The second weekday race meeting on the Highveld lands at Turffontein’s Inside track on Thursday 12 February for a compact eight-race card that looks refreshingly short on guesswork.
When the dust settles, it would be no surprise if Craig Zackey and Gavin Lerena between them account for five of the afternoon’s events, with the betting value concentrated around a handful of progressive three-year-olds and some rock-solid form lines.
Zackey holds the aces early, particularly in the middle races where he teams up twice with Lucky Houdalakis and two last-start winners who look capable of defying the handicapper.
The standout is Quickfreeze in Race 3 over 1450m. The Querari colt announced himself in no uncertain terms when brushing aside older rivals on handicap debut, showing both tactical speed and a decisive turn of foot. An eight-point penalty and a full 60kg are obvious obstacles on paper, but this is a horse going the right way – fast. If he’s as good as he looked last time, the weight won’t stop him, so it should pay to follow his progress closely.
That Zackey sticks with Quickfreeze rather than Sean Tarry’s smart Speedman is a telling piece of jockey intelligence. The latter, a Vercingetorix gelding with plenty upside, lost nothing in defeat when tasting his first career loss last time and he remains one for the black book. However, the rider’s choice strongly suggests the Houdalakis runner is the one with the bigger engine right now.
Zackey and Houdalakis can double up in Race 4 over 1800m with Agoge, another three-year-old who looks to have found his feet. The Gimmethegreenlight gelding rebounded sharply from a Grade 3 misfire over 1400m to beat older horses under a stiff weight over 1600m last time. The extra 200m should be right up his alley and, while an eight-point rise demands caution, further improvement is very much on the cards.
If Zackey threatens a race-to-race double, Lerena may well steal the show later with a Pick 3 of his own.
Taegan’s Champ in Race 5 over 1800m is the starting point. Fabian Habib’s charge responded positively to first-time blinkers when scoring with authority last time and reappears off an unchanged mark with the headgear retained. That’s the classic recipe for follow-up success.
Race 6 over 1000m brings one of the better bets on the card in Time For Charity. The tough, honest Time Thief mare has been knocking loudly and was an excellent third last time, finishing ahead of several re-opposing rivals. Her consistency deserves reward, and from a favourable setup she looks primed to get it.
Lerena completes the treble attempt in Race 7 with Hong Kong, a Tony Peter-trained filly who has stepped forward since blinkers were applied. She made light work of a similar field over 1450m on the Vaal Classic track last time and, despite a four-point penalty, remains well placed to repeat the dose over the same trip.
Clive Robinson
