Going for a spin! Studying form PE style?
Form has fast become a four-letter word with a capital ‘F’ in the Eastern Cape this season. A PA payout of over R64 000 at Arlington on 26 August tells the story of a war-zone of form reversals and pitfalls at every turn.
A large majority of the smaller punters appear to enjoy the challenge of finding the pieces to the puzzle and racing at this centre represents a great alternative to the predictable fare dished up at some of the other bigger racing centres. The trainer and jockey honours are also evenly spread amongst the glamour boys and the rest, which makes for interesting racing.
That said, horseracing is sold as the brain game and it is quite difficult at times to fathom out a basis for some of the results. But punters are generally survivors who will come up with a good and seemingly sane reason why anything could happen.
The Place Accumulator in the Eastern Cape has always presented an interesting poser for punters with the various racing centre formlines flowing into a puzzling whirlpool of treachery,where provincial preference and ill-conceived partisan bias can lead to costly miscalculations. This season the confluence of that whirlpool has become a raging torrent, with the popular PA paying telephone numbers. We have completed five meetings thus far with payouts as follows:
R1 759(1 Aug), R893(12 Aug), R4998(19 Aug), R26 888(22 Aug). And then, of course, today’s blow-out.
Those are big numbers and one would like to think that Saftote and Phumelela would be marketing the positive side of the jumbo payouts by broadcasting to the world just what one could win for a miniscule R6 outlay. You could not even buy two Lotto straight lines for that money.
Feature win. Justin Snaith won the PE feature today.
The blonde Justin Snaith, for all his youth, and also no doubt under the guidance of his Dad Chris, has mastered the concept of the permanent satellite yard. The Snaiths made this move long before Cape racing sailed into the current doldrums, and the effort and initiative continues to pay handsome rewards. The stable sent four runners to post in the afternoon’s feature, the R120 000 Jockey Club Stakes(Listed) run over 2000m, and with the unlikely sponsorship of a rather festive sounding Dagwood Diner and Pub. Snaith picked up the first and third cheques, and would have been very pleased with the way things panned out.
The feature winner We Three benefitted from the confidence of the buoyant Richard Fourie to win a superb race from a 16 draw. The daughter of Silvano won her fifth race here beating the game Sammy Jo, with her stablemate Flighty’s Last running on into third. We Three was bred by Bill Nelson and she runs in a partnership of Nelson and his associate Jock Mahoney. Her talented mother Five Star Suite won four races for Joey Ramsden in the Nelson Newcastle silks. It was a great effort as the mare was running her third consecutive race in a different province since May, and she looks great broodmare material.
The Snaiths would have probably expected to go close to winning the next two races, but had to settle for a third place and second position with Vibrant Jet and Apolo Grey respectively. Vibrant Jet was backed into the red in the MR 66 Handicap over 1400m and looked a good thing from his favourable draw and with the services of Fourie. He may not have enjoyed the Arlington track though and while staying on well, he had no chance with the gallant seven year old Shirtliff owned Forenzic. Vibrant Jet is a looker and has a beautiful stride on him and deserves a chance to redeem himself.
Sean Veale rode a cocky race on the Grant Paddock-trained Three Captains to beat Apolo Grey in the penultimate race, a MR 86 Handicap over 1000m. He had the obviously smart son of Captain Al tucked in early and pounced on the Snaith grey close to home. Veale posed as they flashed past the post and as a five-time winner now(running off a MR of 76!!), this gelding looks like he will make his mark down in PE if staying sound.The enthusiastic Veale came tumbling down off his high in the final event when riding the favourite Gulf King for the Paddocks. With the going seemingly better down the middle outside, Veale stuck to his inside station and never got into the race. The winner was the improved again South Dakota for Hassen Adams and Yvette Bremner. Karis Teetan rode his second winner of the day here and all the first three were drawn in double figures.
Daniels Double. Jockey Derryl Daniels is riding with renewed vigour.
KZN-based Derryl Daniels rode a long-priced winner at Clairwood yesterday for Alec Laird and he followed up in much the same long-priced fashion today, when riding a double for the Mitch Wiese yard. He started the PA ball rolling when dictating all the running in the first leg, a Maiden Plate over 1600m. He kept the previously formless Juba Flag going from her 16 draw to stave off all challengers. The unfacied Daylami first-timer Pindan Blue ran a cracker in second while Wiese rounded off the swinger with the supported Red Scent holding on for third. Juba Flag is yet another Ben and Arne Botha Classic Flag home-bred and she ran unshod behind. Quite a performance, but the form needs to stand the test of time! Derryl Daniels has started the new season well with four winners from limited and mostly ordinary opportunity.
Daniels was back in the limelight after the jackpot opener when he brought another Wiese horse in Shipwreck, through in workmanlike style to win readily. The 1800m Pinnacle Stakes was a tough race on paper and it turned into another PA knock-out with the fancied Celtic Fire getting going too late to run into fourth. Astute form studiers would have noted that Shipwreck won his last race in September 2010 under Daniels, but he was out at the weights with the higher rated horses here, and hindsight is an exact science.
