Calvin Habib and Gavin Lerena are the jockeys to follow at the nine-race Vaal fixture on Thursday 19 June.
They have six rides apiece at the midweek Highveld meeting and will likely find the winner’s box twice each in consecutive contests from Races 4 to 7.
Habib was aboard Clinton Binda’s Prized Platinum at Hollywoodbets Greyville last week and finished a creditable fifth on this son of Querari in a 1200m Class 5 on Durban’s Polytrack and maintains his association with the four-year-old gelding whose return to the Vereeniging-based track in Race 4 over 1200m could be a winning one.
Prized Platinum is most effective on turf and, with the course running quick, he may not be for the catching.
Well-bred filly Dezire should complete Habib’s race-to-race double in Race 5 over 1200m, the same course and distance over which she made a winning debut. This Tony Peter-trained daughter of Vercingetorix wasn’t friendless in the market first-up and she outran expectations by winning at odds of 12-1 under last season’s champion apprentice Kobeli James Lihaba.
Habib takes over the reins on the well-related three-year-old filly who would’ve come on appreciably with the benefit of that experience thus open to any amount of natural improvement.
Another Highveld returnee who it could pay to follow is Dezire’s stablemate Vibe SA, fresh off the back of a recent KwaZulu-Natal appearance at Hollywoodbets Greyville. This consistent Just As Well gelding finished a close-up fifth over 1200m in a similar contest to the one he lines up in over the same distance in Race 6.
Lerena, who rode Peter’s charge last time, retains the ride aboard Vibe SA in his peak outing and off a slightly reduced mark.
Improving Molotov Cocktail ought to complete Lerena’s double in Race 7 over 1800m, as further progress is expected of this James Crawford-trained last start winner who confirmed the promise of his 1400m debut with a start-to-finish 1600m maiden success five weeks ago.
Lerena had to pull out all the stops aboard the striking grey Danon Platina gelding who, to his credit, belied his inexperience by fending off all challengers to score at just the second attempt. And the form of that victory could be boosted by the runner-up, Phil The Fluter, who is expected to win Race 1.
Clive Robinson
