Serino Moodley finished in the Top 10 on the National Jockeys’ standings last season for the second year in succession, confirming his status among the leading riders in the country.
Hell-bent on bettering his 2024/25 statistics, the Durban-based jockey has hit the ground running in the early weeks of the new campaign and his recent trips to ride at Highveld meetings have been particularly productive.
This trend looks set to continue for the visiting KwaZulu-Natal jockey at the seven-race Vaal meeting on Thursday 28 August, as his six rides on the card include three likely winners – all for trainer Fanie Bronkhorst.
They team up in Race 2 over 1600m with Scarlett Heart whose consistency will likely be rewarded with an overdue maiden victory. This Querari filly finished second under Moodley over the same distance in open company during her juvenile campaign last season.
The same jockey-trainer combination is represented by last-start winner Bumps Last Grind In Race 3 over 1000m. This well-related son of William Longsword joined Bronkhorst’s yard in March and finished second in consecutive outings after a rest – during which he was gelded – before opening his account on the Inside track at Turffontein seven weeks ago.
In just his sixth career appearance, the lightly raced four-year-old remains open to improvement on his handicap debut so is probably a lot better than his current rating.
Consistent Captain Of All mare Pretty Analia is a new addition to the Bronkhorst yard and makes her stable debut in Race 7 over 1800m. The hard-knocking six-year-old has proven herself at this level of the handicap over distances ranging from 1000m to 1600m but it remains to be seen if she is as effective over the extended trip.
However, Bronkhorst’s decision to refit a compression hood and ear-muffs to his new recruit could prove a masterstroke, given that Happy Analia has finished second four times in this headgear configuration.
Elsewhere on the card, Calvin Habib is also good value to ride a double at the meeting. He should get off to a winning start on Paul Matchett-trained Redlightgreenlight, who needn’t improve much on what he’s already shown to make a winning three-year-old debut in Race 1 over 1600m.
Habib can return to the winner’s enclosure aboard Tony Peter’s inmate Art Nouveau in Race 6 over 1800m.
Clive Robinson
