A night for favourites by Leon Setaro

A night for favourites

All eyes on the unbeaten filly Val De Ra once again when she steps out
this evening at Greyville for another formality on her way to greatness.
Her season goal at this stage is the R500k grade 1 SA Fillies sprint on
the 29th of May at Scottsville and tonight's obliteration of the
opposition is likely to draw widespread interest from punters around the
country. At Summerveld she enjoys a rock solid support base from rival
conditioners who bolster her reputation with superlatives of the
undefeatable at every opportunity. Never before have I seen such a
rallying of trainers and jockeys behind a common cause and wonder-filly
Val De Ra is quite simply the star of the KZN show. Word from assistant
trainer Stuart Ferry is she's 'all systems go' as per usual and if
you're put off by the short price of a 40% return in one minute flat,
you could always try the bank at 8% return per annum!


Val de Ra (filepic)

As for the opposition, Val De Ra takes on Cape upstart No.4 Comet Chaser
(14/10) who comes in with a promising record of 3 wins (incl. a feature)
and 2 seconds from 5 starts. Now ordinarily that may be enough to lay
down serious challenge to the locals but with Val De Ra on the scene,
her race will be for bridesmaid. Out in the distance in 3rd spot on the
bookies' boards is Onehundredacrewood at 10/1. She showed her ability in
fine style last time when running on from off the pace to beat Mia
Joshua and Purple Lake, but tries shorter here from a wide draw. Tony
Rivalland's filly Share the Silver (also 10/1) destroyed the well
performed Song of Russia last time out and with plenty more scope for
improvement, she could also get into the hunt for minor money.


The strongly fancied How many to Won is odds on in race 2.
picture taken this morning

Another supposed 'two horse race' comes up in the 2nd where the bookies
have priced No.1 How many to Won (9/10) and No.8 Snappy (12/10) as 'the
two', with the rest at 7/1 and better. According to Laff, his charge -
How many to Won, is home and hosed against this field and he doesn't see
the market rival Snappy posing any sort of threat. This does lend some
hard-to-resist temptation toward the 9/10 available and with it the
opportunity to kick start the evening early.

In the 4th race there's a lot to like about No.3 Lady Magpie, race
favourite at 15/10 but watch out for No.4 Air Pocket to place a spanner
in the works at a drifting 6/1. She's promising and despite a
disappointing last effort, she should be given another chance to get her
act together and win.

No.4 Martial Eagle is 16/10 favourite in the 5th race and Stuart (assist
trainer) expects him to win and setup the stable/jockey double into Val
De Ra in the next race.

In the 8th race No.1 Makulu-kulu gets another chance to bust his maiden
and he's proving costly to follow in this regard. I won't be rushing off
to take the 16/10 after having burnt my fingers one too many times
although he should be able to win this one easily. Market rival
favourite No.3 Boma King (12/10) is the obvious danger, put these two in
for a cheap ending to the evening's Pick 6.

Overall it looks like we're in for a night of winning favourites which
is good news after the rough needle results we've had to endure in
recent weeks. Val De Ra (race 7) and How many to won (race 2) are the
standout two of the evening and both can be backed with confidence on
the nose or together in a fixed odds double. Throw in Martial Eagle for
the treble and hit the value sweet spot at 7/1 for a bet that offers an
excellent chance of landing. Air Pocket in the 4th may well drift right
out to 10/1 and beyond, don't write her off and at the price she's worth
including in everything.

Thanks Leon and Bob my kind of card, but have PE first

cheers!

Fantastic pic of Val de Ra Leon,

I haven't seen a head on a filly like she has in a super duper long time!

Tommy_Hotspur Wrote:

---

> Fantastic pic of Val de Ra Leon,
>
> I haven't seen a head on a filly like she has in a
> super duper long time!


The other horse looks stunning aswell,toned !

:)oHow Many To Won was just about my pick on looks at the last Sibaya sale. I hope he bolts in for Laff and his crowd.

magiclips Wrote:

---

> :)oHow Many To Won was just about my pick on looks
> at the last Sibaya sale. I hope he bolts in for
> Laff and his crowd.


In the same race I have a share in Regents Parade. He ran like a dog the last time. Found out after the race that he had a "twisted testicle". Had to be gelded.
Trainer thinks that she is NOT a sprinter and therefore trying out the 1400m. He should be good enough for the first three. At least thats the word from the trainer.

all the best East! Hope he runs well for you!

Thought Royal Union had got back up there

::oWill a short head decision ever go Royal Union's way?? Three b@ll hair seconds in a row now.

I for one thought Dead heat or Royal Union got up.....I could not see Whole Kaboodle winning that.....but the I didn't see the official photo.

There have been some seriously dubious photo finishes of late....Add that one to the list!

Ooohh baby!!!

www.tabgold.co.za/multimedia/

Click on race 5 photo. I was also convinced that Royal Union had it. Lets hope those lines on this photo is 100's