Guineas day: Try that again, but take your umbrella

There is a sinking feeling in the hearts of racing fans as they check the weather forecast for Joburg on Tuesday. The icon shows grey clouds and blue streaks: “scattered thundershowers” is the verdict.

Tuesday is, of course, the new date for the prestigious Gauteng Guineas race meeting at Turffontein – which was washed out at the weekend.

Still, the weather peeps are often wildly wrong and we can but hope they’re up to their usual buffoonery.

The meeting features the WSB Gauteng Guineas and the Wilgerbosdrift Fillies Guineas – first legs of the Triple Crown and Triple Tiara – and marks the start of the big-money Highveld autumn season.

Guineas day will be staged in parallel with an originally scheduled race meeting at Fairview in Eastern Cape. This has necessitated a major shuffling of jockey bookings as several top riders due to travel to Gqeberha for the day have opted to stay in Joburg for the bigger occasion.

All of Warren Kennedy, Calvin Habib, Ryan Munger, Muzi Yeni, Richard Fourie and Chase Maujean will have to be replaced on Fairview runners. Cape Town’s Aldo Domeyer and Robert Khathi and Durban’s Ashton Arries are among riders volunteering to step in.

Punters need to keep an eye on card changes, particularly those affecting trainer Gavin Smith’s many well-fancied runners.

The great reshuffle has also resulted in some important scratchings at the Turffontein meeting – notably Seemyvision and Before The Dawn in Race 4 and Lemon Delight in Race 8.

All runners in the two big races have stood their ground, though.

Trainer Mike de Kock is still the man holding most of the cards. During the couple of days’ delay, his filly Desert Miracle has shortened a fraction – from 6-10 to 5-10 – the Fillies Guineas ante-post market, and it would be a major shock if this classy, experienced girl were to fail.

His colts Safe Passage and Aragosta remain among the leading names for the “male” heat – with the Azzie stable’s relatively unexposed runner Supreme Warrior the one attracting most betting attention.

SELECTIONS

Turffontein Tuesday

1: 1 Power Broker, 5 Magic Tattoo, 3 Arividicio, 6 Miss Cool

2: 1 Lady Osier, 2 Picara, 8 Arilena, 3 Love Bite

3: JP Two Thousand, 1 Eagle River, 2 Portrayal, 8 Chyavana

4: 3 Bella Chica, 4 May Queen, 7 Bequest, 6 Remember When

5: 9 Sweet Future, 5 Master Archie, 2 Rivarine, 8 Anna Capri

6: 1 Desert Miracle, 2 Rain In Holland, 3 Sprinkles, 8 Follow Me

7: 2 Aragosta, 11 Supreme Warrior, 1 Safe Passage, 5 Outofthedarkness

8: 3 Admire Me, 4 La Luvia, 5 Fantastical, 7 Sultanah

9: 6 Shangani, 8 Barak, 2 Marchingontogether, 4 Green Haze

10: 9 Goodtime Guy, 2 Bingwa, 1 MK’s Pride, 6 Mardi Gras

Pick 6: 1,2,3,4,6,7 x 2,3,5,6,7,8,9 x 1 x 1,2,3,4,5,11 x 3,5,7 x 2,6,8 (R2268)

PA: 1,2,3 x 3,4,5 x 2,5,9 x 1 x 2,11 x 3 x 6,8 (R108)

Fairview Tuesday

1: 2 Stay The Course, 11 Grace Lightning, 5 Psychedelic Eric, 8 Dawn Raider

2: 1 Augusta Green, 2 War Man, 4 Hikaru, Arctic Advance

3: 6 Pink Legacy, 4 Silvia Louise, 2 Vision On Ice, 7 Deep River Woman

4: 8 Line Of Power, 6 Var’s Boy, 3 Al Qaasim, 5 Alpha Pappa

5: 3 Encryption, 5 Franca, 8 Dive Captain, 4 Blue Duchess

6: 8 Intuitive, 9 Nirvana Girl, 2 Savannah Winter, 11 Badrah

7: 2 Mach Four, 10 Euphoric, 3 storm Commander, 5 Falling For You

8: 10 The Sands, 4 A Thousand Tunes, 2 Royal Shindig, 3 Mhlabeni

Pick 6: 2,4,6,7 x 6,8 x 3,5 x 1,2,3,5,8,9,11,12 x 2,3,5,10 x 2,3,4,10 (R2048)

PA: 1,2,4 x 6 x 8 x 3,5 x 2,8,9 x 2,10 x 4,10 (R72)