Peter duo to fight it out
STRONG HAND: KWITE A TRIP, GANG LEADER HAVE THE STRONGEST FORM IN RACE 8
First seasonal races for juveniles on Turffontein card.
Hot off the stable’s Summer Cup success with Summer Pudding and their first and second places in the Dingaans, Paul Peter will be hoping the winning impetus continues tomorrow at Turffonten where he saddles 15 runners on the eightrace card.
It would be a surprise were he to come away empty handed and the best of his runners could come up in Race 8 where he saddles Kwite A Trip and Gang Leader in this Classified Stakes over 1000m on the Standside track.
Kwite A Trip is lightly raced, having run just four times for a win and three fourth places. After his first three victories he was given a break of two-and-a-half months. The three-year-old son of Trippi came out last month in a MR 93 Handicap over 1100m at the Vaal and showed a lot of pace before tiring late to finish fourth, beaten just 1.55 lengths by Thumbs Up.
The average merit rating for that race was 87, the equivalent for this race is 69, which is a major drop in class. Of course, with that comes the commensurate increase in weight, so where Kwite A Trip shouldered 52.5kg last time (apprentice Philasande Mxoli took and extra 2.5kg off his back) he will carry 62kg on this occasion.
However, he will have the assistance of Gavin Lerena in the irons and he has been riding like a trojan at the last few meetings. The drop in class, stronger handling and the fact he will be running over 100m less, should work in Kwite A Trip’s favour.
Not surprisingly, his main danger could come from stable companion, Gang Leader. This son of Soft Falling Rain has raced five times for one win and two places.
The form indicates he ran fi fth last time, beaten one length by Crown Guardian. However, he was a very unlucky loser as he jumped awkwardly and gave away two lengths at the start. He was then rushed up, fell back at the 400m and then finished well again.
He proved a handful for his young apprentice but he too, will have stronger handling from the saddle as champion jockey Warren Kennedy takes the ride.
The two Peter-trained runners could well fight out the finish, so Swingers and Exactas look the way to go as far as betting is concerned.
This meeting also sees the appearance of the first juvenile races of the season and once again pundits will start keeping their eyes open for any future champions. Corne Spies’ runners often do well in these early events while Peter has some strong candidates as well in the two races.
Keep an eye on the betting.