History has a funny way of repeating itself and chances are, it could do so on Tuesday 19 September at Hollywoodbets Durbanville, where Candice Bass-Robinson enjoyed a four-timer on the nine-race card last Wednesday.
With her yard in good form, Bass-Robinson is good value to repeat that feat with four more winners at the next Cape Town meeting, which is another nine-race midweek card at the country course.
Stable jockey Aldo Domeyer rode two of the stable’s four winners last week – Gareth Wright and Morne Winnaar rode the others – but is likely to boot home all four winners himself this time around, beginning with consistent three-year-old filly Strata in Race 1.
This daughter of Canford Cliffs has become costly to follow but ought to see her consistency rewarded with an overdue maiden success sooner rather than later, and the re-fitting of alumites behind is expected to eke out the necessary improvement from Strata to belatedly open her account in the opener over 1000m. She has raced unshod behind in her last six starts and has performed consistently but without success, so this change to Strata’s shoeing could prove a masterstroke on Bass-Robinson’s part.
Well-bred Rainbow Lorikeet improved with each outing during her three-start juvenile campaign last season and, when last seen in competitive action 10 weeks ago, stayed on gamely under pressure after racing from a handy position to finish a close-up third over 1400m. She makes her reappearance in Race 3 over the same distance and it could pay to follow the progress of this Querari filly (out of the stable’s well-performed former Grade 1 winner Nightingale) who, like her mother, should get better with age.
Winnaar has ridden Rainbow Lorikeet in each outing so the decision to engage Domeyer for the ride is certainly worth taking cognisance of.
Like Strata earlier, Trippi’s Silk ought to break his duck and shed his maiden tag by winning Race 4 with the step up to 1600m likely to suit and extract further progress from the improving three-year-old gelding who was left too much to do under Domeyer last time, when running on from a long way to finish third over 1400m. He was beaten just 1.80 lengths but was conceding 7.5kg to the winner Hat’s Pride, who subsequently franked that form by finishing second to a progressive and promising three-year-old on last week’s card.
With improvement expected over the ‘mile’ in his peak outing and Domeyer retaining the ride, Trippi’s Silk is an attractive betting proposition and well worth a punt on the nose!
Callmegetrix has been touted as one of the stable’s leading lights in this season’s three-year-old features/classics and makes an eagerly anticipated comeback in Race 7 over 1400m. This improving last-start winner has shown promise in every one of her three outings and progressed with each step up in distance over an extra 200m. She confirmed the promise of her 1000m debut third behind highly regarded Baltic Secret by finishing in the same position but three lengths nearer the winner over 1200m next time out, so wasn’t winning out of turn when scoring at the third attempt stepped up to 1400m in her last start 69 days ago.
During her subsequent time off, Callmegetrix would have strengthened and matured so is, undoubtedly, open to any amount of improvement despite a lack of recent ‘match’ fitness. Bass-Robinson’s charge is awkwardly drawn at No 10 in the 11-horse field but is expected to acquit herself well under Domeyer who, unsurprisingly, retains the ride aboard another of the yard’s exciting prospects.
Although not trained by Bass-Robinson but rather by Andre Nel, another runner who looks to be useful and is worth a bet is Candy Town in Race 8, a Class 4 event for fillies and mares over 1000m. This daughter or Querari finished a close-up third on debut at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth, but she really has taken a liking to Durbanville and has subsequently notched up an impressive double at the course.
She has excellent gate speed and once out of the stalls has the pace to run her rivals off their feet.
She is nicely drawn in gate No 5 as has Pierre Orffer in the irons, a jockey who has ridden her in all three starts.
Candy Town stands out as the best bet on the card and could assure punters a winning end to the meeting.
Clive Robinson
