Focus on speed at Scottsville

Saturday’s four big races will feature top speedsters

Champion sprinter Usain Bolt, a special guest at the Sun Met in January, would relish the action at Scottsville on Saturday with four grade 1 races in which the emphasis is on sheer speed.

All the country’s top trainers, such as Sean Tarry, Justin Snaith and Mike de Kock, bring talented speed merchants to the Maritzburg track while the smaller yards, such as Dorrie Sham and St John Gray, will be looking to upset the big guns. Here is a look at the four big races:

Allan Robertson Championship

The big Gauteng stables of Tarry and De Kock look to hold the aces with Celtic Sea and Ghalla. Slight preference is for Celtic Sea — the mount of S’manga Khumalo — but Randall Simons will be doing his utmost to spoil the party by scoring on Ghalla.

He will be well aware that injuries to top jockeys — notably Anthony Delpech and Anton Marcus — mean there is a rare opportunity to bag a grade 1 win for the stable of De Kock.

De Kock has back-up in Dagmar (Muzi Yeni) but, if the ante-post market is correct, St John Gray’s runner Ronnie’s Candy rates the main threat to Celtic Sea and Ghalla.

Gold Medallion

Another chance for Tarry and Khumalo to visit the No 1 box — this time with Cirillo, who has filled the runner-up berth in his last three races. However, the opposition is formidable, headed by Dennis Bosch’s unbeaten speedster Cue The Music. Victory would continue the hot form of Gauteng-based jockey Gunter Wrogemann.

Robbie Sage saddles William the Silent, who has a serious shout if reproducing his recent Turffontein run, but the value may lie with Brett Crawford’s representative Traces, who needed the outing when placed third on his first KwaZuluNatal start. His ante-post price of 7-1 looks attractive.

SA Fillies Sprint

The 2017 Durban July-winning trainer Candice Bass-Robinson sends out Magical Wonderland whom the bookies make the clearcut favourite at 3-1. “She needed her last run but being drawn 18 out of 19 is not in our favour,” said Bass-Robinson.

Green Plains and Exquisite Touch give Tarry plenty of hope he can take the winner’s cheque, yet both will have to be at the top of their game to get the better of either Magical Wonderland or Vaughan Marshall’s runner The Secret Is Out. Marshall has told the media that the filly might be his best chance of success at the meeting.

Tsogo Sun Sprint

Dorrie Sham’s relocation to the Vaal from Port Elizabeth is one of the success stories of the season and she raids with Pinnacle Peak (13-2 in ante-post betting) who has to be on the shortlist of possible winners for this R1m race.

Nevertheless, the draw could again prove vital with Pinnacle Peak drawn high and young Craig Zackey will have to be at his best to overcome this disadvantage. In the circumstances, it might pay to row in with Snaith’s runner Kasimir, who will jump from stall two and looks to have an outstanding chance of finishing in the money. Have bookies underrated his prospects by offering him at 11-1?

Bold Respect, representing the powerful Brett Crawford yard, is the weak 9-2 favourite, but he will have his supporters with Trip To Heaven, who would go close if he could rise to the big occasion in the same way as Mr Bolt.