The Vaal stages an eight race meeting on the sand tomorrow (Thursday) and punters who have done their homework could once again be rewarded on a track that usually produces an upset result or two.

In the first race, a Maiden Plate for fillies and mares over 1200m, Tripadvisor and River Empress have both had breathing issues and will wear tongue ties, but have very little to beat. River Empress has done quite well in her last two starts on the sand over 1000m and 1200m and is drawn well with Piere Strydom up and the form of her last start has been franked so she is tipped to win. Tripadvisor has quite strong turf form and being by Trippi she is likely to love the sand. She is drawn in pole position from where she can use her good early pace and Gavin Lerena rides, but she did make a severe breathing noise last time, which is a concern. Narnia has tied up in her last two starts, both behind good sorts in KZN, and if her muscular problems are behind her she could surprise.

The second over 1000m is one of four interesting Pinnacle Stakes events on the day that have attracted good horses. However, this one looks to be at the mercy of Trip Tease, who is 5,5kg better off with any other horse on official merit ratings. Furthermore, in eight starts over course and distance this Trippi gelding has won seven of them. His stablemate Varbration won the Flamingo Sprint over this trip, where he showed his liking for this sort of surface, and is second best in at the weights, so could follow him home. Another stablemate Wishful Heart is a progressive sort who caught the eye when winning over course and distance last time out. Will Pays has shown glimpses of class so could be better than his merit rating suggests and he could surprise. Duty Dance is having his first start on sand but has an ideal pedigree for this surface so is another dark horse.

The third is a Pinnacle Stakes race for fillies and mares over 1000m. The Lucky Houdalakis yard are in devastating form and Drifting Dusk bounced back with a convincing win over 1160m on the turf last time out. On pedigree she should take to the sand well and Piere Strydom has kept the ride, which speaks volumes.  Twilight Tiger has a good record over course and distance and meets Drifting Dusk on the same terms as she would in a handicap. Sarve is the best in at the weights and if bouncing back from a below par run last time when cut into she will be right there over a course and distance she enjoys. Jade Vine is second best in at the weights and will have benefitted from her last run, but she would likely prefer a touch further. Miss December is an improving sort who is course and distance suited and weighted to finish level with Twilight Tiger and Drifting Dusk but the number one draw is not ideal by trends.

The fourth race is a Maiden Plate over 1800m and the Mike de Kock-trained Mooghamir will be hard to beat over a trip he will relish. Il Duce is likely to improve over this trip and could chase the selection home. Yours And Mine has shown the odd glimpse of ability and could be s surprise place earner over a course and distance he could well enjoy.

The fifth is a Pinnacle Stakes event over 1450m in which many of the R1 million Supreme Cup entries will be having preparation runs. The De Kock-trained Capricorn Ridge is under sufferance but caught the eye last time when unlucky in the Flamingo Mile and from pole position draw he could surprise.  Stablemate Alghadeer looks to be the yard elect but jumps from a wide draw and this trip could be a touch on the sharp side, although he is sure to be finishing strongly. Another stablemate Mootahadee is having his third run after a rest and will appreciate the step up in trip, so could be dangerous. Olympic Bolt could make it a De Kock quartet as he is in fine form, although he would prefer a touch further. Raise The Red is unbeaten in two starts over course and distance but returns from a long layoff for the in-form Houdalakis yard.

The sixth is a Pinnacle Stakes event over 1450m for fillies and mares and De Kock could be in the winner’s enclosure again with Ahlaam, who is interesting over this step down in trip having blitzed them over 1600m in her penultimate start. She seems to always do well against her own gender and Anthony Delpech is up from a good draw. Peep Show should be improving being by Ideal World and should be finishing strongly from a fair draw with Strydom up. Lady Of Kildare has won three in a row on the Greyville poly off her lower turf rating. However, she enjoys this course and distance too and could earn again.

The seventh is a MR68  Handicap over 1450m and Diesel Power disappointed over 1800m last time and will likely appreciate the step down in trip so he could present good value from a good draw off a lowered merit rating. Celtic King is potentially well handicapped having bounced back to form and winning twice on the turf meaning his sand rating is now eight points lower than his turf rating. He is drawn well over a suitable course and distance. Angel Gabriel did well last time when attempting to steal it over course and distance and he has the same draw and runs off the same merit rating.

The last is a MR68 Handicap for fillies and mares over 2000m and Imperial Empress could follow up on her facile recent win here over 1800m as she is now drawn at the opposite extreme in pole. Bellevue won a weak maiden easily over 1800m on the sand last time and could earn again off a merit rating of only 62. Final Score stays well and could plug on for a place.

