Clive Robinson
Champion trainer Paul Peter has got the new season off to a flying start as he prepares to defend his title and is delighted with quality of the stock in the stable to help him on his way.
One of those is Electric Gold who has just turned three. The son of Flying The Flag raced four times a two-year-old, finish fourth in his first two starts – over 1200m and 1400m respectively – but once put over 1600m this colt has really come into his own.
He won his maiden, beating Master Of Coin by one length on the Vaal Classic track and then went on to win again, this time beating older horses in a MR 72 Handicap over 1600m at Turffontein on 9 July.
Since then Peter has battled to get him into another race. He nominated him for the Grade 1 Thekwini Stakes over 1600m at Greyville last month but was eliminated when they needed to reduce the field, and was also entered into a race which got scrapped because there were too few runners at the final declaration stage.
Finally their fortune changed and he was able to find a race for his charge at Turffontein on Tuesday. He will be lining up in Race 5, a MR 74 Handicap over 1600m on the Inside track.
If one analysis those two wins, both form lines appear to be quite decent. Three winners have come from his maiden win and one from his handicap victory, so the form has been franked.
In addition, Peter firmly believes his charge will be a contender in the three-year-old Classic races later in the year so one has to believe Electric Gold will be hard to beat on this occasion.
Muzi Yeni rode him to victory in both of his last two starts but he will be on an enforced holiday for a few days and Peter has given the ride to Rachel Venniker. That means Electric Gold will get a further 1.5kg off his back and that should add to his winning prospects.
Peter has two other runners in the field in Secret Is Ours and Indus Knight although both have to give chunks of weight to Electric Gold and look unlikely to beat him, but they could follow him home.
Secret Is Ours finished 5.75 lengths behind Electric Gold when they met last month and is now 2kg worse off, so he is unlikely to turn the tables.
Piere Strydom takes the ride on Bey Suyay and this Barend Botes and Yolande Vosloo-trained gelding needs to be respected as he has an excellent record on the Inside track with two wins and a second place from his three outings.
However, whether he will be able to give Electric Gold 7kg and a beating looks a somewhat taxing task.
