13:50 Vaal

Thursday 23 March 2023

All10:3011:0011:3012:0512:4013:1513:5014:30

Racehorse Owners Association Mr 74 Handicap

Off time: 14:02 | Winning time: 1m 25.55s

(13)

Letsdoit⁵

Age: 5| Weight: 9-11| J: Donald Geerthsen⁽⁶⁾| T: Stephen Moffatt| CD

33/1

5-time course winner. Four wins from 18 runs last year. Latest win here in December. Respectable fifth of 10 in handicap at Turffontein (8f, good, 125/1) 5 days ago. Very hard to make a case for.

Form: 601-975

(1)

Black Egret⁷⁵

Age: 4| Weight: 9-6| J: Ryan Munger| T: Ashley Fortune

7/2

Course winner. Didn't need to improve to win 11-runner maiden at Turffontein (6f, good to soft) 30 days ago. Up in trip. Makes handicap debut. Needs a couple of these to falter.

Form: 2333-3

(14)

In Cahoots^b⁴²

Age: 8| Weight: 9-6| J: Malesela Katjedi⁽³⁾| T: Stephen Moffatt| CD

25/1

C&D winner. Latest win here in December. Respectable third of 14 in minor event (5/1) at this C&D (good) 42 days ago. Not taken lightly.

Form: 0641-03

(2)

Tizona⁷⁵

Age: 5| Weight: 9-6| J: Denis Schwarz| T: Tony Peter| D

15/8

Eleven runs since last win in 2021. Last of 12 in handicap at Kenilworth (8f, good, 10/1) 75 days ago. First run for yard after leaving J. S. Snaith. Merits consideration.

Form: 36324-0

(6)

Vitellius^b²⁹

Age: 4| Weight: 9-5| J: C Maujean| T: Weichong Marwing| D

6/1

Winner at Turffontein in January. 13/2, third of 7 in handicap at Turffontein (7f, good) 29 days ago. Needs a couple of these to falter.

Form: 2-13

(4)

Vesuvio⁷

Age: 4| Weight: 9-4| J: Kaidan Brewer| T: Tyrone Zackey

22/1

Latest win at Turffontein in November. 13/2, bit below form sixth of 12 in minor event at Turffontein (8f, good) 7 days ago. Very hard to make a case for.

Form: 61086-6

(3)

Splendid Season⁴²

Age: 4| Weight: 9-2| J: Craig Zackey| T: Michael Nicholas Houdalakis

22/1

Winner at Turffontein in December. Eighth of 9 in handicap at Turffontein (6f, good to soft) 30 days ago. Back up in trip. Has work to do.

Form: 23341-6

(11)

Sage King²¹

Age: 5| Weight: 9-2| J: R Danielson| T: Brett Crawford

8/1

15/2, respectable fifth of 11 in handicap at Turffontein (7.2f, good) 21 days ago. Not taken lightly.

Form: 4649-55

(5)

Flying Grace^b⁵⁸

Age: 6| Weight: 9-1| J: Kabelo Matsunyane| T: Clinton Binda| C

25/1

Course winner. 25/1, eighth of 10 in handicap at this course (8f, good) 58 days ago. Others more persuasive.

Form: 70860-8

(7)

Mcebisi⁷

Age: 6| Weight: 9-1| J: Marco V'Rensburg| T: Corne Spies| D

8/1

15/4, creditable third of 12 in handicap at Turffontein (6f, good) 7 days ago. Back up in trip. First run for yard after leaving C. Spies. Looks competitive on form.

Form: 43755-3

(9)

Mr Molony⁸⁵

Age: 5| Weight: 9-0| J: K De Melo| T: Gareth (jnr)| D

5/1

Three wins from 10 runs last year. Creditable sixth of 14 in handicap at this course (8f, good to soft, 6/1) 30 days ago. Can give a good account without posing serious threat to principals.

Form: 390714-

(10)

Ice Eater^b²⁸

Age: 8| Weight: 8-7| J: Philasande Mxoli| T: Chris Jonker| C

40/1

Course winner. Sixteen runs since last win in 2021. Eleventh of 13 in handicap (40/1) at Turffontein (5f, good) 28 days ago. Significantly up in trip.

Form: 3770-80

Non-Runners

(8)

Golden Spoon²⁸

Weight: 9-9| Age: 6

T: M F De Kock J: Luyolo Mxothwa

(12)

Bright Blue Sky⁹³

Weight: 9-4| Age: 4

T: Mike/Adam Azzie J: Diego De Gouveia

Forecasts

Tizona (15/8), Black Egret (7/2), Mr Molony (5/1), Vitellius (6/1), Golden Spoon (7/1), Sage King (8/1), Mcebisi (8/1), Bright Blue Sky (14/1), Vesuvio (22/1), Splendid Season (22/1), Flying Grace (25/1), In Cahoots (25/1), Letsdoit (33/1), Ice Eater (40/1)

SAGE KING earns the narrow vote but has little leeway if anything goes wrong. Tizona is most likely the toughest threat, while Mcebisi enters calculations for third place.