Gavin Lerena, the country’s most in-form jockey, is riding the crest of a wave and currently sits atop the National Jockeys’ standings. As of 16 July, Lerena has a seven-win buffer over Richard Fourie, and continues to churn out the winners with regularity at race meetings across the country.
The Highveld’s leading rider will likely add to his season’s tally with a four-timer at the nine-race Standside track fixture at Turffontein on Saturday 19 July.
It was only last Thursday that Lerena booted home five of winners, including a double for Johan Janse van Vuuren, and the same jockey-trainer combination should enjoy strike twice again at Turffontein.
Well-related Jabari Thimba, a Pathfork half-brother to highly rated Garrix, filled the runners-up berth on debut over 1160m and is good value to open his account under Lerena in Race 3 over 1450m with that experience to count on and improvement expected over the extended trip.
Tony Peter-trained The Ultimate King is unbeaten in two starts as a gelding. He made a winning handicap debut under Lerena on the Standside track 10 weeks ago over 1600m and the step up to 2000m in Race 6 will unlock further improvement from the hat-trick seeking three-year-old.
Youngster Lava County fits a similar profile and the promising Candice Dawson inmate may have been found an ideal opportunity to follow up his last-start 1500m maiden victory on his handicap bow in Race 7 over 1600m. This two-year-old son of Erupt ran on powerfully under Lerena to defeat older rivals last time and on the evidence of that performance, the extra 100m will be even more to his liking.
And the conveyor belt of Lerena-ridden winners will likely churn out another in the form of Obsidian in Race 9 over 1400m. This impressive last-start scorer pulverised his opposition over 1600m six weeks ago and the form of that victory was franked by the runner-up, Birthright, winning subsequently.
The progressive three-year-old gelding carries races off a career-high mark under an eight-point penalty but that is unlikely to prevent Van Vuuren’s charge from winning again, with Lerena aboard for the first time.
Clive Robinson
