Be quick and clever, go for Dalley at Vaal
HOUDALAKIS’ RUNNER BIDS FOR A COURSE-AND-DISTANCE DOUBLE Three of the Vaal trainer’s four runners at the meeting have money chances.
One in every five of trainer Lucky Houdalakis’ runners at the Vaal have won in the last six weeks and he can maintain his high strike rate at the Vereeniging track tomorrow.
Only four of Houdalakis’ string will be competing at the race meeting and at least three of them have good prospects of finishing in the frame. Best is arguably Dalley in the main race, a R105,000 Middle Stakes for fillies and mares over 2400m.
The Ideal World four-year-old is holding form well with two wins and three places from her last five starts. She is a talented stayer, having gone down just a short head to B Twenty One (a race that has been franked) over 2600m on the Inside track at Turffontein in March and then beating Peg O’ My Heart (third next time) by three lengths over this course and distance last time out.
Arte, Blue Sage and The Right Answer were six and more lengths behind her.
She is only the second bestweighted runner in the field but Tobesuretobesure, the horse ranked higher on that table, has finished 19 lengths behind the winner in both her starts since a rest and needs improvement.
Champion jockey elect Anthony Delpech, who is retained by owner Jessica Slack’s Mauritzfontein Stud, will be in the saddle again and Dalley should post her fourth career win.
Rose Water, the mount of Weichong Marwing, should relish this distance, which she tries for the first time, and could get closest.
This Roy Magner-trained daughter of Silvano has been running consistently well over 2000m and 1800m recently and last time out finished second to Bright Bronte on the Turffontein Inside track.
The Right Answer, Arte and Cranberry Crush were behind her that day.
Memphis Belle seems to have a tougher task in Race 6, a FM 68 Handicap over 1000m, but has the ability and the form to win
The three-year-old Var filly had good reasons to finish a closeup sixth behind Ponchielli over 1200m last time out because she cast a shoe and sustained an overreach injury.
In her six career runs before that she recorded a win, three seconds and a fourth.
Topweight Cataluga, Analyse That and Lady On Fire look her main threats.
Just An Affair is Houdalakis’ runner in Race 3 and, coming in off two third placings in a row, must have a good chance, while a 4kg claimer could see the stable’s My Treasure getting back into the money in Race 5.
Just An Affair might have to settle for a minor placing as Sweet Juliet and Singaswewin look likely to fight out the finish. My Treasure meets a field with a nice depth of quality, with Tiger’s Legacy looking the one to beat.