Kanonkop set to fire
WITHDRAWALS: TWO IMPORTANT SCRATCHINGS NARROW THE FIELD IN RACE 8 ʂ Improving Dawn Assault looks the main danger.
The scratching of Analyse This and Pacific G have narrowed the field for Race 8 at the Vaal tomorrow, a MR 72 Handicap over 1600m on the Outside track. As a result the race could be between three runners – Kanonkop, Dawn Assault and Lucky Luciano.
Even when he does not win, Kanonkop is rarely far off the leaders, especially over this sort of distance. His record over the course and distance reads four runs, one win, one second and one third place and on the basis could be the runner they all have to beat.
Trainer Stanley Ferreira has engaged Andrew Fortune to ride the four-year-old son of Kahal and he is one jockey who is thinking about a second tilt at the champion jockey title.
The degree at which horses improve once they turn three obviously differs with each individual. But unless they were precocious juveniles who just developed earlier than other two-year-olds, one can usually bank on some level of progress.
Dawn Assault has already had seven runs but looks a youngster one needs to follow right now. One can always forgive a poor first run as most horses have no idea what is expected of them and that was the case with this son of Call To Combat.
After that the lights started to come on and St John Gray’s runner has not had a bad run since. He finished fourth second time out and then got up close home to beat Just As Frisky by a long head.
He had a short rest after that and since coming back has raced four times for a second, third, fourth and sixth place. His last run was in a MR 77 Handicap over 1600m at the Vaal in which he finished a 2.50-length fourth behind Man’s Inn. That was a very good run indeed and Dawn Assault stands out as the main threat to Kanonkop.
JP van der Merwe has ridden him twice and on those occasions he finished a 1.30-length third behind Resolute Captain and then in his last start – against Man’s Inn.
Sean Tarry tends to take a back seat at this time of the year as he gives most of his horses a rest during which they get their African Horse Sickness inoculations.
However, he saddles Lucky Luciano who takes a drop in class but will carry more weight than has been the case in his last few runs. He has raced three times over the course and distance for a win and a third place and should run well for Julius Mariba.