Miss World has been tipped to win the eighth race (Picture: Wayne Marks).
Graeme Hawkins (Gold Circle)
The R160 000 Royal Raceday Class 3 Handicap over 1250m, billed as the eighth event on a 9-race card at Hollywoodbets Durbanville on Saturday, could see the highly rated Miss World score an overdue and well-deserved victory. The 3yo daughter of One World has been placed in her last five starts, including two close runner-up berths in her most recent outings, and she would certainly not be winning out of turn. But this is a competitive handicap and Miss World will need to pull out all the stops to ward off the attentions of Dumbledore, War Chariot, African Prince, Callmegetrix and Kelp Forest.
Richard Fourie is a notable jockey booking for Dumbledore whose last victory came at the Country course when beating Bjorn Ironside over the track and trip. He is clearly better than his last run but is generally consistent and he should go well for the Champion Jockey. War Chariot hails from the in-form team of Harold Crawford and Michelle Rix and the 4yo son of Pomodoro has won twice at Durbanville. The form of his last start has been solidly franked and with a handy galloping weight of 54kgs, War Chariot appears over-priced at 14/1 in the ante-post market.
African Prince is difficult to assess but his last start when finishing a good second behind Empire State was encouraging. This will be his peak after being rested and gelded and has only 53kgs to shoulder. With the track running as fast as it is, African Prince may be a little outpaced in the early stages, but he should be doing his best work late and could get into the mix. Callmegetrix is a model of consistency and did us proud with a good win over 1600m at the beginning of last month. She now steps back sharply in trip but jumps from a good barrier position and is not without a chance of going back-to-back, although I am somewhat surprised to see her at the top of the betting boards in the early exchanges. Kelp Forest has it all do from the worst of the draw, but he is holding form well and has previously run well at the Country course.
Greg Ennion has endured a frustrating run of late, but Miss World could lift the mood in the camp and register her second career victory but its likely to be a hard-fought and closely contested affair.
The second race on the programme is the R160 000 Cape B Stakes over 1600m and Justin Snaith comes with a three-pronged attack in the small field of seven runners. Stable elect appears to be the progressive Let It Be Said who was a facile winner over 1400m on WSB Cape Town Met day. Let It Be Said has finished in the top two positions in six of his eight starts to date and the 3yo son of Vercingetorix should have no problems coping with the extra 200m here. He has been priced up at 17/10 but could well start shorter come race time. Stable companion Future Turn rates the immediate threat but, although placed on an ultra-consistent basis, this seasoned 5yo son of Futura has not won for 623 days and he may once again have to settle for minor money.
Rich Folks Hoax from the Dean Kannemeyer stable could spoil the Snaith party but he steps up in class here and will need to lift his game further. That said, the 3yo son of Danon Platina does have scope and will be running on well at the line. Fatal Gem has won three races at Durbanville and is in fact undefeated over track and trip. She is more than capable of holding her own in this class and her last run over 2000m is best ignored. Innamorare is the third string to Snaith’s bow and a winner of his only start over the course and distance. As a 7-time winner he cannot be discounted but his stable companions are slightly preferred. Hampstead Heath ran below expectations last time and faces a tough test in this competitive line-up.
In summary, Let It Be Said is heading in the right direction and gets the nod to come out on top in his first foray over 1600m, shaping up as a potential Bipot banker.
The vote for nap-of-the-day goes to Victor Hugo in the fifth race, an Open Maiden over 1400m. Trained by Lucinda Woodruff, Victor Hugo was a beaten favourite in his last two starts but he sports blinkers for the first time and from a decent barrier position the 3yo son of Danon Platina should get it right in his fifth race track appearance. The main threat could come from Show Off who was not disgraced on debut and should have plenty of scope for improvement.
