Set sail with Mastership

Middle Stakes event over 1600m is the highest rated race at the meeting today which has been switched from the Vaal to Turffontein Inside and it could be won by the talented Dianne Stenger-trained Mastership, although he officially does not have an easy task at the weights.

- DAVID THISELTON

The long-striding Master Of My Fate gelding was supplemented for the Betway Summer Cup, which gives an indication of how highly he is regarded. However, it was shown in his last start that he prefers a mile to middle distances. Last time over 1800m he was caught wide without cover but still managed to quicken into the lead in the straight before finding no extra. In the race before that he led from start to finish over 1600m and still looked to have extra at the line when winning by two lengths. He copped a five point merit rating raise for that win and off his new 96 rating he is half-a-kilogram under sufferance with the 107-rated Argo Alley, who, furthermore, has 4kg claimer Savanna Valjalo aboard. On the downside Masterhip has to overcome a wide draw of nine. The versatile Bob's Your Uncle is also half-a-kilogram under sufferance, but must be respected considering in his penultimate start over 1450m he defeated a good field which included beating Aladdin's Lamp by 2.05 lengths. It was admittedly Aladdin's Lamp's seasonal reappearance, so he might have needed it, but Aladdin's Lamp not only beat Mastership in the aforementioned 1800m race but he then won the Betway Summer Cup Consolation on Saturday in a fractionally faster time than the Summer Cup itself, albeit by just 0.01 seconds. Argo Alley has won three times down the Vaal straight and should be a big runner. Both Bob's Your Uncle and Argo Alley copped three point raises for their last wins and Bob's Your Uncle has subsequently disappointed over 1200m. Dylan's Champ is in fine form and won easily last time over this course and distance. He was given the maximum eight point