Johannesburg-based trainer Paul Peter has had some good results raiding in KwaZulu-Natal recently and he can add another winner to his record when Astrocyte lines up in Race 6 at Greyville on Monday in a MR 78 Handicap over 1700m on the Polytrack.
Astrocyte will be making his debut on the Polytrack so that has to be a slight concern but Peter seems to know which horses will suit the surface and probably gets good advice from jockey Warren Kennedy who rode the three-year-old gelding to victory last time out.
He will be meeting poly specialists such as Maxiumus, Straight Up, Galway and Sea Master and it looks tough but while those runners have been adding wins to their tally, their ratings have also gone up and they will have to give away chunks of weight to the son of Indigo Magic.
Having improved with each start since joining Peters’ Highveld yard Astrocyte impressed when racing from the front last time and this suggests the Polytrack could be ideal. He rates as the yard’s best runner.
Highveld raiders could dominate on the day. Clinton Binda has Picara in Race 3, a Maiden Plate for fillies and mares over 1400m, and having run six decent races without winning, can finally get it right. It is a weak field and this race could prove the ideal vehicle for her to shed her maiden tag.
Add to this a plum No 3 draw and the services of Kennedy and she looks a top bet.
The value options on the day include another Peter runner in the form of filly La Banquiere (Race 2) and Paul Lafferty-trained Captain Seager in Race 5.
La Banquiere’s six siblings have all won races (some high-class performers), something she has yet to do, but she did show plenty of potential in the Western Cape before losing her way on the Highveld. A return to the coast, especially given that she tries the Polytrack, may bring about a bold showing.
A few runs back Captain Seager got beaten by improving Cupid’s Song but then finished ahead of that rival when they next met. In between he beat high-class Tarantino, which all suggests that he is still on the up.
Clive Robinson
