Jockey Kabelo Matsunyane could well be described as Art Nouveau’s muse, as he seems to be a source of inspiration for the five-year-old mare to produce her best work.
Since pairing up with Matsunyane at the end of July, the daughter of Querari has won twice and placed twice in their four outings together – all over 2000m.
The two are set to continue their creative partnership at the TAB Vaal on Thursday 29 October in Race 5, a FM 92 Handicap ovber 1800m.
Trained by Tony Peter, there is no question mark behind her stamina, and racing off a career-high mark of 84, she is the one to beat.
The biggest threat could be Onetwobucklemyshoe, trained by Candice and Tammy Dawson. This four-year-old filly will, however, be travelling beyond 1600m for the first time.
She will also be making her seasonal debut after a layoff of 105 days, so there might just be a few cobwebs that need to be blown out.
The two are drawn alongside in gates five and six, so there’s no real advantage for either.
A third runner to keep an eye on is Hat’s Queen. Stablemate to Art Nouveau, she returned to the Highveld after a rather disappointing campaign at the coast end of last season. She ran out of steam when clipped on her seasonal bow 26 days ago, but could produce a very different effort now settled back home and stripping fitter.
Peter does regard her highly as attested by her participation in four graded races. She is also by far the highest rated runner in the field with a grading of 100.
In Race 8, a MR74 Handicap over 1600m, Duke Of Lorraine is very likely to complete a hat-trick for the stable of Mike and Mathew de Kock.
The three-year-old son of Rafeef is a two-time winner from four starts and is a miler through and through. With a total of 13 runners in the race, some argy-bargy is expected, but Duke Of Lorraine has proven that he isn’t easily distracted. He won his last after being brushed at the start, so one must assume he has the capacity to deal with whatever comes his way.
Clive Robinson
