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VOTING: THE FACT THE RACING PUBLIC DECIDE THE WINNER MAKES THIS AWARD UNIQUE
Kangaroo Jack looks the best banker on the card.
Racing is not always easy. Last season was a mixture of good and bad for me. I was off on numerous occasions because I had to serve some suspensions and had numerous injuries.
One good point is that I still managed to ride four Grade 1 winners, including the Vodacom Durban July. I was also pleased that last week I was given another award – and that was for Ride Of The Season. That was for my win on The Conglomerate in the Durban July. It was quite a nice incentive from Gold Circle and I have to say it was one of the best award ceremonies I have attended in more than 30 years of race riding.
I particularly want to thank those racing fans who voted for me. That made this award more special as it was not decided by a panel of judges but the racing public. It was a wonderful concept introduced by Gold Circle to get the public involved. Hopefully the idea can be extended to other centres and we could even get the public involved in other ideas like the Race Of The Season.
On the subject of being off I have just come back to ride and injury wise I’m feeling good – but fitness is still an issue. You can do work at home and track work but it is not the same as riding on a regular basis.
The same applies to a racehorse. I am currently getting some rides for Sean Tarry’s yard while S’manga Khumalo is sitting out his suspension. Unfortunately at this stage of the season the top horses are not at their peak and there are bigger things planned for them later in the season. I would obviously hope to get some of these horses when they are fully fit and contesting the better futures and hopefully I can continue with my feature race success of last season.
Also the weight is a bit of an issue and hopefully by being more active it will come down by itself.
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Racing is on the Inside track today at Turffontein and Race 1 is a Maiden Plate over 1450m. My first choice was Querari Viking. He has a good draw and he previously over-raced over 1600m so coming back in distance could be even more in his favour. My concern is that Flying Fool has finished ahead of him, but he now has a bad draw.
There are a number of unraced and lightly raced horses you have to take into account as well. Bono put up a very creditable run first time out and must have improvement to come and he could be the biggest threat to those two.
In Race 2 I’m riding Samurai Blade. If fit, he would definitely be the horse to beat. In fact, I would have made him a banker in the BiPot. I’m sure he will be aimed at a few feature races later on so he is unlikely to be at top fitness so early in the season. For that reason include Jubilee Line.
Race 3 is the first leg of the Place Accumulator and there are numerous horses with chances. My selections are Champions Cup, Prospectus, Secret Lover, Lisnoble and Klondike River. Choose any three for the PA.
The horse who could be better than any of those is Hideaway. He has not run for a couple of months and at this stage of his career over this distance his lack of racing fitness could be against him.
I ride Baracah who is held on form and the fact he always jumps slowly is not in his favour. The best he can do in my view is run a place.
Race 4 is a Maiden Plate and the two horses with form and more improvement to come are Fish River Canyon and Miss Turbo. Those two should fight it out. I’m leaning towards Miss Turbo who attracted betting first time out and can only have improved with the experience she picked up last time. You could banker her in the Place Accumulator and maybe even the Pick 6 unless you believe Fish River Canyon could beat her.
I’m riding Star Of Caesour who is well held by Miss Turbo and Cool Escape.
Race 5 is a handicap which sometimes can be tricky but I’ve cut it down to Henry Higgins, Silver Peg, Boy Boy and Oriental Blue. Henry Higgins has a 4kg claimer aboard but I would prefer him to be running on the Standside track with the longer run-in. For the PA go with Henry Higgins, Silver Peg and Boy Boy while for the Pick 6 put in Oriental Blue and, if you want to add another horse, consider Hypothermic.
Race 6 is another handicap, this time for fillies and mares, which can make it tricky, but Crown Of Roses could be a possible banker. Crown Of Roses and Hollie Point have similar form but because of the latter’s poor draw and lack of fitness, that could make Crown Of Roses a PA banker.
For the Pick 6 you could consider Hollie Point, despite her possible issues, and Myfunnyvalentine. She has just turned three and I’m not sure if she is up to this level of competition yet.
Race 7 is the first Graded feature of the season and I’m making Kangaroo Jack a banker in all bets. He is coming off a short rest but he beat a quality field last time with consummate ease. He could still win this even though he may be in need of a run.
His dangers look to be Moofeed, who ran a shocker last time, and Buckland, whose fitness is also questionable and that makes Kangaroo Jack even more of a banker. He also loves this course.
I ride Buckland who is coming off a rest and looks well held by Kangaroo Jack.
Race 8 is another handicap and most of the time you should go wide but I think All Night Flight, Inspector Casey and Daspoort could be enough for the PA. For the Pick 6 consider High Game, Hello Mister, Led Zeppelin and Mia Culpa.
I ride Cannes who is badly in at the weights against both Daspoort and All Night Flight.
Coming into Race 9 I have another PA banker in Flowing Gown. She has a good draw and has the beating of this field on form. The only unknown is In The Web who could improve more as she is lightly raced and could be your next inclusion in the Pick 6.
I’m on Modjadji. She has a good draw but unfortunately she has lots of issues and I’m not sure if this extra distance is in her favour.