Jack Milner
The card at Turffontein on Saturday is peppered with top-class racing however, the Grade 1 HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes looks to be the best race of the meeting.
For a start, it will be interesting to see how three-year-old World Sports Betting SA Classic winner Anfields Rocket fares against his older counterparts.
The R1-million race is one of three Grade 1 races over 1600m in the country, the other being the L’Ormarins King’s Plate at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth and the Gold Challenge at Hollywoodbets Greyville
Anfields Rocket is an extremely versatile colt who has won six of his nine races and is competitive whether racing over 1000m or 1800m. He was a convincing winner of the SA Classic over 1800m and has to be a strong contender for top honours in this event.
Many pundits, this one included, wondered what this Coup De Grace gelding was doing in the SA Classic as it seemed unlikely he would see out 1800m.
Wow, were we all wrong!
He came from midfield and produced a devastating finish, leaving all the opposition in his wake. It is clear trainer Grant Maroun has got an exceptional racehorse in his yard and he will have the chance to prove himself in some elevated company.
Raymond Danielson described his mount as a highly intelligent horse who knows how to position himself in a race. As one can expect, Danielson will be aboard once again.
Filly Under You Spell showed her class with an easy victory in the Grade 2 Hawaii Stakes and she is another highly talented individual.
Sean Tarry’s charge is an eight-time winner from 19 starts and will have no issue with the additional 400m this time.
Golden Ducat comes from a distinguished family and this half-brother to Rainbow Bridge and Hawwaam is himself a two-time Grade 1 winner.
He has his first run for Mike de Kock this time and he has the class to win this. However, he has yet to win over 1600m and in all likelihood this is a warm-up for the Champions Challenge over 2000m on 29 April.
Candice Bass-Robinson is hoping Grade 2 Green Point Stakes winner Trip To Heaven can grab a Grade 1 title and he has come up from the Cape.
“It’s always a gamble coming up from Cape Town but he deserves to take his chances. He enjoys the trip, I think the course will suit him and I believe he’s good enough.”
The Bass family has had lots of success raiding Gauteng Grade 1 races at this time of the year. Her father, Mike Bass, won the SA Classic with English Garden and the Computaform Sprint with What A Winter. In addition, top filly Inara completed a rare Grade 1 treble in 2016 in three different provinces, winning the Majorca Stakes in Cape Town, the Empress Club Stakes in Joburg and the Garden Province Stakes in Durban.
It is quite clear they know how to win top races on the Highveld.
Puerto Manzano comes into this race with excellent form and is the joint best weighted runner long with stable companion Bingwa.
While Puerto Manzano did win the World Sports Betting Summer Cup over 2000m, this Argentinian-bred gelding has two wins and four seconds in seven starts over the distance. He has the form, a top jockey in Keagan de Melo and a decent enough draw.
Bingwa loves this course and distance with three wins and a place from six starts. He runs particularly well for jockey Gavin Lerena with two wins and two places from four starts. While he does face some stiff opposition, this five-year-old cannot be left out of the reckoning and needs to be included in all bets.