Highveld trainers Corne Spies and Fanie Bronkhorst have been among the winners recently and the good form of both stables should continue at the next midweek meeting in Johannesburg on Thursday 13 June.
The eight-race card on Turffontein’s Inside track is the proverbial ‘bread-and-butter’ meeting.
Consisting of mostly competitive handicaps – two for maidens – punters should be provided with numerous value options.
Spies, who saddled a 10-1 winner at the same venue last Thursday, and Bronkhorst. whose Var-filly Valieva delivered the goods for favourite-backers at generous odds of 4-1 on Tuesday at the Vaal, have runners with an Eachway-chance throughout the day, with Race 6 over 2600m being the only contest on the card void of a runner from either yard.
Spies and Bronkhorst have particularly strong winning chances with their runners early on the card, and the former should get the ball rolling in Race 1 with two-year-old filly Messalina over 1500m.
This daughter of Querari has acquitted herself competitively in maiden races against other juveniles and older rivals. She should, however, find a Work Riders’ Maiden Handicap an easier assignment under the accomplished Siyabonga Mkhumbuzi, who finished second in a Work Riders’ maiden last week.
Messalina maintained her form with another creditable showing over 1600m seven days ago when finishing fourth, beaten 5.35-lengths on the Inside track in open company. A repeat of that performance is likely to be good enough to shed her maiden tag.
Bronkhorst saddles three of the eight runners engaged in Race 2 and including his trio in Swinger and Exacta bets should return a profit. In fact, a stable 1-2-3 isn’t beyond the realms of possibility, so it could be worth taking a chance by including Bronkhorst’s brigade in a Boxed Trifecta.
Unexposed Delphi Dancer represents the value in the race and this lightly raced Canford Cliffs-filly need only go through with her effort to upstage her stablemates Pendragon and Dark Tide.
She blew out alarmingly in the betting last time but raced prominently for much of that 1000m handicap before emptying out quickly in the closing stages. Admittedly, she was eased out of contention after not responding to jockey Chase Maujean’s urgings, so the margin of defeat is probably exaggerated. It is encouraging that Maujean keeps faith in Delphi Dancer who ought to fare better given the drop in class.
Gavin Lerena, who is riding like a man possessed, takes over the reins from Maujean aboard Bronkhorst’s Willow Magic-gelding Breath Of Magic in the second of the Maiden Handicaps, Race 3 over 1500m, and is good value to complete a quick race-to-race double for the yard with a breakthrough success which his consistency deserves.
He finished seventh over 1450m on the Inside track in early May but was drawn wide on that occasion, so should be forgiven that disappointing performance. Bronkhorst’s charge has bounced back to his earlier form in consecutive outings on the KZN Polytrack at Hollywoodbets Greyville. Despite shouldering top-weight 60kg, Breath Of Magic returns to the Highveld with his sights set firmly on a maiden career victory with an in-form jockey in the irons from a favourable No 3 gate.
Spies-trained Linganomore confirmed the form and improvement of her 1800m Inside track handicap win by finishing a 2-length third under her resultant two-point penalty in a 2000m Polytrack handicap at Greyville three weeks ago. This hard-knocking Byword-mare is likely to continue her momentum – and that of her trainer and stable – when she lines up in Race 4 over 1600m under regular pilot Marco van Rensburg.
She renews rivalry with Count Your Chances, whom she holds on the form of their 7 May meeting over 1600m at the Vaal.
The Bronkhorst-trained latter finished 2.75 lengths adrift of Spies’ runner on that occasion and should pose more of a threat on 1,5kg better terms. However, she is drawn widest of the 12 runners whereas Linganomore could enjoy the run of the race from gate No 2.
Clive Robinson
