Carnival to shine on the Polytrack

When the course was closed last year, a number of runners failed to adapt to the turf and the Polytrack has given them an alternative.

Tonight it is the chance of Steven Moffatt and Roman Carnival. This horse is highly rated by his trainer and when the Vaal sand was closed the four-year-old son of Windrush was racing off a sand merit rating of 106. His rating has fallen substantially and when he lines up in Race 7 at Greyville tonight to contest the Morris Vee Middle Stakes over 1900m he will be running off a rating of just 73.

Although this is a Stakes race Roman Carnival is still one of the better handicapped runners but if he runs anywhere close to his sand rating this should be a cakewalk for Moffatt’s charge. The only concern is the distance. He has yet to race over 1900m and is not guaranteed to see out the distance.

However, he is well drawn at No 3 and has Stuart Randolph in the irons.

The obvious danger is Canigao. He has only raced six times for four wins, three of which have been on the Polytrack. The Dean Kannemeyer-Anthony Delpech combination has been lethal of late although this is a three-year-old giving weight all round.