Bumper 10-page Racing Express
DECENT: HE MUST GIVE AWAY TONS OF WEIGHT BUT THE VAN ZYL-TRAINED COLT SHOULD WIN ANYWAY Sean Tarry-trained Missouri rises in class following his first career win but bets 8.5kg from the topweight.
Flying Free looks to be a very decent three-yearold and the Gavin van Zyl-trained colt looks a stand-out bet at tomorrow’s Turffontein meeting where racing is on the Inside track.
It is difficult for a colt so young to give large chunks of weight to all of his older and more experienced rivals but sometimes a runner appears so much more superior to the rest of the field that weight should not stop him.
Flying Free, a son of Var, had his first race in January when he ran a 5.10-length third behind Mujallad, a horse trained by Mike de Kock and one who has some promising form. He then found Alfolk, another De Kock runner, too good in his second start but romped to a 4.75-length victory over Skiminac in a 1200m race, even with a slipped saddle.
One run later he found another De Kock runner – Puget Sound – too good, when trying 1450m for the first time. He tried hard but was beaten 0.75 lengths. What is significant is that that run and his previous outing were on the Inside track.
Van Zyl then took him down to Durban where Flying Free contested the Grade 2 Golden Horseshoe over 1400m at Greyville on Durban July Day. There were obviously a few shrewdies in the house because he found support at long odds and shortened from 25-1 to 17-1.
His followers may have been unlucky not to collect as Flying Free was more than six lengths off the pace turning for home but flew up in the closing stages, ending up just 1.35 lengths behind Purple Diamond.
He has been out of action for 84 days but is by far the highest-rated runner in the field in Race 6, a Novice Handicap over 1200m. The next best looks to be Sean Tarrytrained Missouri.Of course, Tarry’s horses often improve markedly from one run to the next and he will get 8.5kg from Flying Free.