This race is hard to assess
CLASH: FORM AND MERIT RATINGS MIGHT NOT MATCH UP
Captain And Master, Silver Thursday and Whitehaven look the safest bets.
Assessment Plates have been quite a servant to the punting public as there have been a number of outstanding bets in these races. All one had to do was follow the best handicapped runner and one almost had a winner guaranteed.
That might not be the case in Race 7 over 1450m at Turffontein tomorrow where racing is on the Inside track. On the surface it looks straightforward. Silver Thursday and Captain And Master are rated well above their opposition. Had this been a handicap Silver Thursday would have been giving all but Captain Master 7.5kg and more while Sean Tarry’s charge would be giving 6.5kg and upwards.
The problem is Captain And Master has had two runs since coming back from a seven-month break. The first was decent enough but the second, in which he went off as the odds-on favourite, was disappointing as he finished unplaced behind Warrior’s Rest. Hopefully it was just the effect of his second run after a layoff.
If one feels that was the case then Captain And Master must be a runner but if you feel he has lost form then one needs to look elsewhere for the winner.
Silver Thursday has a good record over this course and distance but has not raced since finishing fifth in the SA Oaks, the final leg of the Wilgerbosdrift Triple Tiara, on 5 May. Trainer Mike de Kock does not bring his horses out totally unfit but the daughter of Silvano might find 1450m on the Inside track a touch short these days.
If you look past this pair, the next best runner looks to be Whitehaven from the Mike and Adam Azzie yard. This threeyear-old colt has at least had a run in which he finished a 0.70-length second behind Classified in a bruising finish which resulted in an objection which was overruled. Nevertheless, the son of Var would have come on since that run and with the additional 1.5kg taken off his back by apprentice Luke Ferraris, Whitehaven could be a live contender in this line-up.
Two other runners who are unknown are Face The Fire and Arlingtons Revenge. Both ran poorly first time out but then won their second starts with ease.
In the end, it could still be advisable to stick with the best handicapped runners and believe that Captain And Master will regain his best form and Silver Thursday will follow him home. As back-up, include Whitehaven in all bets.