The Wright way to go at Greyville

After the washout of South African racing at the weekend, punters will be hungry for the local action on offer on Monday at Greyville, where racing is on the Polytrack.

The weather office predicts “partly cloudy” conditions with a very low precipitation expectation. However, it’s likely to be steamy, with humidity at 84% and the daily high temperature of 27 deg C at midday.

The disruption to the racing programme has resulted in a reshuffle of fixtures over the coming week. More about that below.

Our immediate concern is what happens at Greyville and it is immediately noticeable that trainer Alyson Wright has a strong hand on the day. She will saddle four horses during the afternoon and all have winning claims.

It starts with Syx Hotfix in Race 2, a Maiden Plate over 1900m. The three-year-old gelding was at 28-10 in the ante-post betting and rightly so after showing good improvement in his four races to date. He had valid excuses when put over a bit more ground in his last two – 1900m and 2000m – but still finished in the money.

With natural improvement and Keagan de Melo steering a clear passage in a small field, Syx Hotfix could get punting off to a positive start. The one small question mark is that it’s his first go on the artificial surface.

In the fourth, Wright sends out Winter Waves under jockey Serino Moodley, who seems to get on well with the four-year-old, having placed three times in three collaborations.

The son of What A Winter tries 1600m for the first time, but has been running on powerfully over 1400m recently and looks ready to eat up the extra ground.

Wright has booked leading jockey Warren Kennedy for Beyondtheboundary, a progressive-looking three-year-old who steps out for only the third time in Race 5, a MR67 Handicap over a mile.

He impressed on debut, coming from last to finish fourth over 1400m on the Greyville turf. Next time, tackling the same course and distance, he made no mistake and cruised to an easy win.

Beyondtheboundary is a beginner on the Poly and over 1600m, but there is nothing to suggest that the son of Gimmethegreenlight won’t handle the changes.

Wright’s fourth candidate at the meeting is Purple Powahouse in the eighth. The three-time winner is a largely consistent sort and could spring a minor surprise in a competitive race.

Saturday’s washed-out Gauteng Guineas race meeting at Turffontein has been shifted out to Tuesday 8 February at the same venue.

The Turffontein fixture originally scheduled for Sunday 13 February has been brought forward to Saturday 12 February to allow Scottsville to stage a new meeting on the Sunday – replacing the one abandoned this past Sunday. The Turffontein Saturday card will be raced alongside a scheduled Kenilworth meeting.

SELECTIONS

Greyville Monday

1: 5 Trident King, 1 Bush Fire, 4 Protea Pride, 11 Belle’s First Wave

2: 8 Syx Hotfix, 4 Sir Theodore, 1 Bombay Circus, 3 Blazing Light

3: 4 To The Max, 5 Emerald Isla, 11 Capetown Beauty, 3 Laurel Lane

4: 10 Winter Waves, 1 The Bayou, 6 Sonjador, 2 Star Crusade

5: 3 Beyondtheboundary, 6 Fists Of Fire, 8 Master Tobe, 1 Forest Jump

6: 2 Her Royal Majesty, 5 Luna Eclipse, 9 Dunyaa, 3 My Elouise

7: 11 Genie, 5 Don’t Touch Me, 3 Bugsy Malone, 8 Gimme A Rainbow

8: 4 Preemptive Strike, 1 Patronage, 3 Canadian Bolt, 8 Blackwhitedynamite

Pick 6: 4,5,11 x 1,2,6,10 x 3,6 x 2,3,5,9 x 3,5,8,11 x 1,3,4,8,9 (R1920)

PA: 4,8 x 4,5 x 10 x 3 x 2,5,9 x 5,11 x 1,3,4 (R72)