Four up for Wendish

Wendish will attempt to win her fourth successive race when she lines up in Race 9 at the Vaal today, a MR 72 Handicap for fillies and mares over 1400m.

It is a rare achievement for any horse, particularly at this level, to pull off that feat but the Jurgen van Heerden-trained filly seems to have come into her own over the past few months and could very well achieve the goal.

She has been fortunate in the past not to be treated too harshly by the handicappers and only received a 2.5kg penalty for what were her overall third and fourth victories. However, the handicappers took a more serious view of her last victory and gave her another 2.5kg penalty for beating Kalanchoe by one length over 1400m at Turffontein.

Van Heerden has doing well with a small string and this lightly raced daughter of Silvano is already five-years-old and has raced just 11 times. She already has built up an impressive record of four wins and four places and there is no obvious sign that the handicappers have caught up with her.

She won with far more authority than the one-length margin suggests and Kalanchoe looks to be quite decent. Ian Sturgeon won the last two starts aboard the filly and he takes the ride again.

The main challenge could come from Dangerous Diva, trained by Lucky Houdalakis. She has been in consistently good form and there is a form line, going back to that last race at Turffontein, in which the reversal in weights brings them very close together. On that occasion Wendish beat Dangerous Diva by 4.55 lengths and is 4.5kg better off.

In addition, Dangerous Diva was drawn No 13 of 13 runners, not the barrier position one would want over 1400m at Turffontein. Anthony Delpech takes the ride.

Chartwell is another in consistently good form of late and she will have Gavin Lerena aboard. Two runs back, over this course and distance, the John Vos-trained runner finished a long-head second behind Kings V. He could be called an unlucky loser as he lost a length at the start after having had a shoe refitted.

He followed that up with a 1.45-length third behind Easy Game over 1200m on the Inside track at Turffontein but will prefer this distance.

Delpech rides what could probably be the best bet on the card in Race 4, a Maiden Plate for fillies and mares over 1600m, where attention is on Nother Russia for the Mike de Kock yard. Nother Russia is by Tiger Ridge out of that wonderful Windrush mare, Mother Russia.

She was beaten over 1200m on debut by Polyphonic who franked the form on Saturday when an unlucky neck second behind Alexa, and will enjoy the extra distance.