Rockjaw set to issue the orders
ACLOSE battle could develop in the open MR 78 Handicap over 1800m on the sand at the Vaal today where the four-year-old Sarge gelding Colonel Rockjaw seeks revenge on his older rival Commodore Al who beat him by 1,5 lengths over the same course and distance back in July.
The seven-year-old Captain Al gelding from the Gary Alexander stable won a courageous race that day after stumbling at the start before Andrew Fortune got him balanced and eventually got him up handy before taking the lead some 400m out and going on to beat Colonel Rockjaw.
The “Colonel” made late headway in that race and when they meet later today he will be 1.5kg better off.
Colonel Rockjaw
What adds to the interest of this particular battle is the actual ability shown by the two runners with Colonel Rockjaw having, in a previous race, posted a time considerably quicker than the 116.91 set by Commodore Al when they last met.
A month before that Colonel Rockjaw had won unchallenged over the same course and distance in a time of 113.23 secs carrying 2,5kg more than he will today.
In his most recent race he won by 7,5 lengths in a time of 114.91 secs – a full 2 secs faster than that set by Commodore Al carrying 1kg more than he does today.
On the other hand, Commodore Al has raced over the course and distance once since then and after racing handy finished about a neck second to Windy Express that was receiving 6,5kg from him with the winning time of that race being 116.45 secs.
Everything is relative and conditions and tactics are always the critical factors involved but the four-year-old that is owned, bred and trained by St John D Grey, has shown he has what is necessary to win today’s event if jockey Sherman Brown exploits the talents that the gelding has shown himself to possess.
A runner that could find himself in or close to the battle in the closing stages is the four-year-old Ideal World gelding from the Alec Laird stable, Arabian World.
Callan Murray has the ride from a good inside draw and considering the gelding’s last winning run over a mile at the venue he has shown he has the potential.
The gelding has won over 2 000m on the Vaal turf so the distance is right up his street and it would not be a shock to see him lifting the winner’s cheque today.
Also to be respected is the Sean Tarrytrained Strike Smartly gelding Perigrine.
Going back more than a year he won over the course and distance in a good time 0f 114.53 secs and that was by a massive 12,5 lengths.
His overall form is not bad and if one ignores his last start against a much stronger field, he is definitely in the race with a good money chance.