Silver Coin to find his form
SILVER COIN can restore his reputation by bouncing back to form in the Interbet.co.za Handicap at Durbanville today. True, he has a bad draw to contend with but there are grounds for believing he is thrown in at the weights.
The formerly record-priced yearling, good enough to win first time, started hot favourite for the Langerman but finished last.
Ramsden
The official explanation was that he was not striding out behind but Joey Ramsden told this column early last month that there was a lot more to it than that – the colt was a run short and the race came at a time when many of the stable’s horses weren’t running well. But now “he is doing fine.”
Silver Coin has been rated at 83 on his narrow debut win whereas stable companion Speedpoint, third in the Langerman, is on a mark of 96.
Give that Silver Coin was a 14-10 chance that day, it is reasonable to suppose that he would have run at least as well as Speedpoint and, taking the assumption a stage further, it means he could have more than 6kg in hand here.
World Sports Betting take a different view as they opened him at 15-2.
Course and distance winner Bobby Dazzler is the one that has been backed – from 5-1 to 7-2 - with Big Mistake second favourite at 9-2. Strikeitlikeamatch has been on the drift (from 9-2 to 6-1) but Piet Botha’s mount looks the main threat after leaving a run of 15 defeats behind him to show much improved form and win his last two.
“I put blinkers on him and that is the main reason for the improvement,” says Glen Puller.
Ramsden, who has 13 runners, could have a good day and his Talk Of The Town looks the one to beat in the TAB Telebet Maiden.
“He is a nice horse and he ran very well the first time,” says his trainer.
The Var colt went into punters’ notebooks after finishing strongly from a bad draw on debut to take third but the snag is that he is very short.
He was 7-10 yesterday and seems unlikely to ease much.
However he should have come on enough to account for 7-1 shot L’Histoire and Rikers Island who is second favourite at 6-1. Ramsden’s November Storm has run well on both starts and many will want to look no further in the opener, particularly as he was backed yesterday when he shortened to favouritism at 22-10.
Bernie
But Bernie wears blinkers for the first time and that may be enough to end his frustrating run of seconds.
He opened favourite but is now 28-10. Refined Bachelor also has strong claims but his 12 draw is a significant negative and probably accounts for him drifting from 7-2 to 6-1.