By David Thiselton

Picture: Gavin Lerena

Red Flame, fourth in the Klawervlei Majorca, Tibouchina and Poinsettia plus runner-up in the Prix du Cap, will race in-foal for the first few months of the season.

Neill Bruss said: “She hurt herself in her last start (the Garden Province) but she is fine again now and she was covered by Duke Of Marmalade last week. As soon as we see evidence of a heartbeat in the foal she will go back into training and race on.”

It is less common for mares to race when in foal in South Africa than in many countries in Europe where they can become key players in the punters’ armoury as they often show dramatic improvement. Vets are unsure exactly why this is but usually attribute it to hormones settling down.

Meanwhile, Chris Puller, forced to give up his rides last week and go for a scan on his neck and shoulders, aims to be back on Saturday week.

He said: “There was a bit of inflammation on a disc and I was given a cortisone shot. I have to do a week or two of physio and then I will be OK again.

“There was pressure on a nerve, basically wear and tear for a jockey with falls and the position you ride in. The disc gets slightly inflamed and the inflammation pushes on the nerve sending the pain from your neck to your arm. I am happy with the outcome and my first meeting back will be Durbanville on the 19^th.”

By Michael Clower

Picture: Red Flame (Nkosi Hlophe)

Sectional timing and displayed running order technology is now in place at both Greyville and Scottsville and will be tested on a non-raceday at the former racecourse next Thursday.

The entire Greyville turf and polytrack and Scottsville Inside and Outside tracks are plotted and the big screens and TV screens will thus have a live display during the race which will depict the exact running order and positioning of the horses in relation to each. This is achieved through coloured and numbered dots, as is seen in Singapore racing coverage, which is regularly broadcast on Tellytrack on Fridays and Sundays.

The sectional timing technology will be able to provide data within any distance range on the track. However, Gold Circle plan to provide punters with accurate 400m to finish time data as well as quarter sections of each race. The maximum speed each horse achieved and the total distance it covered in the race will also be provided. Due to the latter statistic being available, the average speed of a horse that finished second, for example, could be higher than the winner’s.

The data will be available on a recently launched website called www.gallop.co.za. At present this website provides a lot of useful entries, racecard, betting, form and results information as well as stats on horses, jockeys and trainers and also barrier draw stats etc in an easy to navigate format.

There has also been a meeting to discuss incorporating the sectional timing information into some of the popular formguide publications.

The sectional timing and running order technology is actually up and running already, but Thursday’s tests will be necessary in order to make adjustments to the software in order to ensure everything is running a hundred percent smoothly and also to ensure the running order display is being correctly overlaid and sized on to the screen which is transmitted via the on course Outside Broadcast van.

Also coming soon is a new App (Tabgold Information Application) which will provide the punter with plenty of live race day information. This App is currently available for download in beta version (meaning it is still in the testing phase) from the www.goldcircle.co.za website and is also available on Android. Feedback from users is welcomed.

A new and improved www.tabgold.co.za website is also in the testing phase and will be launched soon.

Meanwhile, Gold Circle’s “SA Racing” App continues to increase in popularity. This App has it all from a live racing Fan Wall, to latest news, previews, podcasts, betting information, videos, photos, events, calendar and it also incorporates the www.gallop.co.za website.

 By David Thiselton

Highveld trainer Dominic Zaki had his second highest ever seasonal stakes earnings in the term just past and is expecting this season to be even better.

Zaki relocated to the Vaal training centre about four years ago and his yard looks to have a lot of feature race potential to look forward to this season, particularly with some of the exciting youngsters that emerged at the beginning of this year.

Arabian Beat (Nkosi Hlophe)

His Gr 1 SA Nursery winner Arabian Beat will be having one preparation run before being aimed at the Gr 2 R450,000 Merchants over 1160m at Turffontein (the course and distance of the SA Nursery) on Sansui Summer Cup day, November 28. The Merchants is a handicap so the three-year-old Black Minnaloushe colt won’t have it easy considering the handicapper has accorded him a merit rating of 110. Arabian beat was caught late in the Gr 1 Durban Golden Horseshoe over 1400m at Greyville on Vodacom Durban July day by the subsequently named Equus Two-Year-Old Male champion Seventh Plain., but he did jump from a wide draw that day so could be forgiven for running out of steam late. However,

Zaki will keep him to sprints for the time being and this is not surprising as the sprint division in the country has been thrown wide open by the retirement of the Equus Sprint Champion Captain Of All as well as the brilliant filly Alboran Sea. However, he hasn’t ruled out putting the colt over further later on in his career.

