3-year-olds to dominate the Golden Loom

Alfolk has finished unplaced only once in seven career starts and the Mike de Kock-trained threeyear-old could score his first feature-race win in the R150,000 Golden Loom Handicap (Listed) over 1000m at Turffontein tomorrow.

There are a couple of talented older horses in the line-up but Alfolk has done little wrong to date, including placing in two feature races.

The first was when second to reopposing Barrack Street in the Storm Bird Stakes over this course and distance in March and the other was in the Heritage 1200 in September.

He went on to post his third career win in a 1000m sprint on the Inside track last month and, 100% fit now in his third run after a layoff, could well follow up.

Sean Tarry’s runner Barrack Street could confirm the form if he is back to his best.

This three-year-old won his very next start but has finished unplaced in both outings since, the first in the SA Nursery in May and then when tiring badly to seventh behind Pera Palace in the Sophomore 1000 in September.

aul Peter-trained Pera Palace is another three-year-old with strong claims, having recorded two wins and a place from his four career starts and hailing, as he does, from an in-form stable.

There is not much to choose between the Mike and Adam Azzietrained Isphan and Johan Janse van Vuuren’s charge The Thinker on the form of a Pinnacle race over this course and distance in September.

The Thinker won that race by a long neck from Isphan, who is 1.5kg – the equivalent of about 0.75 lengths – better off now.

The Thinker went on to fail by only a short head against Exquisite Touch over 1000m at the Vaal last time out, while Isphan failed dismally in that race.

Graduation Day is another with claims.

He has excellent form, with five wins and three places from nine career starts but is obviously a fragile individual, having been rested from July last year to February this year and rested again after one race until tomorrow.

In his only run so far this year he was well backed but never got a blow in and finished fourth behind Pivotal Pursuit in an 1160m race at this track.

He seems better over a bit further but at his best, with jockey Anton Marcus in the saddle, he would have had to be further up the scale of possible winners. Bets: Swinger/boxed Exacta 9x10x11.