Mike Azzie runs the consistent Brooks-Club in the Betting World 1900 at Greyville on Friday night and another Gauteng-based horse in the field is the Sean Tarry-trained Whiteline Fever.

Brooks-Club is only 1kg under sufferance with the two best weighted horses by official merit ratings, Jet Explorer and Killua Castle, and is well drawn in barrier four. He has been at Azzie’s Summerveld Champions Season yard since Sunday.

The six-year-old Strike Smartly gelding should have no problem staying the trip having finished third in the Gr 1 SA Derby over 2450m as a three-year-old, beaten just a length by dead-heaters Pomodoro and Royal Bencher. On the downside, despite being a consistent place getter, he has only won five times in a career of 40 starts and none of these victories have been in feature races. Azzie said, “He is a hard knocker and I expect him to be right there.”

Whiteline Fever is also a six-year-old gelding who has had exactly 40 starts. He has won seven times, including the Gr 2 Hawaii Stakes over 1400m twice. There is a perennial debate about his stamina capacity, as none of his wins have been beyond 1600m, although he was a touch unlucky when staying on strongly in the 2012 Vodacom Durban July. Whiteline Fever is also 1kg under sufferance with the best in and Tarry said, “He has prepped well and I am confident he will stay the distance, especially at that course.” The Right Approach gelding was due to travel down to KZN today (Thursday). Tarry would like to see Whiteline Fever being placed within striking range of the lead considering the race appears to lack pace. He was confident that Piere Strydom would be able to place him well despite a draw of nine in the sixteen horse field.

Meanwhile, Tarry’s Summerveld assistant trainer Deshone Steyn rated the yard’s three-year-old Trippi filly, In Other Words, “hard to beat” in race 8, a 1400m fillies and mares maiden on the polytrack. It will be her first time on the poly but Trippi’s progeny are known to love the surface and she has worked on the Summerveld polytrack. However, Dennis Drier rates Queen Of Thrones in this race as one of his two best runners on the night, the other being Firewood in race 4, a MR 80 Handicap over 1600m on turf.

By Dave Thiselton

Picture: Whiteline Fever (Nkosi Hlophe)