Trainer Justin Snaith stole the show at Hollywoodbets Durbanville on Tuesday by saddling five winners on the midweek 10-race card at the country course, with four of those winners piloted by stable jockey Grant van Niekerk – Muzi Yeni rode the other.
And the eight-race meeting on Monday 16 October – an added fixture on the Hollywoodbets Spring Country Series calendar – looks likely to follow the same pattern as the Snaith-Van Niekerk combination is good value to add another three victories to their tally.
Well-bred Lightning Glow, who was a R350,000 yearling purchase, finished an encouraging third on debut over 1200m as a juvenile back in May and confirmed the promise of that introduction on his reappearance last month. This Vercingetorix colt, out who is out of a Jet Master mare, was drawn No 11 of 14 runners that day but ran on smartly to finish fourth just 2.30 lengths off the winner.
On pedigree, and judging by the evidence of that display, Lightning Glow should have a lot more to offer over 1400m in Race 2 with improved fitness on his side and from a favourable No 5 gate under Van Niekerk.
His paternal half-brother Plus Four, co-owned by legendary South African golfer Gary Player, is his most likely danger and including both sons of Vercingetorix in Swinger and Exacta bets ought to pay handsome dividends.
Van Niekerk steps in to replace JP van der Merwe for the ride on Lightning Glow and does likewise aboard Princess Izzy in Race 3 over 1400m. This Master Of My Fate filly has a tendency to start slowly and that bad habit has put pay to her chances of winning recently, including over this course and distance last time out.
She is awkwardly drawn in gate No 9 this time around but Van Niekerk will be wise to her antics in the starting stalls and Snaith’s charge needs only to jump on terms to shed her maiden tag at the fourth attempt.
Stablemate Epikleros and Queen Of The Palace are held on that form but ought to be competitive, so are worth throwing into Exacta and Trifecta bets, while Nile The Boss and even Redroseoflancaster must be included in Quartet permutations.
Lickety Split finished second under Van Niekerk last time out over 1600m at the country course and her return to the scene of that runners-up finish, which was her second in consecutive starts, in Race 6 ought to bring with it a breakthrough maiden success.
Snaith, Van Niekerk and Cape Racing Chairman Greg Bortz, whose colours Lickety Split carries, could also be seen to the fore in Race 8 with Magic Verse, another three-year-old colt by leading sire Vercingetorix. Snaith’s charge is improving and ought to find the step up to 1600m more to his liking, though he’ll need to make sufficient progress to thwart Naushon from registering an overdue first career win.
Clive Robinson
