Striker Strydom doesn’t rate the Vaal sand favourably
“The sooner they get rid of the Vaal sand track the better for everybody involved.” So says champion jockey Piere Strydom who makes a welcome return to action at the Vereeniging venue tomorrow where he has four rides.
Strydom has just served a short suspension.
“The Vaal has to be one of the worst tracks in the world,” said the multiple champion jockey when quizzed about the condition of the sand surface after his colleague Gavin Lerena had labelled the track ‘appalling’ after riding a winner last Thursday.
“The whole track bias just doesn’t make sense,” said Strydom when we asked him about what is obviously his least favourite racecourse in the country.
And the man who rode his first winner at Scottsville 32 years ago and is in the home-run to a dream 5000 winner milestone, should know what he is talking about.
“I believe they are trying something new. They usually roll the track and then fluff it but they are now going to fluff it and then roll it. Hopefully that makes a difference, but I can assure you it is really no fun for horse or rider,” he said.
Strydom used the analogy of running on a beach and said that there was obviously a major difference between running on sand at the water’s edge and then trying to do the same thing on the dunes away from the sea.
“Try chasing somebody and getting past them on the dunes. There is no grip and when they are in front they create divots, so that compounds the traction problem. And then there is the kickback too,” he said animatedly.
“I can summarise the issue on three critical fronts. Namely when they jump from the gates the horses’ back legs slip out from underneath them and they stumble in front. Then the leaders create divots. And in the process try coping with the kickback! Just get somebody to throw sand in your face and imagine the pain. Then consider a horse weighs a half ton on average. Just think about the speed with which he is churning that kickback!”
“It is horrendous. We wear goggles and it is unbearable trying to look ahead. How does the horse feel when he is trying his heart out and having foreign objects bombarded into his eyes and his face. It is not funny.”
Strydom said the problem just got worse as the meeting progressed.
“Racing is a tough game and it is not for the faint of heart. But the Vaal is unacceptable. I know the authorities are working on the problem but let’s hope we find a solution sooner rather than later,” he added.
The Vaal turf meeting gets underway with the Bipot exotic in race 1 at 12h40.
Strydom rides Penitent Pirate in the third, Supa Sami in the fourth, Flag Of France in the sixth and Ice Goddess in the eighth.
