Glitter Star can shine for Lucky
HE dream of every trainer is to get a real champion and former jockey turned trainer Lucky Houdalakis (pictured) cracked it when the superb sprinter JJ The Jet Plane stepped into his yard.
Such champions do not come along very often and having been given his chance, which he grasped with both hands, Lucky is now doing what he can with what is in his yard.
Today he runs the four-year-old Muhtafal gelding Glitter Star in the main event at the Vaal, an MR 93 Divided Handicap over 1 400m on the turf and he has a good chance of winning this time out.
Glitter Star returns after a two-month break but he has won before after a spell and should be racing fit today.
The gelding has yet to finish out of the placings in his eight starts with the first of those being over today’s course and distance.
In his last race in July, Lucky put him over 1 600m at Turffontein and he won well beating Lancewood by half a length.
He is no “JJ” by any stretch of the imagination but he has done his owner, Mr ME Leaf,
Twell having won three times his purchase price of R60 000. He may not go on to win any big races but it looks like Leaf will have a lot of fun with him and today could find him in the winner’s enclosure again. Geoff Woodruff runs the Right Approach gelding Approachable in the race and the fiveyear-old does have a real chance in this company.
He ran a good third to Mr Tobin on the sand last time but his two earlier runs over the course and distance ended with a win and a place.
With Piere Strydom in the irons he has to be regarded as a potential winner and could be the one that starts favourite.
The six-year-old Amatol has run well over the course and distance for trainer Dominic Zaki and if one ignores his last run on the inside track at Turffontein, he has consistently good form.
He has placed in three of his four starts over today's course and distance and as he returns from a break of nearly six months, he made need the outing. But, at his best he should be competitive.
Also in with place chances are Lochlorien and Lake Albert but the dark horse in the race is the Mike de Kock-trained Argentinean import Ginepri.
The four-year-old made his debut as a late three-year-old at Scottsville in June and finished a close second over 1 200m.
He won over 1 400m at the Pietermaritzburg course in his second start and was then put in the Golden Horseshoe over 1 400m at Greyville on Vodacom Durban July day where he was forced to ease in the closing stages to finish halfway back in the field but he was only less than three lengths behind winner Fighting Warrior.
Respiratory noises
His next race was in the Premier's Champion Stakes on Ladbroke’s Gold Cup day and finished unplaced.
He made his four-year-old debut on the sand at the Vaal last month where he never showed and was reported to be making respiratory noises which were possibly due to the sand from the kick-back during the race.
Today he comes out on the turf at the Vaal and based on his early form one has to feel he could feature in this type of race and is one that has to be included in all calculations.