Jack Milner
While much attention is being focused on next weekend’s World Sports Betting Cape Town Met, this is a relatively quiet weekend with regard to local feature races.
However, there is one on offer and that is the Listed Betway Swallow Stakes for three-year-old fillies over 1160m on the Turffontein Standside fillies on Saturday.
However, the eight-race card has now been reduced seven after three scratchings from Race 3 reduced the field to just three runners, so a decision was taken to scrap the race.
The field will apply in all the Exotics.
Tony Peter-trained Almond Sea tops the field for the Listed feature and she can hopefully win her first race as a three-year-old.
The daughter Canford Cliffs filly has won four of her seven starts and does have valid excuses for the three defeats.
Slow starts in her last two performances have led to defeats, but not by very far.
Almond Sea returned from a break when finishing third, 1.25 Lengths behind Ice Star over 1000m at Turffontein in November after being slowly away.
The three-year-old filly chased home speedy Chocolate Soldier on a soft track again after losing ground at the start.
Interestingly, all three of her defeats have come in soft going and the good news for her connections is that after a heavy storm on Thursday, the sun shone brightly on Friday and if that good weather continues, hopefully the track will have dried out immeasurably.
It is the third run back for her and the first-time jockey Gavin Lerena gets aboard. He is riding at the top of his game and that could make all the difference.
Peter did feel early in her two-year-old career that he was uncertain whether she would see out much further than the minimum trip but in those days she was a tearaway and left little in reserve.
These days, however, she has learned how to settle and that should make all the difference this time.
Earlier on the card, in Race 2, the highest-rated maiden in South Africa will runs in a Maiden Plate over 1160m.
Winds Of Change has a merit rating of 107 after some good efforts in Grade 1 races last year.
The What A Winter colt has not run since July but his trainers, the father and son team of Michael and Adam Azzie, do not run totally unfit horses and the half-brother to Safe Passage and Silver Sanctuary should finally crack a win.
Jack Milner’s selections
Race 1: 6 Dupont Emerald, 1 Exceedingly Glam, 2 Great Notion, 3 Tipperary
Race 2: 1 Winds Of Change, 10 Ring A Ling, 8 Ringho, 3 Kwagga Blitz
Race 3: CANCELLED – FIELD COUNTS IN EXOTICS
Race 4: 10 Spumante Dolce, 2 Dark Silver, 1 Kudzu, 6 Safe Space
Race 5: 9 Royal Edition, 10 Towers Of Gold, 1 Captainofthegreen, 8 Forgiveness
Race 6: 1 Kings Again, 5 Green Sapphire, 7 Pretty Precious, 3 Golden Aspen
Race 7: 2 Almond Sea, 3 Rodeo Drive, 6 Poblano, 5 Pointer
Race 8: 7 Virgin River, 2 Halcyon, 8 Beamonesque, 6 The Navy Lark
BEST BET
Race 2: 1 Winds Of Change
VALUE BET
Race 6: 1 Kings Again
BEST SWINGER
Race 7 2x3
BIPOT
R72
Leg 1: 1, 2, 3, 6
Leg 2: 1
Leg 3: 1
Leg 4: 1, 2, 10
Leg 5: 1, 9, 10
Leg 6: 1, 5
PLACE ACCUMULATOR
R54
Leg 1: 1
Leg 2: 1
Leg 3: 2, 10
Leg 4: 1, 9, 10
Leg 5: 1, 5, 7
Leg 6: 2
Leg 7: 2, 7, 8
PICK 6
R576
Leg 1: 1
Leg 2: 1, 2, 6, 10
Leg 3: 1, 9, 10
Leg 4: 1, 3, 5, 7
Leg 5: 2, 3, 6
Leg 6: 2, 6, 7, 8
JACKPOT 1
R144
Leg 1: 1, 2, 6, 10
Leg 2: 1, 9, 10
Leg 3: 1, 3, 5, 7
Leg 4: 2, 3, 6