Turffontein-based trainer Tyrone Zackey travels into the SA Champions Season bull-ring on Saturday with a lightly raced son of A P Arrow called Glider Pilot, who contests the Gr1 Daily News 2000.
So close! Smanjemanje nearly upsets Pomodoro in the 2012 Durban July
Tyrone has been down this road before – big names like 2012 July hard-luck horse Smanjemanje, Singing Sword and Judicial are three Zackey gallopers that spring to mind.
Trainer Tyrone Zackey – does well with low price tag horses
“I have 30 horses in my string and it’s not an easy game training slow horses. It’s not difficult to train good horses. But when you have ordinary horses, you find yourself trying tongue-ties, blinkers, different bits, different jockeys, different work routines – then they need ground, then they were unlucky. But we love it and we soldier on – I have some nice 2yo’s. But time will tell!” he laughs.
The 69 year old says he is ‘absolutely under no false illusions’ about the prospects of the twice raced Glider Pilot.
We asked whether he had gone close in the Daily News in years gone by.
“No. I have never tried it. Win, lose or draw, the race will give us an idea of how good our boy is. We won’t be backing him, if I can put it that way.The owners love the game and enjoy going down to Umhlanga Rocks – so it’s a good weekend break and we like to take our chances in Gr1’s when the opportunity arises. He has done nothing wrong and I gave them the confidence to have a bet on his debut, which he duly won when backed from 40’s to 10’s,” he says with a broad smile.
Rocking and racing – Umhlanga Rocks
Tyrone recalled that the half-brother to 2016 Daily News star Rabada had shown little when he arrived after the sale but slowly started beating companions in gallops.
Craig Zackey – at the controls
“He was bought at that Van Vuuren dispersal sale and there were some administrative issues with the paperwork and delays. So it wasn’t by design that he only had his first start on 25 March! I don’t have a lot of horses to test him against in work. But they backed him and he won well. Next time I was forced to throw him in with hardknocking older horses and he changed legs late and kicked on for a respectable third.”
Craig Zackey gets the ride again on Saturday.
Glider Pilot travelled down to Durban early on Friday morning.
