Surf home in PE with Clifton

Clifton Surf is likely to be all the rage at Fairview today when he runs in Race 5, a Graduation Plate over 1200m on the turf track.

The Alan Greeff-trained runner comes into the race as the best handicapped runner and has some decent form to recommend him. This two-time winner has run behind some very good runners but the operative word is “behind”. Sadly, he always finds something to beat him.

The four-year-old entire has only raced 12 times for two wins and eight places but perhaps the big difference on this occasion is that he comes back to 1200m, the distance over which he has won his two races. Unfortunately for Clifton Surf, on two occasions he has bumped Al Don Cumarco who looks above average and proved that on Saturday when he travelled to Johannesburg to contest the Grade 2 Amtote Merchants over 1160m at Turffontein and was far from disgraced when finishing fifth, beaten just 2.40 lengths behind Brutal Force.

That was a very good effort and indicates Clifton Surf, should he repeat any of those runs when beaten by Al Don Cumarco, should be too good for this field.

Greg Cheyne is the regular rider of this son of Antonius Pius and he is back aboard in this event.

On paper Plain Of Wisdom should not come into the reckoning. He only recently won a maiden and is 12kg under sufferance with Clifton Surf. However, Dorrie Sham has her stable in outstanding form and this son of Captain Al gives one the impression he is better than his merit rating of 60.

He is likely to be a big price but should be included in Swingers, Trifectas and Quartets. Karl Zechner takes the ride.

Captain Blackwater arrived in Port Elizabeth with decent Western Cape form but has not shown much in two runs at Fairview. His first was on the Polytrack where he finished 8.95 lengths behind Tomba La Bomba but did even worse on the turf last time when 16.25-length behind Captain’s Reserve.