E R C babies battle it out in the No Nay Never from South Africa

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South Africa (SAF) Saturday, April 12, 2025 — 2:35:00 PM EST | Race ID : 3526655
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NO NAY NEVER
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Stakes – Sponsored – Purse : $100,000
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2 Year Olds | Owner Restricted | 6 Furlongs | ~1200 Meters | Three Quarters of a Mile | Firm Turf
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E R C rolls west down under to Cape Town, South Africa for this month’s stakes contest in the No Nay Never. Run at six furlongs, or three quarters of a mile, or ~1200 meters for those preferring metrics, a field of ten freshman runners, including a trio of upset minded fillies, meet to battle it out for the winner’s share of the purse and stakes bonus points at play. The weather has been hot and dry, so the turf course should be firm for Saturday’s race.
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Harrylan has the lead after the first quarter in the club championship contest, with amir1605, newfydowns, mightyforego and summerset rounding out the top five. The second quarter is very active what with the ERC Triple Crown chase in the mix through June. Lots of racing to come folks !
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The handicapper settled on VEIL OF DARKNESS as the 5/2 morning line favorite; 2nd choice was assigned to CHURCHILL BAY and the third pick is FAT MAJOR CAN RUN. A nice mix of speedy types, stalkers and stretch runners should make for an exciting race. Two year olds in April, so there may be some excitement as they try and load them in the gate. We can check the sparse past performance lines, but surprises are always possible. Here they are in “entry point” order.
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pp2…..8/1
KING KANIKANI…………JPN…… 2M……..eriedowns
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Boisterous bay colt took his debut in style, nailing a 74 SP# in a pace pressing performance at 6 furlongs. MAKAHIKI (JPN) x KINGMAN x FRANKEL (GB) mister out of the sim mare King Used Magic from the eriedowns barn of the dunnvilledowns racing group, should be prominent early, solid contender.
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pp4…..12/1
DESERT BLACK………….. IRE……. 2M……..amir1724
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Speedy bay colt won first time out in a Twitch affair at this distance, blasting an 81 SP# with a nice stalking trip in an overflow field of 18. Scratch bred BLACKBEARD x GREEN DESERT x RAHY runner from the amir1724 racing conglomerate has the best SP# in the field, looks like a serious stretch threat in this heat.
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pp3…..11/1
DEEP MEOW CAT………. AUS……2M……..jbcri18
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Burly bay colt won an open maiden in his second start, sticking a 71 SP# at 5.5 panels after prompting the early fractions. DEEP FIELD (AUS) x MALIBU MOON x MEDAGLIA D’ORO driller from the sim mare LUNA D’ORO was an even 6th to start his career with a 63 SP# at 5 furlongs. Jbcri18 trainee should be close early, may like added distance here.
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pp1…..6/1
LANGLOCK………………..IRE…….2M……..yesbydowns
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Bucking bay colt just missed when a good 2nd first time out in an open maiden at this trip, kicking a 77 SP# with a determined late run. NATIVE TRAIL (GB) x FRANKEL (GB) x SEA THE STARS nipper out of the sim he-mare MENACING STARE should be gaining down the lane; fits with these for the yesbydowns barn of the newfydowns stable.
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pp7…..17/1
MARTINI PASS…………..FR………2F……….rac5
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The first of our three distaffers is this beauteous bay filly, who lost a close photo in her debut in an open maiden at this route, casting a 71 SP# from the second flight. FLINTSHIRE x RAVEN’S PASS x BERNARDINI flapper, out of the stakes winning sim mare Quarkpass, is eligible to improve going forward; could surprise the boys for the rac5 barn of the summerset racing operation.
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pp10…..9/1
SUPER DUBBER…………. GB……..2M………chino5
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Brutish bay colt got 3rd with a nice late run in his first try, stabbing a 74 SP# from well back in the pack. TERRITORIES (IRE) x DUBAWI (IRE) x PULPIT trodder from the sim mare Sidewalk Preacher should get a contested pace for his late run, could be right there at the wire for the chino5 racing stable.
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pp6…..8/1
TRAPEZE CLASSIC ……….AUS……2G………harrylanexp11
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Bashful brown gelding was an impressive first out winner in an open maiden hot race at 5.5 furlongs over this oval, flashing a 77 SP# in a mid pack run. TRAPEZE ARTIST (AUS) x O’REILLY (NZ) x DANEHILL DANCER turfer out of the graded placed sim mare O’Reilly Classic seems to have taken kindly to “the cut”; should be competitive with this group for the harrylanexp1 racing operation.
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pp9…..5/1
FAT MAJOR CAN RUN….JPN……..2F……….abigzstables10
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Second of our fillies is this blushing bay miss, who destroyed an open maiden hot race at three quarters of a mile on a “yielding” turf, running off to a 7 length win with a 76 SP#. DAIWA MAJOR x ENCOSTA DE LAGO (AUS) x DANZIG dancer out of the sim mare Fat Girl Can Run appears to be one of the fastest early contenders; can’t fault off impressive debut, big threat for the abigzstables10 racing barn.
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pp5…..4/1
CHURCHILL BAY………… AUS……..2F………wintersetopco
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Our third female is this bodacious bay filly. CHURCHILL (IRE) x DUBAWI (IRE) x DANZIG canterer out of the grade 3 winning sim mare Down By The Bay has been a handful around the barn, and has brought that attitude to her early morning trials. The stable hands are expecting big things for this miss; facing the boys doesn’t seem to faze the wintersetopco racing group in the least.
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pp8…..5/2

VEIL OF DARKNESS……..AUS…….2M……..mightyforego20
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Gleaming chestnut colt makes his initial start. I AM INVINCIBLE (AUS) x GIANT’S CAUSEWAY x KINGMAMBO imp out of the sim mare Causeway’s Mare has a steady stream of solid workouts over the local turf oval preparing for this spot. Brood mare romped in her first start as a two year old, and stable hands are exuding confidence for the mightyforego20 operation.
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Good luck everybody, and may they all come home fast, safe and sound.

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