Action Packed racing at the Vaal
Two fillies should give gelding a real go
Anna Capri and Rapid Fire, both threeyear-old fillies, have met four times in their young careers, with the former getting the better of her rival on the first three occasions.
In their last encounter, however, Rapid Fire got the sweet taste of revenge.
Today, the two again line up together at the Vaal in Race 5, a Progress Plate for 1-, 2- and 3-time winners as well as maidens over 1000m.
Anna Capri, trained by David Nieuwenhuizen, and Rapid Fire, trained by the father and son team of Mike and Adam Azzie, both boast three victories on their resume.
Their first three head-to-head encounters saw neither of the pair finish further back than fifth. Rapid Fire managed to maintain that record in two runs since, while Anna Capri tested herself against more fancied runners, with mixed success.
As the two highest rated runners, they will be competing at level weights today, which should give Anna Capri a slight advantage as she is rated 4 points higher than her rival.
While this contest should see both fillies up their game, the three-year-old gelding Action Packed, trained by Johan Janse van Vuuren, seems the most likely to claim victory.
Action Packed has only raced four times, but in one of those he finished just 2.8 lengths behind Erik The Red in the Grade 2 Umkhomazi Stakes at Greyville over 1200m. He also ran 3.75 lengths behind Kayla’s Champ in his comeback run after an eight-month rest.
Erik The Red has gone on to claim a second Grade 2 victory since, so there is absolutely no question about that form line.
The only question is whether Action Packed has been cured from the respiratory problems he seemed to be suffering from before his break.
If that issue has been resolved, and his fitness level is as expected, he should be on his way to more success.