Bruno is weighted to score

Plate races are always more interesting for punters because they should favour the best-weighted runners. They also give studiers of form the opportunity to test how good the handicappers actually are.

In fairness to the those people who do allot merit ratings to horses, comparisons do become very difficult when one has to take into account different centres and surfaces. So when a trainer such as Glen Kotzen brings one of his runners from the Western Cape to race on the Polytrack in the Eastern Cape, the only person who has any inkling as to what he expected from his charge is Kotzen himself.

For the rest of us, with the few clues available to us, we can only guess in generalities.

Today Kotzen has brought Bruno to run in Race 3 at Fairview, a Novice Plate over 1900m on the Polytrack, and the four-year-old gelding is the highest rated runner in the line-up.

On paper he has at least a 2.5kg handicap advantage over his opposition but he has not raced at Fairview. However, he has raced on the Greyville Polytrack and on that occasion ran a very good 2.25-length fourth behind Balance Sheet in a Maiden Plate over 1600m last July.

A repeat of that run will make him very hard to oppose in this line-up. He seems to run his best races at Durbanville so he should enjoy the pacey track and with No 3 draw and Greg Cheyne up, is the runner to beat.

On My Wits Alone, who ran third in his only race on the track, and local hopeful Rocket Rider, look the main dangers.