Roman Wall – costly fellow to follow but could settle some dues at Scottsville on Tuesday
The KwaZulu-Natal capital city of Pietermaritzburg plays host to a quality and competitive line-up in the midweek mainliner. Sean Tarry’s enigmatic Roman Wall owes his connections and the punting fraternity some serious debt and he could service some of the interest at the very least, by beating his seven opponents on Tuesday. But don’t expect a bank- guaranteed cheque. We know Roman Wall better than that by now.
All of the eight races on the afternoon are named in honour of sponsoring trainers and this race is named after the legendary KZN horseman Doug Campbell’s beautiful home-base in the Richmond district. Campbell is a true gentleman of the local training and breeding ranks.
Fascinating
The R95 000 Sugar Hill Stables MR 100 Handicap run over a mile sees eight runners go to post in a race that has class, pace and little bit of everything else required for a fascinating duel.
The first aspect any purist or racing enthusiast should look for when assessing the viability of a race is the evidence of pace to ensure a true-run affair and a smattering of class. With the engagement of some talented claiming apprentices and the presence of horses who are not scared to go out to lead the show, we can expect a hard run affair.
The class in the race is undoubtedly provided by the 4 yo Windrush gelding, In A Rush.
A former Eastern Cape champion juvenile, he has the distinction of a win over our current horse of the year, Variety Club, to his credit. That was achieved in the 1400m Gr3 Champion Juvenile Cup in July last year, but he has since been quietly campaigned in the ensuing year with just four outings.
Now based with the powerful Joey Ramsden outfit in Durban, after leaving the Gavin Smith yard in Port Elizabeth, he returned to action after an almost eight month break to run a cracking third behind the very capable Depardieu in the non-black type Ethekwini Sprint on July day.
He ran on powerfully over the Greyville 1200m there and that was achieved despite what was probably not Bernard Fayd’herbe’s best riding performance. He gets the services of Keagan Latham for the first time on Tuesday.
There is little doubt that In A Rush’s best form is around the 1200m to 1400m marker, and while he has run once over a mile, for a 4,30 lengths fourth to the capable Changingoftheguard in a Listed feature, he has yet to show that he will stay a hard run 1600m. That said, we can only assume that the very shrewd Ramsden has seen something at home that tells him that the horse is crying out for this trip. If he stays, he could go close.
Scale The Wall
One horse who definitely stays the trip is Sean Tarry’s Roman Wall. An enigmatic sort, who recorded his last win over this course and distance when beating Straw Market in an Allowance Plate in May, his subsequent two efforts have not been half bad. He stayed on for fifth 1,85 lengths behind Tribal Dance in the Gr3 Schweppes 2200 on July day, and then ran fifth and finished 6 lengths off the talented Ice Machine last time out.
Nobody wants to hear it again, but this son of Count Dubois cost R2 million as a youngster and has been a terrible disappointment to anybody who has ever supported him. He flopped again as a 19-10 favourite at his last start, but Brandon Lerena, who has won two races on him, gets a chance here to set the record straight.
Garth Puller, who coincidentally also trains Ice Machine, will have a good homework line as to where he stands with his runner, Ice Diamond. And Puller has certainly made a cracking start to his new solo career.
Based on their last meeting, Ice Diamond should be right on top of Roman Wall. He finished 5,30 lengths behind the Tarry horse there when receiving a kilo. That was in the Schweppes 2200, but he is realistically probably a better proposition over this trip- even though he has won up to 2000m.
Masterstroke?
Puller may have dealt a masterstroke by engaging the 4kg claiming apprentice Julius Mariba here, and Ice Diamond carries a handy galloping weight of just 51,5kgs – which means that Roman Wall gives him 5kgs. Mariba will probably let Ice Diamond stride freely out front, and Lerena will have to keep an eye on him.
Considering the nasty Cape winter and the general state of racing down south, it is hardly surprising to see Mike Bass prolonging his stay in KwaZulu-Natal and the veteran trainer sends out a coupling, headed by the 6 yo Fort Wood gelding, Brown Penny.
The Drakenstein Stud owned and bred five-time winner has had four Champions Season starts, for a win and a second place. His last two runs have been rather disappointing though and he will have to up his game to have a shout in this competitive field.
The 6 yo Kiss Again was considered good enough to line-up against the best milers in South Africa in the Gr1 L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate at weight-for-age, but has not won for over a year and has lost his form completely. He would be a surprise winner.
Wind Of Change
Mike De Kock’s Dark Wind won four races on the trot following his maiden victory in October 2010. He won from 1800m to 2000m but this was followed by a rather blank spell when he didn’t quite handle the step up to better things. He has gone full circle though and sparked at his last run when staying on for a four lengths second behind Ice Machine at Clairwood on the opening day of the season. That was over a mile and Anthony Delpech rides him again.
Now stabled at the top KZN yard of Dennis Drier, the former Mike De Kock-trained Top Mark jumps from the paint with a very handy galloping weight thanks to Keagan De Melo’s 1,5kg claim. He meets Dark Wind on the same terms as their last meeting (the Ice Machine run) for a half length beating and there should not be a lot between them again. The biggest role Top Mark could play is as a potential throat-cutter to the likes of Ice Diamond out front, and the experienced jockeys could capitalise on the enthusiasm of the younger riders.
Alyson Wright’s A King Is Born has won twice over this course and distance, but returns after an unsuccessful trip North for the Gold Bowl on Champions Day where he ran sixteen lengths behind Gorongosa . The assault on a 3200m race seems like a strange move in hindsight, particularly given his past form and the effort will have probably taken the edge off him. He should need this run after a fourteen week rest.
Tight Affair
A quality close-fought affair is on the cards and this is not a betting proposition for the faint of heart or straight-line punters.
In A Rush has the class and if he stays the mile, he could be right on top of them. Ice Diamond and Top Mark are likely to set a serious pace and this could create the stage for a late dash from Roman Wall. There should not be much in it when the whips are cracking, but we are going with Roman Wall to clear some of that longstanding debt. Ice Diamond and In A Rush are the likely challengers.
