Loads of variety in Easter Sprint

Jack Milner

The Easter Sprint tops the card at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Tuesday and this Non-Black Type race over 1100m looks quite open.

Only seven horses are carded to go to post, and one could almost make a case for any of them.

The runner to beat on form is Dance Variety. This four-year-old Var gelding, trained by Adam Marcus, is certainly the most consistent runner in this line-up, with three wins, four seconds, a fourth and fifth in his last nine runs.

The fifth place, which came after a more than three-month layoff, was a 3.15-length defeat by Thunderstruck in the Non-Black Type Bantry Bay Stakes over this course and distance. Just 0.50 lengths in front of him was reopposing Rio Querari while behind him were Mr Cobbs and Mufasa.

That run clearly brought him on well because he won his next start and followed that up with two runner-up spots. All seven runners competed against one another to some degree and on the basis of those performances the balance does tip in favour of Dance Variety, but not by much.

Perhaps the best race to look at is the last time they all met, and that was in a Cape A Stakes over 1000m won by Winter Cloud. Dance Variety ran second with Rio Querari in third, Mufasa in fourth and Mr Cobbs in fifth.

Dance Variety finished two lengths ahead of Rio Querari but the latter is now 1.5kg worse off so he looks unlikely to reverse the placings.

Mufasa was beaten 2.50 lengths by Dance Variety but both he and Mr Cobbs meet the Marcus-trained runner at the same weights, so they too seem unlikely to turn that around.

Nevertheless, this is an extra 100m and that could make a difference.

Corne Orffer is back aboard Dance Variety, and he has a particularly good relationship with this gelding. He has ridden him four times for two wins, a second and a third.

But another interesting runner is Tough Terrain who has been in excellent form of late and last time out flew up late to catch The Abdicator to win by a 0.30 lengths. The runner-up is a decent enough horse, with four wins from 11 starts, and he then came out to win his next race impressively.

It is also worth noting that trainer Brett Crawford nominated his charge to run in the Grade 1 Jonsson Workwear Computaform Sprint over 1000m at Turffontein on Saturday. Although he did not accept, his entry does indicate the high esteem in which The Abdicator is regarded.

That does elevate the performance of Tough Terrain.

Justin Snaith’s charge will carry just 51kg and with Joshwin Solomons aboard, looks quite capable of causing an upset.

Another runner of interest is Vaughan Marshall-trained Icy Blast, who is 2.5kg better off with Dance Variety for a 2.40-length defeat. That brings them quite close together and is another to include in exotic bets.

Sean Veale picks up the ride on the three-year-old Erupt gelding.

Jack Milner’s selections

Race 1: 1 Summer Snow, 10 Gimmethegoodlife, 9 Dawn Till Dusk, 6 Bank Street

Race 2: 1 Rama Forcesa, 6 Bomber Bay, 9 Time Honored, 10 Unsung Hero

Race 3: 7 Lion Rampart, 5 All Is Green, 6 Kaiboy, 3 Southern Express

Race 4: 9 Pretty Precious, 1 Ice Rain, 5 Charlotte Bronte, 4 Ruby Claire

Race 5: 3 Lickety Split, 8 English Mistress, 7 Lucky Thirteen, 5 Sansa Stark

Race 6: 6 Unconquerable Lady, 7 Pacific Green, 3 Miss Marguerite, 2 Distinction

Race 7: 5 Dance Variety, 3 Tough Terrain, 4 Icy Blast, 7 Rio Querari

Race 8: 9 Easy Money, 6 Palo Queen, 7 Strata, 8 Wordsworth

BEST BET

Race 4 9 Pretty Precious

VALUE BET

Race 8 9 Easy Money

BEST SWINGER

Race 4 1x9

BIPOT

R90

Leg 1: 1, 6, 7, 9, 10

Leg 2: 1, 6

Leg 3: 7

Leg 4: 9

Leg 5: 3, 7, 8

Leg 6: 3, 6, 7

PLACE ACCUMULATOR

R108

Leg 1: 1, 6

Leg 2: 7

Leg 3: 9

Leg 4: 3, 8

Leg 5: 3, 6, 7

Leg 6: 3, 4, 5

Leg 7: 6, 7, 9

PICK 6

R800

Leg 1: 5, 7

Leg 2: 9

Leg 3: 3, 5, 6, 7, 8

Leg 4: 2, 3, 6, 7

Leg 5: 3, 4, 5, 7

Leg 6: 4, 6, 7, 8, 9

JACKPOT 1

R60

Leg 1: 9

Leg 2: 3, 5, 6, 7, 8

Leg 3: 2, 3, 6, 7

Leg 4: 3, 4, 5, 7

JACKPOT 2

R400

Leg 1: 3, 5, 6, 7, 8

Leg 2: 2, 3, 6, 7

Leg 3: 3, 4, 5, 7

Leg 4: 4, 6, 7, 8, 9