Mark's best is Mike's Ideal

No.8 Mike's Ideal in the 4th race at 5/1 will give you a screaming run for your money tonight at Greyville

Racing is up at Greyville tonight and the going is posted as ‘good’, the weather forecast gives the thumbs up and at the time of writing, no clouds to be seen anywhere (update : have rolled in since). All set then for an interesting evening, in particular the 3rd and 4th races where there’s a number of runners from my own ‘ones to watch’ list that end up head-to-head here. Pity they’re in the same race but there’s always next time..

In the 3rd race there’s 3 ‘on the list’, No.7 Macho one, No.5 Dellotto, No.6 Silver Lord, and then to add to the difficulty, throw in No.13 Makulu–kulu and No.12 Danger Point, another two with lots going for them.

First up No.7 Macho One (11/2), he stood out on the canter past last time as being overweight and soft, yet put in an eye catching performance moving up quickly to tackle (if not go past) eventual winner of the race Kokorot Sop only to get run out of it over the grueling 600meter straight of Clairwood. Kokorot Sop is rated by the stable and his formline has been further strengthened by Bambelela, who beat him into 2nd two runs back and went on to win his next start in JHB this week. Macho One must surely have come on significantly since his last outing and with the extra fitness and improvement, must be involved in the end game.

No.5 Dellotto (18/10F) favourite for the race and ridiculously short priced considering the stout opposition. His last start signaled that a win is just around the corner when he chased Honour the Jury home over the same course, distance and track conditions to put lengths between himself and the rest of the field. Honour the Jury went a long way to credit the formline next time when running a clear 2nd best against far stronger so clearly Dellotto will gallop around the golf course with plenty in his favour tonight.. barring the poor draw. Under usual maiden circumstances, he would be a good thing but this is no ordinary field with at least 5 that look like they’ve got the scope to go on and win a few.

No.13 Makulu-kulu (4/1) has impeccable form and word from the stable is he will come out firing tonight. He will have to do just that if he’s to justify his nomination for the Guinness trial coming up shortly and a planned inclusion into the Guinness after that. Must be given the utmost respect in this race and looks to be far better value at 4/1 than the 18/10 about the favourite.

No.5 Silver Lord 16/1 like many in the Lafferty string these days, is an impressive specimen and he’s another that should go on to be competitive beyond the maidens. 16/1 is a massive stretch (available on Interbet) considering the retail is 6/1. He tries blinkers here and Laff is confident of a big showing.

No.12 Danger Point (8/1) had excuses for his last run which was excellent under the circumstances. His trainer Dylan Cunha expects him to win and the money has been coming in for him all morning. A tough task awaits and he will have to be way above average to pull it off.

To call a winner amongst this group is extremely difficult but remember the names, especially for their next runs. There can be only one winner tonight, the other 4 will all be in the winner’s enclosure soon enough when taking on the career maidens that make up the out of season races. Macho One, Makulu-kulu and Dellotto look to have an edge on the other two mentioned and it will no surprise to see these 3 surge away when it counts. Watch where the value lies in the final lead up to race time where ‘will pay’ exacta, trifecta and quartet dividends are displayed online. Click on the –saftote information- link on the Tote betting page of Interbet and you'll get the dividends window pop up live from Saftote. There may well be value available in the fixed win stakes as well, keep an eye on the Interbet betting exchange and take a dip on anyone of the aforementioned 3 if they drift to value. You may even be able to back all 3 of them and still show a profit, use the Interbet built-in betting calculators to investigate the cover possibilities.

The best investment option however comes up in the 4th race where both Mike’s Ideal and Ginger Hill destroyed their opposition last time out and showed enough to warrant serious attention for follow up wins. Mike’s Ideal is currently at 5/1 which looks to be worthwhile value and I’ll be surprised if she finds herself out the first 2 and so stands as a strong exacta proposition. 6 year old Miss Lovita 15/2 also comes in here with winning credentials if taking her run behind Bold Wonder into account. She beat Ginger Hill home on that occasion and was reported to have needed it and so is likely to have come on significantly since. There’s been betting interest in Gavin Van Zyl’s 3 year old filly, No.7 Filly Bushwacker 7/2 and she was joint favourite at the time of writing. There’s nothing less than a mountain to climb for her to see the winner’s box and this is the lay of the day at 7/2!

One more to consider as a bet is No.2 Big Light at 14/1 in the 8th race, he’s talented but has been setback with problems and so is yet to sustain his peak. He’s good enough to beat a field of this nature but whether he puts in his best is another story. Jumps from a bum draw and will be tucked in with the hope that he doesn’t get left with too much to do when they turn for home. If you’re looking for roughie value on the night, this may be it.

Suggested bets summary
Race 4 – Fixed-odds win bet on No.8 Mike’s Ideal (look for the drift from 5/1 outwards)
Cover with exactas on the Tote, No.4 Miss Lovita and No.6 Ginger Hill to win, Mike’s Ideal to run second.

Race 3 – Look for any value combos (swingers, exactas, trifectas, quartets) using No.7 Macho One, No.5 Dellotto, and No.13 Makulu-kulu as the anchors. Chasing them home with place chances No.6 Silver Lord, No.12 Danger Point and No.1 Duty Free.

Race 8 - Roughie shot No.2 Big Light 14/1 include in all bets, a few rand eachway won't harm either at the price.

Another cracking read Leon,cheers..