Snaith and Fourie look potent at Durbanville

The Durbanville race meeting on Monday has the potential to be a “Justin and Richard Show”, with Western Cape’s most powerful team of horsemen – trainer Snaith and jockey Fourie – holding a strong hand through the day.

They could get things rolling as soon as the first race, a Maiden Juvenile Plate for fillies over 1250m, taking in the left-hand turn of the country course. Their charger is the unraced Area Fifty One and, while it’s risky to select debutants, we have Snaith’s word that this one “should run well”, having had a grass gallop to orient herself with the racing surface.

The Exacta bet, or a Swinger with another fancy, might be way to go.

In Race 2, another Maiden Juvenile affair, Snaith and Fourie are on slightly firmer ground with You Know Who, who has been heavily backed in the ante-post market.

This Western Winter colt was runner-up to the impressive Safe Return in mid-February and will have come on a lot. There appears little in the rest of the field to scare the big wagers.

One Way Traffic is the appropriate name for the favourite in Race 5, a Maiden Plate over 1800m.

After three uninspiring efforts last year, the connections opted to geld the son of Dynasty, who responded with a focused late run to finish second over the Kenilworth mile in February.

The clear and present danger to One Way Traffic is Andre Nel-trained Tales Of Us, ridden by in-form Grant van Niekerk. Again, the Exacta suggests itself – if one doesn’t mind a relatively modest return (after all, you can’t beat a win, as someone once said, somewhere).

The Snaith-Fourie combo could seal a satisfying day with Black Silver in Race 6, a FM80 Handicap over 1800m. This three-year-old filly could hardly be more aristocratically conceived, being by champion sire Silvano out of the brilliant race mare Ebony Flyer.

Black Silver has threatened to live up to that pedigree without quite hitting the bell – thus far posting three second places and a solitary win. In all those efforts she has been running on at the death, so this step up in trip looks overdue.

SELECTIONS

Race 1:

1 Area Fifty One, 6 Santa Maria, 8 Veronique, 7 Treasure Hunt

Race 2:

11 You Know Who, 2 Augusta Green, 7 Hendo Shuffle, 12 Temple Bar

Race 3:

5 Bon Viveur, 1 Paper Trail, 2 Wordsworth, 6 Buffalo Town

Race 4:

3 Jo Loves, 1 Adderbury Lake, 5 Rose Princess, 8 Vision On Ice

Race 5:

3 One Way Traffic, 6 Tales Of Us, 1 Legitimise, 4 A Good Year

Race 6:

4 Black Silver, 5 Halloween, 3 Twicethequality, 2 So Flawless

Race 7:

1 Winter Furi, 6 Ma Black, 5 Chilly Winter, 7 Windsor Beat

Race 8:

7 Maxiumus, 1 All Lit Up, 3 Futura’s Hope, 4 Tallahassee

Pick 6:

1,2,5 x 1,3,5,8 x 3,6 x 4,5 x 1,5,6,7 x 1,3,4,7 (R768)

PA:

2,7,11 x 1,5 x 1,3 x 3 x 4 x 1 x 1,3,7 (R36)

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