. De Melo is leading the way with the most wins for a jockey this season and should kick on and get another victory under his belt.