The most exciting race of the week on South African soil is probably a Pinnacle Stakes over 1200m to be contested on Thursday 17 February at the Vaal.
While a number of runners with graded victories on their resume will be in action, it is Vaseem, a five-year-old Vercingetorix gelding, who seems most likely to take the honours ahead of his more illustrious competitors. But victory won’t come easy.
Vaseem, trained by Roy Magner, scored four consecutive victories before wobbling in his penultimate. He rebounded beautifully last time out to finish a close-up second last time out and could resume winning ways again.
The most interesting statistic about his last six runs, is the fact that the average merit rating of the field has risen exponentially from 77 to 114. Apart from that one blip on his radar, Magner’s charge has been highly competitive as the bar has been raised.
In the process, his own rating has risen back to 105 after peaking at 111 and dropping down to as low as 94.
Back on the up, he obviously has not lost a millimeter of his competitiveness, but in this field, he will have to work very hard to score a seventh career victory.
The biggest dangers are Winter Smoke, Celestial Love and Eden Roc. All three have tasted success in graded races and are seemingly being prepped for the Highveld Autumn Season, which kicked off recently with the Guineas Day race meeting.
Winter Smoke, one of only two fillies in the field, is a Group 3 winner and has the advantage of 2,5kg claiming apprentice Kaidan Brewer in the irons. Carrying a nett weight of only 51kg, she also has the benefit of jumping from gate 9. While this might sound surprising, but the outside strip down the Vaal straight has been the favourite line for jockeys recently, due to the track sloping to the inside.
Celestial Love, the other filly in the line-up, has a Group 2 and 3 victory to her name. While her last two runs have been disappointing, both were after a rest. Now, second time out, the four-year-old should be much more competitive after maturing.
Eden Roc has scored a Group 1 and a pair of Group 2 successes and is also having his second run of the season. Two of his victories have come second time out after a rest, and he should strip much fitter this time round.
Trainer Sean Tarry does have a remarkable record prepping his runners for the big time and the five-year-old son of Var should give a much better account of himself after his warm-up run. Regardless of his effort here, Eden Roc should be watched carefully with an eye on the remainder of the season.
Clive Robinson
