Clive Robinson
Racegoers can look forward to an epic battle at the Vaal on Thursday 17 November when Kalahari Blue and Rule By Force go head-to-head for the first time.
The pair of three-year-olds line up in Race 2, a MR95 Handicap for three-year-olds over 1450m around the right-hand-turn track.
Kalahari Blue, trained by the in-form Johan Janse van Vuuren, is a two-time winner from five starts and had this Querari gelding not found problems last time out, he could well have had three wins on his resume.
Rule By Force on the other hand, trained by Joe Soma, is lightly raced having been tested only twice, but he passed both those tests with distinction.
A winner on debut, he followed up with a runner-up finish in a Classified Stakes second time out.
Both these runners boast a Merit Rating of 82 and will be jumping from adjoining gates 6 and 7 come Thursday. They will also both be carrying 53,5kg.
Kalahari Blue did run a mere 1.3-lengths behind Grade 1 winner Thunderstruck a few months back, and therefore seems to have the edge.
Rule By Force, however, did run an almost identical time over 1450 at Turffontein as Kalahari Blue when they lined up in consecutive races last time out, carrying 2kg more on his back.
While the pair look extremely evenly matched, they do have very different running tactics. Kalahari Blue seems to favour sitting handy while Rule By Force uses his turn of foot to strike late.
On the day, luck in running might be the deciding factor between the pair, and should that not play any role, expect a very tight finish.
Another close contest is expected in Race 7, a FM90 Handicap over 1000m, between Ashley Fortune’s Rozara and Mike de Kock’s Iphiko.
Interestingly, these two will also be jumping from gates 6 and 7 respectively.
These two four-year-old fillies boast eight wins between them – four each – all over this distance.
They have met twice before, with De Kock’s charge getting the better of Fortune’s runner on both occasions. The last time, they were separated by less than half-a-length and the margin is expected to be even smaller this time round given the 0,5kg shift in weight in Rozara’s favour.
