SPORTING POST • Thursday 16 maRch 2017 1 SATURDAY 18 MARCH SUNDAY 19 MARCH Thursday 16 march 2017 Durbanville Racecourse Click here to view the catalogue online FAIRVIEW turf Friday Best Roving Banker: r3 - (5) Rainbow Skink (4/1) GREYVILLE poly Friday Best Roving Banker: r2 – (1) Kings Empire (4/1) TURFFONTEIN Saturday Best Roving Banker: r1 – (6) Laurent Du Var (5/2) KENilwORTH Saturday Best Roving Banker: r3 – (4) Plano (3/1) GREYVILLE poly Sunday Best Roving Banker: r2 – (2) Structured Reply (7/1) Friday 10 March Fairview - race 3 Sporting Post Best Handicapped Love Without End The CTS March Yearling Sale, aka Book Two, This year’s Book Two sale should be no different. WON 35/1 caters for the middle market in all respects. Last There’s just one catalogued by captain al, and one year the average price barely exceeded R100k, by Trippi. No Silvano, no dynasty. Var has a mere with a median of R70k, and little difference be- four of the 256 catalogues lots. tween how colts and fillies sold. The key at this sale will rest with physical inspec- Vendors who got the highest prices (R650k was tion rather than catalogue page black type. It’s a the topper) fitted the bill – the top ten were sold by virtual certainty that there’s a speedy hare hiding Sorrento, avontuur, ambiance, Favour, Sandown, amongst these march sale yearlings. It’s up to you Narrow creek, highlands, Winterbach and heyns. to find out where, even if inspecting all 256 lots may Then the buyers: mike Bass got three of the top drive you mad! ten, mayfair just a single one. Freshman sire What a Winter had three in the Click here for the Full eValuaTION OF lots on top ten last year. The other seven were by Oratorio, the Sporting Post website. Var, Black minnaloushe, Twice Over, Trippi, antoni- Click here for the invaluable free BuyeR’S GuIde us Pius, Querari. for the sale. SPORTING POST • Thursday 16 maRch 2017 2 E-CAPE SPRINT CUP-(L) his first win in over a year – at his sixth eastern cape start – last time out. he beat afrikaburn with ease and drops down to the 1200m. This 2yo Gr3 winner achieved his early success over the Plain Sailing sprints and his one-time highest mR of 113 exceeds anything E-Cape Sprint Cup-(L) Fairview achieved by any of the others he faces. Trainer Tara Laing has a powerful hand in the R150.000 con- Thayer beat Sir duke by almost 3 lengths over the course and test, saddling a trio of established speed merchants who have distance earlier this month, and now has a 7kg weight swing won 20 races between them, including a Gr1 for Normanz. against him. The course and distance specialist will be hard The cup is run over 1200m, at weight-for-age plus penalties for pressed to follow up. Gr1, Gr2, Gr3 and listed victories. The 18 month expiry window cuban emerald returns from a 6 week break following an for these wins to apply means that the 4kg Normanz would have unplaced run on met day. he is talented but would need to up his incurred for his career-peak Gr1 Golden horse Sprint success game to challenge the proven top league hard-knockers at level does not count – that was way back in may 2014. weights. Trainer laing said stable jockey callan murray had opted to captured Wind is beset with soundness issues and is battling to ride Tar heel, who has his first run in Pe on transfer from Joey regain a semblance of his better earlier form. he was not perse- Ramsden. “callan is our first-choice rider and he picked Tar heel. vered with at his last start. Jockeys, like trainers, can get it wrong though and, short of the fact that we are still getting acquainted with Tar heel, it would be The speed contest between clear Sailing and the laing trio very difficult for me to single out one of them as superior at level should make for a fascinating tactical duel. Greg cheyne on clear weights.” Sailing may try and run the boys off their feet, but the test will She added that Sir duke is very consistent and just doesn’t come in that final 100m. know how to run a bad race. “he is a really lovely horse who gives It all depends which way the wind blows. his all. Normanz oozes class and he actually beat Sir duke last time. Tar heel only arrived here on 23 February from Joey and has settled in well. The problem with the older horses – and even me - is that a lot depends on what side of the bed we get up on in the morning! They are all working well, though, and there should Star Drummer be little to split them – they will be right