Ahlaam – progressive sort
While some of the major yards countrywide are taking it easy during the month of August with the inevitable housekeeping of vaccinations and well-earned breaks for their big guns, Mike De Kock approaches the Vaal topliner on Thursday with all guns blazing.
Mike De Kock – holds a powerful hand
De Kock only has four runners on the eight-race programme, and they all line up in the Place Accumulator opener, a Pinnacle Stakes run over 1600m, where he effectively saddles almost half the field.
Our multiple champion trainer would have been rather pleased with his eight Gr1’s that formed part of his 153 winners (17% strike rate) and R19,61-million in gross stake earnings for the season just past. This was a fourth-best ever stakes performance for the powerful yard, even though it fell way short of the new South African record R25 924 950 set by new Champion Trainer Sean Tarry, who lifted his first National Title.
The De Kock team was also busy at Emperors Palace last Tuesday evening where son Matthew deputised and collected three Equus Awards.
Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum of Dubai’s Entisaar was crowned Champion Two-Year-Old Filly. She won the Gr1 Allan Robertson Championship at Scottsville in May as her major effort.
Alboran Sea – crowned champion
Alboran Sea, owned by the partnership of Mary Slack and Michael Javett, was awarded Champion Three-Year-old Filly following her wins in the Gr1 Cape Flying Championship and the Gr1 Computaform Sprint. This was a tight category and the filly a deserved winner, by virtue of her open-company exploits.
Then Mogok’s son Wild One, the recent (new season) winner of the Gr1 e-lan Property Group Gold Cup, was awarded Champion Stayer of the Season. He is owned by Sean Philips, whose first Gr1 winner he was.
On Thursday we may enjoy a peek into De Kock’s Supreme Cup (the one they used to call Emerald Cup) aspirations when he sends out an interesting quartet, headed by the Asiatic Boy filly, Ahlaam.
The 4yo has shown a good turn of foot and has won with authority (an aggregate of eleven lengths in two course and distance victories), albeit against her own sex and looks like she could be going places.
Capricorn Ridge – scratched
Capricorn Ridge has been scratched.
Guy From Dubai is a versatile sort who appears at home on both surfaces.
He ran a decent enough second to Roman Carnival last time, and looks a likely pacesetter.
The balance of Masnoon and the filly Tutta Magee come in with just 50kgs to lumber and the latter, a rather progressive looking daughter of Elusive Quality is preferred.
She looks likely to relish the extra here, and while the draw of 9 is against her, she may be the dark horse, if she finds herself within striking range.
Andrew Fortune has been in devastating form and he teams up with Alec Laird’s fast improving, Solar Triptych.
The son of Trippi won two good races over the Emerald 1450m and was a facile winner of his last jump over the Greyville polytrack.
Dominic Zaki’s Lavender Landscape is something of a course and distance specialist and cannot be discounted, if he comes to the track in a galloping mood.
Anton Marcus makes a rare midweek visit to the Vaal and has been engaged to ride Prince Of Orange.
The son of Indigo Magic has his third run for Mike Azzie and while he struggled to assert himself in the top level, he did win his maiden over 1000m on this surface earlier on.
He is much better than his form at face value, and must be considered over a trip that she should be comfortable with.
Killua Caste – can run on this surface and has class on his side
Geoff Woodruff’s now 6yo gelding Killua Castle has his first outing since a poor effort in the Consolation July.
The son of Churchill Downs invariably tries the sand at this time of the year and his form is not bad on the surface – witness his third behind Tommy Gun in the 2014 Emerald Cup.
He jumps from a 1 draw, and will be staying on late.
Corne Spies’ All The Bids carries joint topweight with Murray’s allowance and is better over a mile plus.
Ahlaam and Solar Triptych could be the two to fight this out.
