Charge D’Affaires looks the right call
VAUGHAN MARSHALL may well have had Scottsville this coming Saturday in mind when Charge D’Affaires made her debut earlier this month, but those plans were shelved as she came up short behind Allan Robertson runner Outlandos D’Amour.
However, Dennis Drier’s charge has a reputation of being more than just useful so Charge D’Affaires should take some beating when she lines up in the Greyville opener this afternoon.
Charge D’Affaires was game to the end on debut but Outlandos D’Amour had just a little more to come.
With a barrier trial and that race under her girth, Charge D’Affaires is likely to go off at cramped odds.
Also runner-up on debut was Dean Kannemeyer’s colt Fitzwilliam who is also fancied to get off the mark in the second. Up with the pace throughout over the Scottsville 1200m, he was run out of it late by Di Me.
Fitzwilliam
Fitzwilliam put in a good barrier trial on the poly so the switch of surfaces should not trouble him. But he does face a stiffer task than Charge D’Affaires.
Sigismund and Euphoric both trialled well while Gallagher is not up from the Cape to sample the Durban air and likely to make good improvement on his Durbanville debut.
In the third, Amberbell does not have the best of draws, a point that worries Lowan Denysschen.
“A bad draw is a bad draw, it’s as simple as that,” he said.
However, his daughter of Silvano appears to have come to hand and the step up to 1400m should also be in her favour. But she does take on a competitive field.
Holy Flame is the highest rated filly in the line-up and a beaten favourite last time out while Amber Furst was only a neck behind Holy Flame on debut and Wendy Whitehead’s charge should have more to come on that showing alone.
Two Stroke is rated way better than the majority of the field in the fourth and looking to snap a sequence for two runner-up berths, last time going down narrowly to Piaget Prince.
The biggest threat to his chances could come in the form of Holy Land. Dennis Drier’s charge was just over a length back to stable companion Immortelle on debut and the latter is among the fancied runners for Saturday’s Gr1 Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion.
With two straight wins in the bag, Sunny Bill Du-Toy aims for a hat-trick in the fifth but it is likely to be a little more difficult as he takes a steep rise in class.
He was the stand-out runner in his last race but although he is progressive, he will need to take full advantage of apprentice Luke Ferraris’s 4kg claim to pull this one off as top weight Pure Logic is back over what appears to be his optimum trip while Viento, Topclassman and the filly Roy’s Pony all rate dangers.
Fantasy Art
Fantasy Art takes a drop in class in the sixth and has not been far back at recent outings when taking on stronger.
He goes well on the poly and from a good draw should be competitive in an open race. Piaget Prince makes his handicap debut under a big weight and also has a wide draw to contend with.
But he has come well for his new stable and can go in again.
Sovereign Solder is also down in class and jumped from a difficult draw last time out so must warrant consideration along with Roy’s Rolls Royce who is never far back and Gunter Wrogemann has stuck with the ride.
Above Eleven
The seventh appears wide open but Above Eleven takes a major drop in class and is also down to what looks to be a more competitive handicap mark which could do it for Michael Roberts.
Roy’s Zara can round off the meeting for Duncan Howells ahead of Hatfield Square, recent winner Expresso Martini and the highly strung, High Altar.