Zaki is viewing his classy son of Toreador, Prospect Strike, as a classic hopeful and this gelding will likely go straight into the Gr 3 Graham Beck Stakes over 1400m at Turffontein on October 31 before being aimed at the Gr 2 Investec Dingaans over 1600m on Summer Cup day. This well-bred individual finished a fast-finishing third in the Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion (1200m) at Scottsville and followed that two runs later with a runner up finish in the Gr 1 Premiers Champion Stakes over 1600m at Greyville. He jumped from unfavourable draws on both occasions. Prospect Stike has won his other two career outings, over 1200m and 1400m respectively, by margins of 12,75 and 4,65 lengths so is clearly a decent sort.

Bull Valley is another son of Toreador that the yard have high hopes for and he will also be aimed at the Graham Back and Dingaans, although he will have a preparation run in a forthcoming 1200m handicap. Bull Valley won impressively by 2,5 lengths over 1200m on debut at the Vaal in May and the form looks strong with three winners having come out of the race, including Nephrite who went on to finish fifth in the Gr 1 Premier’s Champions Stakes. The yard gelded Bull Valley after his debt and decided to rest him for the rest of the winter.

Storm Warning (Nkosi Hlophe)

On the three-year-old fillies front Leila’s Charger, an Australian-bred by Charge Forward, will run early next month before taking in the Gr 3 Starling Stakes over 1400m on October 31 and the Gr 3 Fillies Mile on Summer Cup day. She charged to a 5,25 length victory on debut over 1160m at Turffontein on August 2, beating a Mike de Kock-trained Trippi filly who had been backed into even money after a decent debut. Leila’s Charger’s form is looking strong because the filly Inyanga, whom she beat by 8,6 lengths, came out and won by five lengths over the same course and distance.

The yard’s surprise horse from last season was the Judpot filly Little Genie, who finished an eleven length third over 1160m on debut before running unplaced over 1600m. However, she was then brought back to 1200m and blitzed the field, winning by 7,25 lengths. First time out the maidens in a handicap off a merit rating of 77 and carrying a weight of 58,5kg she was even more impressive over 1000m, once again winning by 7,25 lengths. Zaki described this now four-year-old filly as one who was “getting better all the time.” He will keep her to 1000m “maximum” and after running her next week he could target her at a couple of feature races. He believes she will go well on sand too.

Zaki believed his classy Captain Al speedster Precursor would “without a doubt” stay the 1450m trip of the Gr 2 R1 million Supreme Cup sponsored by SAP on September 26, especially considering he had landed the pole position draw. His dam Oracle News was indeed a classy sprint-miler.

The yard also have Lavender Landscape in the Supreme Cup, but considering it might be on the sharp side they haven’t yet decided whether he will run there or in an 1800m event on the same day.

Prospect Strike (Nkosi Hlophe)

The yard’s good stayer Storm Warning has benefitted from a wind operation and ran on strongly for a 2,65 length fourth in the Gr 1 eLan Property Group Gold Cup. Shimmering Gem is the other feature class stayer in the yard and this pair will be aimed at the Listed Java Handicap over 2450m on October 31 and the Gr 3 Racing Association Handicap over 3200m on Summer Cup day.

Three decent sprinters in the yard, Bad Boy Buddy Boy, Victorious and Valberg are being aimed at the Listed Golden Loom Handicap over 1000m on October 31. Valberg hasn’t run since two below par runs in January and February and that is because he was given a wind operation. He has always been highly regarded so is one to keep an eye on as the operation might bring a new lease of life.

Zaki finished in 16^th place on the National log in the past season with earnings of R6,259,275. However, the yard’s record position on the log has been 6^th in both the 2004/2005 and 2006/2007 seasons and in the latter of those seasons they had their highest ever earnings, R7,213,175.

Zaki was full of praise for the excellent training tracks at The Vaal training centre and all of the facilities in general. His yard is now clearly well established there and look ready to break back into the top ten on the national log.

By David Thiselton

Lucky Houdalakis had no fewer than four winners at The Vaal’s ten race turf meeting yesterday, a first for the yard, and the in form Vaal-based stable are on their way to breaking their record of ten winners in a month they set last month.

The Houdalakis yard’s nine winners in June was also a record month for them at the time.

Houdalakis’ wins yesterday were through Joan Ranger (17/10 Gavin Lerena), Howdulikeit (30/1 Chase Maujean), Lundy’s Star (16/1 Craig Zackey) and Allegorical (6/1 S’Manga Khumalo).

By David Thiselton

Picture: Lucky Houdalakis (Nkosi Hlophe)