Clive Robinson
Two hat-trick seekers and a runner aiming for four straight wins to remain unbeaten should keep racing aficionados glued to their television sets on Thursday 27 October when nine races will be contested at the Vaal.
In Race 7, a MR 80 Handicap over 1200m, Twice The Storm will be having his first run under the mentorship of multiple champion trainer Sean Tarry.
Previously trained by Paul Peter, this Twice Over colt has produced his best performances when straight sprinting.
With two wins, a runner-up finish and a third place over a straight track, the only blemish on his record is his fifth-place finish, beaten more than 10 lengths by Mo Jive, when going round the turn on the difficult Turffontein Inside course.
Tarry has opted to give him another shot going around a turn and, if he gets his balance right, he should complete a hat-trick. But that’s a big if.
That disappointing run was also over slightly further, and travelling this distance again will shed light on whether it was the turn, or the trip, that undid him third time out.
In Race 8, a FM 90 Handicap over 1000m, Kiss Me Captain looks to score a fourth consecutive victory to keep her 100 percent record intact.
Diego de Gouveia has steered this Captain Of All filly to three victories and unsurprisingly retains the ride for trainers Mike and Adam Azzie.
She made all three her wins look easy and it seems that she is still a few steps ahead of the handicapper, who rates her on 96.
If she passes the test come Thursday, there’s no question that her next outing will be way up in class, probably a graded event.
Race 9 sees unbeaten Mythical Dream face a full field of 14 runners in a FM76 Handicap over 1000m.
Victory will see this Querari filly, trained by Johan Janse van Vuuren, also complete a hat-trick.
It is interesting to note that her first two wins were accomplished around the turn on the notoriously difficult Turffontein Inside Track, and on both those occasions she was drawn wide.
Her times over the last 400m on both those starts proves she has a tremendous turn of foot and she should have no problem showing nothing but her tail to the chasing pack as she races down a straight track for the first time, where the draw is of little consequence.
