Saturday’s R400 000 Gr2 Senor Santa Stakes at Turffontein pays tribute to one of our great sprint champions of the past.
The field assembled for the 2022 renewal is a competitive one – but owner Andre van Bassen is confident his star can take the lion’s share, despite an inside draw.
Andre owns the 5yo Vaseem in partnership with his Attorney daughter, Teegan.
Vaseem – big runner on Saturday (Pic – JC Photos)
The family have enjoyed a cracking start to March with their Visionaire mare Seemyvision winning the fifth at the Vaal on Thursday, with their more fancied Retallick back in fourth. Both are trained, like Vaseem, by Roy Magner.
On Sunday at Hollywoodbets Greyville, Andre and Teegan watched their Global View daughter Global Act shed her maiden under Anton Marcus. She races out of the Paul Lafferty yard.
The CEO of a Managed Health Care company, Andre, a former Handler at the start, has owned horses for twenty years, and enjoyed his first stakes success in October last year when Vaseem won the Spring Spree Stakes.
The Klawervlei-bred 5yo originally raced in the world famous Al Adiyaat yellow and blue silks for Mike de Kock, but was purchased by the Van Bassens for R90 000 on a BSA Online Auction.
He has done them proud, racing nine times for four wins, three seconds and a third.
Andre is confident that Vaseem will run a big race on Saturday, even though he has immense respect for Mr Flood.
Top-class Mr Flood is the danger (Pic – JC Photos)
“While we have beaten him twice, Mr Flood has us on their last clash. But Vaseem is working well, Muzi Yeni knows him, and as long as the rain doesn’t arrive to make that inside draw unplayable, I think we will be in the top four, for sure.”
Andre will be watching the race at his Durban home, and recalled that when Vaseem won the Spring Spree Stakes for that milestone in 2021, he was in a similar position.
“I stayed at home as it was difficult travelling during lockdown. But at that time my wife Carol and daughter Teegan were away for some Mom and Daughter time. This week they are down in the Cape where my wife is in great form at the SA Masters Swimming Championships at UWC. So even though I believe in Vaseem, if one believes in omens, then it helps!” he laughs.
Tabnews suggests that Clearly Sweet Future and Mr Flood have to come into the reckoning in the 1160m feature.
The Mike and Adam Azzie-trained 4yo Sweet Future is very talented and loves this course. In five races down the Turffontein straight, she has reeled off two wins and three places, and will have Richard Fourie in the irons.
Trainer Sean Tarry has a useful filly in Gr1 winner Under Your Spell, while Smorgasbord is an up-and-coming youngster who could pull off a surprise. Trainer Paul Peter’s charge is lightly weighted and will be ridden by log-leading jockey Warren Kennedy.
The feature is off at 15h20 and the weather is forecast to be mostly sunny with a 30% chance of thunderstorms.
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