Dancers Daugther vs Our Giant Sat 4th April.

Cape visitor Dancer's Daughter and Turffontein 1600m specialist Our Giant appear likely to go head to head in the R1 million HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes at Turffontein on Saturday 4 April.

Both have been nominated for the Grade 1 race to be run over 1600m on the Turffontein standside track.
Also to be run that day are the R375 000 Senor Santa Handicap over 1160m, the R320 000 Gerald Rosenberg Stakes over 2000m, the R300 000 Colorado King Stakes over 2000m (all Grade 2), the Grade 3 Sycamore Sprint over 1160m and the Listed Nijinsky Derby Trial and Jasmine Oaks Trial, both over 2000m.

While many pundits point to Our Giant’s loss to Dancer’s Daughter at Clairwood last year as an indicator to the outcome of this clash, closer scrutiny of Our Giant’s Turffontein record indicates this should be a very close affair.

Since being gelded in 2007 Charles Laird’s runner has contested 10 races at Turffontein and has been first past the post on eight occasions, although he lost one of those in a controversial objection to Biarritz. His only unplaced runs came in the Steinhoff Summer Cup and the Gommagomma Challenge, both of which were over 2000m and a touch too far.

Justin Snaith’s grey mare has only had one run at Turffontein in which she defeated Milk And Honey by 0.50 lengths in the Grade 1 Empress Club Stakes. She has been in the care of Geoff Woodruff since arriving from the Cape and by the time she meets Our Giant, the UK-bred mare will be fully acclimatised.
However, this is not simply a two-horse race as a talented field of 14 has been nominated, including Woodruff’s Aluminium, Charity Mile November Handicap first and second Likeithot and Thandolwami, Summer Cup runner-up Smart Banker and three runners from Mike de Kock’s yard – Gilded Minaret, Forest Patch and import Drayton.

Drayton easily won his first run in South Africa and on Friday night at Greyville, stood in the stalls as the gates opened and conceded some 10 lengths to his opposition. He still managed to finish fourth, just 2.90 lengths behind winner Thandolwami.

If De Kock can overcome this habit of losing ground at the start Drayton could be a huge factor in this race.

Supplementary entries close at 11:00 on Monday 23 March after which the weights will be published. Declarations must be in by 11:00 on Thursday 26 March.

*Meanwhile trainer Brett Webber has supplemented Mzingeli and Bastille Belle into the SA Classic and SA Fillies Classic respectively. Both Grade 1 races take place at Turffontein on Saturday March 28.
They were the only two runners to be added to the nominations when supplementary entries closed on Monday. Declarations close at 11am on Thursday.

Nominations for the feature races to be run at Turffontein on Saturday 4 April.
H F OPPENHEIMER HORSE CHESTNUT STAKES (G1) R1 million 1600m
ALUMINIUM (G V Woodruff); BUSCADOR (G V Woodruff); DANCER'S DAUGHTER (J S Snaith); DRAYTON (M F De Kock); EL PADRINO (D C Goss); FOREST PATH (M F De Kock); GILDED MINARET (M F De Kock); GLIDING HIGH (B O Wiid); LIKEITHOT (C Laird); OUR GIANT (C Laird); SINGING SWORD (T Zackey); SMART BANKER (C Laird); THANDOLWAMI (C Eudey); WINTER WIZARD (B Crawford)

SENOR SANTA HANDICAP (G2) R375 000 1160m
BATTLESTAR EXPRESS (G/K Anthony); BUY AND SELL (S G Tarry); COMBAT LEADER (G S Kotzen); CYBER CASE (C Laird); DRAYTON (M F De Kock); EARL OF SURREY (G V Woodruff); ETHEREAL LADY (S G Tarry); FLINTLOCK (G M Alexander); FUZZY CUZZY (R R Magner); HURRICANE FORCE (C Laird); KISS FOR KATE (P F Matchett); LADY BEQUICK (S G Tarry); LIGHTNING LECTURE (G M Alexander); MENTOR (D Zaki); NATIONAL VICTOR (O A Ferraris); REBEL KING (C Laird); RENEGADE (J Breedt); ROYAL EXIT (P F Matchett); SEALED WITH A KISS (W H Marwing); SOMETHING ELSE (J Ramsden); THEREALSLIMSHADY (A G Laird);

GERALD ROSENBERG STAKES (G2); (F&M) R320 000 2000m
GAROTA DE IPANEMA (M F De Kock); MILK AND HONEY (M F De Kock); ORIENTAL DANCER (G M Alexander); RUN ANGEL RUN (B D Botes); SALTWATER GIRL (G H Van Zyl); SHE'S ON FIRE (O A Ferraris); SPRING GARLAND (G M Alexander); STARZENE (W H Marwing);

