Vaseem to test Riverstown
IT IS said that the best time to plant a tree, was 20 years ago. The second best time, is now.
The same can be said of opening a TAB account.
Those who have enjoyed the benefits of online betting will tell that it is the most convenient way of placing a bet. And with the upcoming Champions Day at Turffontein on Saturday and three Grade 1-races at Greyville on Sunday, those without an account will have no chance of sharing in the millions paid out by the tote while betting shops remain closed due to the lockdown.
And it’s easy as 1-2-3.
Go to www.tabonline. co.za, click on OPEN AN ACCOUNT in the top left, follow the prompts, and within five minutes you could be placing your first bet.
Remember, this weekend more than R1 million will be added to various TAB horseracing pools, so make sure you bet on the tote to win your share.
Today’s racing is at the Vaal, where nine races are carded.
In Race 5, a Pinnacle Stakes over 1 450m, Riverstown and Vaseem have the most appeal.
The former, trained by Paul Peter, basically jumped straight into Class A races after shedding his maiden tag on debut.
He is distance-suited and with Lyle Hewitson up it will come as a surprise if he is not leading the pack home.
One of his victories was in the Grand Heritage (NonBlack Type) over 1 475m up the Vaal straight, a race with 24 runners.
Vaseem is another contender with exceptional credentials.
He got into the winner’s enclosure at the third time of asking and in three runs since, has never finished further afield than third.
These runs include a 0.75-length second behind Leopold in the Listed Secretariat Stakes over 1400m at Turffontein, and a 1.15-length third behind Invidia in the R5-million CTS 1200 in Cape Town. Remember, there were 20 runners in that race.
Callan Murray takes the ride for Mike de Kock.
An interesting debut runner is Al Madhar in the first race.
This Silvano colt is trained by De Kock, who also trained his dam, Shahrasal.
Shahrasal ran four times in South Africa in 2014 before going off to Dubai, where she ran three more races, notably finishing second in the Group 3 UAE Oaks in her last run.
Al Madhar will be running in the blue and white silks of Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum. -