As of 22 May, just three race victories separate the three riders vying for the National Jockeys’ Championship, with Craig Zackey (209) leading the way ahead of rampant reigning champion Richard Fourie (207) and former champion Gavin Lerena (206), who boasts the best strike-rate of the trio at better than 26%.
Zackey and Lerena ride at the nine-race Vaal fixture on Thursday 29 May with the toing and froing of the title race expected to continue at the Vereeniging-based track. Both have a full book of rides at the meeting and will likely add to their season’s tally with a double each.
Lerena has struck up a potent partnership with trainer Tony Peter and their success together shows no sign of abating. Last-start winners Sylvan Warrior and The Ultimate King were steered to victory by the in-form Lerena earlier this month and it should pay to follow the progress of both Peter-trained runners.
Two-year-old Querari colt Sylvan Warrior backed up his Work Riders’ maiden success with a winning handicap debut over 1000m a fortnight ago when giving weight and a beating to older rivals, and the promising youngster is good value to complete the hat-trick in Race 2 over the same distance.
As the only two-time winners in the race, Peter’s charge must concede weight to his 10 two-year-old rivals but that isn’t likely to halt his momentum.
Stablemate The Ultimate King fits a similar profile in Race 5 over 2000m. He is unbeaten as a gelding following his 1700m maiden victory last month and 1600m winning handicap bow at Turffontein 18 days ago. With further progress expected of Peter’s charge over the extended trip, The Ultimate King and Lerena should continue their winning ways.
After back-to-back seconds over 2000m, Fanie Bronkhorst’s Storm Ahead deserves to get his head in front. He lines up in Race 6 over 1800m and few would begrudge the four-year-old Rafeef gelding a long-overdue second career victory with Zackey aboard for the first time.
Joe Soma-trained Avoontoast is good value to complete a quick race-to-race double for Zackey in Race 7 over 1600m. There were legitimate excuses for the five-year-old mare’s disappointing last start but her quick reappearance suggests all is well with the daughter of Twice Over. She is one of three runners in the race with an unbeaten record over the course and distance but appeals more than top-weight Ceuta and returning Twostep Queen.
Clive Robinson
