Table Bay for winning return

Table Bay proved to be one of the best two-year-olds in the Western Cape last season. Trainer Joey Ramsden has a knack of slowly building up his horses and the Australian-bred son of Redoute’s Choice was not rushed off to KwaZulu-Natal to take on the country’s best.

Other than on debut in which he finished fifth behind top-class Always In Charge, he systematically beat every other challenger, ending the season with a hard-fought victory over Our Mate Art who is highly thought of by the Candice Bass-Robinson yard, in the Grade 3 Langerman over 1500m at Kenilworth

Table Bay makes his first appearance as a three-year-old in Race 7 at Durbanville today and he will be fully tested when he has to concede weight to all but Winter Prince who he meets on level terms in this MR 84 Handicap over 1400m.

It will be a stern test for the three-year-old but he has passed all his others and should do so again. One is not sure how he will adapt to the course but Ramsden seems to understand what sort of horse is needed to win on this tight-turning and undulating track.

Donovan Dillon has ridden him in all his starts and he is back on board for this event.

The main threat could come from Winter Prince who has won his only starts at the course and has a record of three wins and a fourth in four runs over 1400m.