Vaal Thursday 2/11/17

Vulindlela ew

Seven sovereign place

Greetings, we waited for the upset yesterday but it turned out to be a One Man Show with Delpech doing the business booting home 4 winners. Today is more likely an upset card with some value in the latter races. Once again I'm going to make my play early on. Eight Cities was my value bet last time and ran a cold second caught late from a wide draw. Today no such issues drawn 1 and should be a tough nut to cracking in the first. The second could see be another fave in the form of Circle Of Latitude wit has Candy Kisses a big danger at 8/1 seems good value. I expect a cracking effort from Genoroso with Zackey up in the third with The Red List a big danger. Lastly if Discoverer doesn't win today in that field will battle to pick up a race in this province. After that I say back anything u fancy because it gets awfully tricky. My long shot for the day is Gold Medal Girl.

In Race 1 The MARS Man could be the value at 4-1.

Was given a soft introductory ride on debut!!

Typical mid-week meeting on the Vaal Classic track where most races - 4 maidens, followed by 5 low-level handicaps - look very competitive imo

R1: Eight Cities just run out of it last time - cracks pole position and should get it right today - not the worst price either; obvious dangers are the The Mars Man who will probably improve on his first run, and the consistent (but moderate) older horses, Soldat and Dancing Rebel

R2: Circle of Latitude obvious claims, but there is some form to suggest that Florida Quays can hold her; not the best of draws for FQ, but Delpech is in hot form, so at the odds I prefer her to CoL; Empress Rock made a decent debut and could feature if she gets the extra, while others like Candy Kisses, Forever Joy, Red Orbit and Sailor Girl are also trifecta contenders imo

R3: Quite a few contenders in this; Kings Creek often thereabouts (not sure what happened last time) and should be right there again; Yes We Do has the most scope for improvement though, so a definite inclusion in all bets; Whiteout needs to improve more imo (held by the moderate Kick Butt on their last meeting) and Piccadilly Square also has consistent (if moderate) form; Generoso on her last run, another not to be ignored, while both Truth of Beauty and Bullsade tries further so hard to know what to expect from these two

R4: Only 7 runners and Sess stands out imo - obviously needs to stay but if he does would go very close against some very moderate sorts; backup imo is Discoverer, who at least is sure to get the trip; Justify also tries the trip, but imo needs some improvement; while Voodoo, who is held on form by Discoverer, can possibly upset if the stable change can lead to some improvement

R5: Dalley has been slightly disappointing recently, but has an obvious chance again with AP's Lily; not sure that Eversilver can repeat her last run, but must have a chance if she does; longer priced runners to consider imo is Blue Sage who is suited to this distance, and perhaps Subtle Force, who was caught too far behind in her last start, but could upset over this 2400

R6: Only 4 can win this imo; my top two would be Hatfield Square and Sha-Boom-Sha-Boom, who both look overdue for their 3rd wins; from Couldyoube (widish draw may be a problem) and La Roquette, who tries 1600

R7: Very interesting handicap; Mawsoof won as he liked on debut, but Ragnarok failed to frank that form on Tuesday evening and definitely not the stable's best 3 yr old; still looks slightly better than a 76, so obvious chance; stable confident about Exclusive Trendy, looks to be coming right and with Delpech riding is going to give Mawsoof something to think about imo; all the others trading in double figures and they are probably running for 3rd; the consistent Chief Sioux probably the most likely of the rest and imo should turn the tables on Daspoort, who improved a lot on soft ground last time, but today is definitely not going to be soft; down at the bottom of the weights Salute the Sun and Led Zeppelin can easily run into the money; Airtaxi unfortunately has been disappointing and needs to put his mind on racing - I think he may need blinkers and some more relief from the handicapper - still we live in hope and 1000 is probably his best trip

R8: I have been preaching Celtic Lady a few times not, and she has to be in with a good shout again today; Prosperity lost her race at the start last time; still seems to be nicely weighted, so imo is the main danger, but all bar Aimee Sweet, Burgundy Rose and Berdanine seem to have some sort of chance

R9: Another big field with quite a few contenders to close; Last Battle definite chance IF he can reproduce his last run; Racing Free has his 3rd run after a long break and should be competitive at these weights; Combat Muster, Gaisce Gold and Sky High Flyer complete my shortlist

Enjoy

4 Eight Cities 5/2 22/10 2/1 16/10 15/10 14/10 13/10 12/10

Wow it appears that the result is in the frame already!!

Will go with Soldat to place

The Mars Man as well

terrible selections must rather stay mum

6 Florida Quays 9/1 15/2 11/2 8/1 15/2