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Greyville on Friday evening is the aperitif for the three-day KZN racing festival that encompasses The Sun Met at Kenilworth on Saturday and Scottsville on Sunday.
The Kenilworth card has been boosted by a host of carry-over pools and punters can get a head start with Danish Cross in the Greyville opener.
Duncan Howells is in Cape Town over seeing his two runners for Saturday and assistant James Rich will be doing the honours in his absence. Danish Cross was a hot favourite for her last intended start at Scottsville but was kicked in the starting stalls and was scratched at the instance of her trainer.
She appears to have come out of that incident unscathed and from and inside draw she rates the one to beat in spite of making her poly debut.
Mungo Cherry, with four-claiming apprentice Sandile Mbhele aboard, has run her two best races on the poly and may be a threat while Momo has improved in blinkers and after being touched off a piece of paper at her last outing looks a more likely danger to Danish Cross.
The balance of the card is made up of maiden races and lowly handicaps which could make things tricky for punters.
Johan Janse van Vuuren will also be in Cape Town for the Met and his assistant will saddle Crowd Pleaser this evening. The colt was good enough to run the well thought off Legend to two lengths as a maiden and followed up with an easy Maiden victory over tonight’s course and distance. He has some fair Highveld form to commend him and this being his third run after a break he is in with a strong chance.
Pure Logic will have his supporters after showing much improved form since being fitted with blinkers. He was a beaten favourite when taking on weaker on his handicap debut but he stays the trip and has a plum draw which adds to his appeal.
Howells has a strong chance of a double on the night with Accidental Tourist in the seventh. The daughter of Gimmethegreenlight has shown up well in two outings since shedding her maiden and took on much stronger last time out when third behind stable companion Lunar Rush. She tries this trip for the first time but her pedigree suggest that she will see out ever yard.
Vogue Idea and Tanami fought out the finish when last they met with the former getting home with a neck to spare. Vogue Idea is still in the black as far as the weights are concerned courtesy of four-claiming apprentice Serino Moodley and she also has the better draw which could see the pair finish in the same order.
Greyville’s six-race meeting on Saturday coincides with The Sun Met meeting in the Cape that forms part of the exotics along with the Blue Label Telecoms Cape Stayers where the Snaith-trained Ovidio is a strong favourite. But Helderberg Blue can finally take his rightful place in the limelight and is taken to put one over the favourite.
Racing moves to Scottsville on Sunday where Howells again looks to have a strong contender for an exotic bet banker in the form of New Golden Age in the fifth.
The gelding caught the eye when finishing strongly from a wide draw at only his second start when third on the Greyville turf last Friday.
Mark Dixon’s runner Prime Suspect with Anthony Delpech aboard looks the obvious danger. He finished a good third behind the highly-regarded Howells-trained Wild Wicket on debut and is expected to improve.
