Dolcezza should taste the sweetness of success in the card opener at the Vaal on Thursday 25 May.
This daughter of Erupt made a pleasing debut on the same track despite being bumped at the start. She nevertheless stuck to her task and surprised many by finishing third, just 2,25-lengths behind Divine Moonlight when jumping at long odds of 66-1.
It was no surprise that she found a lot of market support second time out at Turffontein where she finished runner-up to Colorado Creek over 1160m. She jumped at odds of 7-2 and with 400m to go, looked to have every chance to reward followers, but just ran out of steam in the final stages.
With that experience gained and stripping fitter, trainer Robyn Klaasen must be confident of her filly’s ability and has engaged Gavin Lerena for the ride in this Maiden Juvenile Plate for fillies over 1200m.
In Race 2, a Maiden Juvenile Plate over the same distance, the Corne Spies-trained Captain Wara with Piere Strydom in the saddle, looks most likely to get his name on the score-sheet.
Sandwiched between his two runner-up finishes is a disappointing fifth place, but that run is best ignored for two reasons: Firstly, it was over a bit far for this Captain Of All-gelding, and secondly, he was beaten by Gimmeanotherchance, a young colt that finished third in a Group 3 race.
The biggest threats seem to be Hawkbill trained by Lucky Houdalakis and Johan Janse van Vuuren’s Thing Called Love. The former has run close-up in both career starts and has shown excellent pace while the latter, a daughter of Rafeef, has the benefit of a 2,5kg sex allowance.
Both Dolcezza and Captain Wara are expected to jump at short odds, so will probably not offer much value.
The same can not be said of Twice The Storm who will be aiming for a third career win in his tenth start in Race 6, a MR82 Handicap over 1200m.
Trained by Sean Tarry, three-year-old Twice The Storm will be making his first appearance as a gelding, having also been rested and given time to mature.
Considering that he boasts seven top-three finishes, including two wins, in his short career to date, there is no denying his competitiveness nor his class.
Twice The Storm also races well fresh so is definitely worth a dabble if the odds look promising.
It is a competitive event, which should ensure good value for bettors..
Clive Robinson
