Tarry up close in KZN raid

Sean Tarry will be raiding Hollywoodbets Scottville today and he appears unlikely to return to Randjesfontein empty handed.

He will be taking five runners to Pietermaritzburg, two of whom were scheduled to race at yesterday’s Vaal meeting. However, Tarry withdrew both, electing instead to take them to Scottsville.

Obviously, with the doubts hovering over KwaZulu-Natal racing last week, Tarry gave himself a back-up plan, but he clearly felt the two concerned – Successful Ruler and Upcloseandpersonal – were fit and ready to give good accounts of themselves.

Successful Ruler, who lines up in Race 2, a Maiden Plate over 1400m, will be having his third run after a rest and comes off a strong form line. Last time he ran a 1.45-length third behind Castle Corner, who franked the form by running out an easy winner on handicap debut in his next start.

The Pomodoro gelding is well drawn at No 3 which will make life easier for jockey Keagan de Melo.

De Melo is riding four of Tarry’s runners, but champion jockey Warren Kennedy has the ride on Upcloseandpersonal.

On the surface, this four-yearold daughter of Captain Al does not look an appetising bet but if one delves a little deeper, there are some interesting elements to her form. On 1 June she raced off a merit rating of 77 but today she will be rating off a rating of 67.

She has been contesting races with an average merit rating of around 72 while this time it is 63.

In this MR 67 Handicap for fillies and mares, she reverts to racing over 1000m, the distance of her only win, and she has been fitted with blinkers for the first time.

Despite fading late last time, Upcloseandpersonal showed good pace and could provide good value for bettors in Race 3.