A Late Bloomer Finds His Stride
Some horses take a while to figure out what they’re good at. Master du Rouvray, trained by Mark Dixon out of Summerveld, spent his early starts finding his feet before turning into one of the more reliable performers on the KwaZulu-Natal circuit as a four-year-old. At Scottsville, he made it three wins on the bounce.
Partnered again by Keagan de Melo — his fourth win together aboard the gelding — Master du Rouvray took out the Tote For The Win B Stakes over 2000m, stepping up in company from his last two victories and doing it against sharper opposition, including the SA Derby runner-up in the field. Moving up rarely fazes a horse mid-streak, and this one didn’t blink.
Three On The Bounce
Wind the form back and the pattern is easy to read: a win at Greyville in January, another there in April, a third at the same track in May — the kind of run that gets noticed around the stable. Scottsville made it three in a row again, this time against new company and a track he hadn’t previously conquered.
A Galloping Track For A Genuine Stayer
Scottsville’s fair, galloping surface out in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands has always had a reputation for rewarding horses that settle and finish rather than pure speed types. Master du Rouvray, already proven at 1800m, looked entirely at home getting further into the race over the extra ground — exactly the profile this course tends to suit.
The Rider Who Keeps Delivering
For Keagan de Melo, it was another line in a career that has taken him from the South African Jockey Academy through a national jockeys’ championship in 2022/23 and a stint riding in Hong Kong, before finding his way back to home tracks this season. Four wins now aboard the same horse is the kind of partnership trainers quietly hope for — a rider who knows exactly how a horse wants the race to unfold.
If you’re following today’s Scottsville card, the full racecard and form guide is at cfox.co.za/predictions.
