‘Jiggery’ to put one over ‘Psycho’
JIGGERY Pokery may not be the best name for a horse but this colt certainly caught the eye on debut and he stands out in the opening maiden at Kenilworth’s holiday meeting on Monday.
He lost valuable ground at the start and covered a lot more than most tacking across from the outside to the inside. But he finished strongly and Winning Ways was just one of many to mark him down as a certain future winner.
“Jiggery Pokery is slightly above average,’’ is the assessment of Mike Bass who chalked up his fifth successive century last season and adds, significantly: “He has come on from his first run.’’
Bernard Fayd’Herbe’s mount is much better drawn this time and is sure to start favourite but he may not have it all his own way because there are several whose debut was packed with promise. These include Go Fly A Kite whose trainer Vaughan Marshall has had six winners at the last two Cape Town meetings.
MJ Byleveld takes the mount fresh from Wednesday's return-double even though stable companions Psycho Syd and Banker's Delight appear to have shown slightly more on the racecourse. So has Go Fly A Kite improved?
“He has come on,’’ Marshall reports, adding: “But I had to be fair to Aldo Domeyer and keep him on Psycho Syd.’’
Others threatening danger include Justin Snaith’s pair Baritone and Captain Quick while Bold Aspen, a little disappointing last time, has also shown ability.
Snaith, who ended up only 15 short of his 198 record despite the mid-season virus, was in treble form on Wednesday and should win the itsarush.co.za Graduation with Alpha Pegasi who has nearly three lengths in hand on adjusted merit ratings. “He will run a big race,’’ says the former champion trainer.
Theoretically Snaith’s Harry Lime has even more in hand in the Progress Plate two races later but he has been off since Christmas and the next highest-rated, stable companion Door Of Deception, has not raced for four months. “He is not as unfit as Harry Lime who chipped his knees and hasn’t galloped,’’ says the trainer. In the circumstances it may be worth taking a chance with Perpetua who ran well over this trip last time.
Greg Cheyne, who rides Alpha Pegasi, notched up a career-best 156 winners last term and can also win race two on Persian Silk for Glen Kotzen. The handicappers have only rated the top six, three of them trained by Harold Crawford, and Moon-blanched is officially the best of the sextet. “She is the best of my three,’’ says Crawford. “But she is drawn on the wrong side of the course. She was last time too and maybe we made too much use of her.’’