COLORADO KING STAKES (G2) R300 000 2000m
ALPE D'HEUZ (G M Alexander); CAPE TOWN (G H Van Zyl); CAPTAIN CORAGEOUS (L Wiid); CATMANDU (A Kirsten); CROWN OF POWER (C Laird); FULL POWER (G V Woodruff); HORATIO (P F Matchett); SENOR VERSACE (C Laird); TROJAN (O A Ferraris); WINTER WEATHER (M F De Kock);

SYCAMORE SPRINT (G3) (F&M) R165 000 1160m
AFRICA'S TOUCH (J L van Heerden); ARABIAN JAZZ (G V Woodruff); BELCANTO (A D Gordon); BELLOTTO FLASH (L W Goosen); CHIQUITA (G V Woodruff); COPPER JET (P F Matchett); FOREST LECTURE (C E Erasmus); KISS FOR KATE (P F Matchett); LADY BEQUICK (S G Tarry); LISA ANNE (G M Alexander); LOUPE (M F De Kock); MIA JOSHUA (G S Kotzen); PAM'S FOXY LADY (B D Botes); REGALE (W H Marwing); SUBTLE BEAUTY (G/K Anthony); SWEET SANETTE (R R Magner); THEKKADY (S G Tarry); UBER ROCK (C Laird); WOELFIN (C Spies);

NIJINSKY DERBY TRIAL (Listed) (three-year-olds) R135 000 2000m
A QUIET RUSH (G M Alexander); BROADSWORD (P F Matchett); CAPTAIN SCOTT (A G Laird); DANVIDA (B D Botes); MAGICAL (O A Ferraris); MR MAGIC (L Wiid); ROYAL SQUARED (A G Laird); RUSSIAN WARNING (S G Tarry); VALOR NATIVO (C Spies);

JASMINE OAKS TRIAL (Listed) (three-year-olds fillies) R135 000 2000m
BEDLOE'S ISLAND (S G Tarry); CANDY SINGER (M F De Kock); CROWN VOX (C Spies); DANCING LADY (M F De Kock); ELEGANT PRINCESS (S G Tarry); FARAH (A G Laird); INDI BLU (C Spies); KERALA (C Spies); MIRABELLE (B D Botes); MY CANDY GIRL (C Spies); NIGHT RITUAL (S G Tarry); OPERA CLOAK (O A Ferraris); SMOOCH (A G Laird); ZANZABEE (C Spies);

Not going to happen...DD wont run on the 4th....

If she does , she has to take 2nd place cause " Our " Giant will romp home .

Dancer’s Daughter for US, opts out of Horse Chestnut Stakes

CHAMPION mare Dancer’s Daughter has accepted an invitation to compete in the Breeders’ Cup race meeting in the US in November.

This means the popular grey will not contest the 1600m HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes at Turffontein on April 4 – or any other races in the Highveld autumn season.

Dancer’s Daughter will still be aimed at South Africa’s premier race, the 2200m Vodacom Durban July, and might have a prep run ahead of that likely showdown with Pocket Power – with whom she sensationally dead-heated in last year’s race.

Immediately after the July, she will enter the quarantine station at Kenilworth in Cape Town ahead of her departure for the US.

Dancer’s Daughter, a British import by Act One, is owned by one of South Africa’s leading industrialists, Graham Beck, and his wife Rhona, and is trained by young Cape Town conditioner Justin Snaith (seen riding her on Muizenberg beach in the picture).

Vaal trainer Geoff Woodruff, in whose care Dancer’s Daughter has been while campaigning on the Highveld, said the Breeders’ Cup invitation “changes everything” in terms of the mare’s agenda.

Originally it had been planned to run her in three races at Turffontein: the Empress Club Stakes, which she won impressively last month; the Horse Chestnut, and the Champions’ Challenge, before tackling the KwaZulu-Natal season.

Woodruff said the connections had decided that it would be wrong to put the mare through a tough season now, with the July and American challenges ahead. “Three hard racing seasons in a year is too much,” he said.

“Anyway, she has already proven an important point. She came up to the Highveld from the Cape and won a Group 1 race – showing that it can easily be done. Now there is a need to prioritise; a Breeders’ Cup invitation is not something that comes along every day,” said Woodruff.

He added that he was in no doubt that Dancer’s Daughter deserved to race in America’s premier race meeting. “She is brilliant; at least as good as any filly in her category that I’ve ever handled.”

The Breeders’ Cup meeting will be held at Santa Anita racecourse in California on November 6 and 7. Likely races there for Dancer’s Daughter include a distaff mile and a 2000m contest. – Mike Moon

Will now be a very ordinary field without DD in the Horse Chestnut. Shame, it seems the fields generally in Gauteng have been deteriorating in the last 2 years or so

Freeracer posted that she missing out due to injury..... Never mention nothing about Breeders Cup.
Either way she still out. Good luck to her and the connections.