there.” drum Star, bred by When pressed for a possible danger, she said that the Greeff Pa Serfontein, was mare clear Sailing was ‘in the form of her life’ and the obvious a R25.000 National horse to beat. Sale yearling, by Between the laing and Greeff yards, they saddle six of the nine hard up out of un- runners. clear Sailing heads the SP ratings and looks to be the raced Foveros-mare Greeff trio elect. The speedy chestnut has won 4 of her last 5 Star drums who races and produced a dazzling display over track and trip last time went to stud as a when she simply ran away from her field in the listed lady’s Pen- 2yo (her first foal dant. The returned-from-injury Greg cheyne is back in the saddle. Terrestrial Beat was born when she was three, and won 4 Next up on the SP ratings is Tar heel, who was finding things races). tough in the Gr1 league at home – his last run in the cape Flying Trained by Gary alexander drum Star went on to win 12 championship suggesting he was ready to be shipped to easier races from 2 to 6, for earnings of R2.2 million, and a mR hunting grounds. But this race looks a baptism of fire! 116. he won two Gr1 races, the horse chestnut 1600 and Normanz beat Sir duke readily last time. he was subsequently champion Stakes at Turffontein, and was runner-up in the withdrawn at end February when lame. his form on turf is con- Gr1 Sharp cup, a race won two years earlier by his half sistent. brother Planetary music. Sir duke, the 2015 victor of this race, has won ten races and is overdue to START PA5/PICK SIX4/JACKPOT3 score again 4:00PM EAST CAPE SPRINT CUP (L)(TURF) - 1200M after three FaIRVIEW 7 SAME TRAINER:(1-2-3)(6-7-9) seconds on Var 1 TAR HEEL(T Laing) C Murray ............................ 1 60.0 the trot. Var 2 NORMANZ(T Laing) M Thackeray ..................... 9 60.0 Click here to view the catalogue online Trippi 3 SIR DUKE(T Laing) R Danielson ........................ 8 60.0 Former Western Winter 4 KINGVOLDT(Y Bremner) L Hewitson ................. 6 60.0 Joey Rams- Trippi 5 CUBAN EMERALD(J Snaith) G Lerena ............ 5 60.0 Bankable 6 THAYER(AC Greeff) X Ndlovu............................. 3 60.0 den-runner THIS THURSDAY Whitechapel 7 INSEARCHOFTHESUN(AC Greeff) T Gould ..... 4 60.0 Kingvoldt Sail From Seattle 8 CAPTURED WIND(C Spies) C Zackey ............. 2 60.0 16 MARCH Argonaut 9 CLEAR SAILING(AC Greeff) G Cheyne ............. 7 58.5 finally found Mistico Equestrian Centre • Paarl his feet with can be purchased here SPORTING POST • Thursday 16 maRch 2017 3 Drum Star HanDicap-(L) milestone was achieved by a runner racing in the silks of Ferraris stalwart Peter dimakogiannis, a man who has held his colour Prince Should Rule privileges for 45 years. after the win, dimakogiannis said that he Drum Star Handicap-(L) Turffontein was more thrilled for his trainer than for his personal winner: “We are like a perfect pair in blackjack – and he has always been my Romany Prince bids to win this R150k race for the second trainer – and is my only trainer. I love this man.” year running. The field of ten on the Turffontein 1800m inside Ferraris completed his trainer’s apprenticeship under George track includes a few staying types stretching their legs, and Weale, with his licence being granted in 1952. he trained his first that includes the SP top-rated The Elmo Effect, who may find winner, Shenandoah, in 1954. himself run off his feet over this trip. Romany Prince enjoys the services of back-from-suspension Gavin lerena. The Gr3 london News Stakes winner may have found things a bit sharp over the 1400m hawaii Stakes last time, CHELTENHAM when outrun in the closing stages, to finish some five lengths behind Rafeef. his penultimate start, when hanging on for third in the Wolf Power 1600 behind Irish Pride and Rafeef, was a very decent effort. Tradition And Triumph Samurai Blade has won 2 of his last 3 starts and was beaten Highlight of this week’s Cheltenham Festival is the Gold about two lengths by Romany Prince in the london News. Cup Chase on Friday’s seven race programme. The jewel he is 2.5kg better off so might well turn the tables, with Piere in the crown of the National Hunt calendar carries a Strydom up and from a good draw. his stablemate Stonehenge stake equivalent to more than R9 million, and is run over will be up with the pace, but has failed to show in two runs since 5300m with an energy sapping total of 22 fences to ne- a blank in the Sansui Summer cup.