Zinnavar is ready to win

Zinnavar has not won since October last year but trainer Vaughan Marshall might have pulled off a shrewd move to take the five-year-old gelding to Port Elizabeth and race him on the Polytrack.

He proved in Durban he could handle the surface when running a short-head second behind Royalsecuritypower in a MR 86 Handicap over 1000m in his penultimate start. Zinnavar had his first run on the Polytrack one run earlier over the same distance and finished a 2.50-length fourth behind Big King.

He has had one run since returning to Cape Town and that was in a MR 86 Handicap over 1000m in soft going at Kenilworth where he ran a 3.95-length fourth behind Olympian. These decent runs also coincided with a change in equipment as Marshall opted to try him in blinkers.

He lines up in Race 6 today, a MR 92 Handicap over 1000m on the Fairview Polytrack, and this son of Var has a lot going for him. He is drawn beautifully at No 2 and carries just 55.5kg, the lowest weight he has had on his back in his last eight starts. Greg Cheyne is in devastating form and he talks the ride.

Jo Malone has to give weight to the boys but she has run against the males and last time out, over 1000m on the turf, beat Harry Lime by 2.50 lengths. She has raced twice on the Polytrack for a second and an unplaced run but she will be giving 4kg to Zinnavar.

Others to consider are Dragon Li, who has won both of his last two races on the Polytrack, Leodocus and Cardinal.