No. 2102 ISSN 1023 / 6996
MONDAY 8th - THURSDAY 11th DECEMBER 2014
The 4yo Silvano filly Vino Veritas will be ridden by Piere Strydom and has plenty in her favour
FLAMINGO PARK 12:20pm (Monday) p.4
VAAL
12:35pm (Tuesday) p.11
KENILWORTH
12:25pm (Wednesday) p.25
VAAL SAND
12:15pm (Thursday) p.32
PROGRESS PLATE at Vaal on Tuesday Piere Strydom remains the man of the moment. The legend has followed his magical 5000 winner milestone achieved on Act Of War in the Selangor Cup with an extraordinary fifty percent winner strike rate in the ensuing fortnight. That makes him the jockey to be with at the Vaal on Tuesday.
A
s if owners and trainers aren’t enough to cope with, Strydom has handled every conceivable pressure imaginable in his 33 years in the saddle with aplomb. But the brain block that he endured as he hung around the 4999 winner mark in mid-November just proved that for all his immortality in the saddle, he really is also only human.
Confidence
With 11 winners from 22 rides up to Turffontein’s Tuesday night meeting, post the Act Of War celebrations on that sunny Kenilworth Saturday, Strydom is riding with his old confidence again and is close to unstoppable when throwing his leg over anything half decent. His next target remains the 5072 winner mark – to balance the 72 winners in the 5000
that were not achieved in South Africa.
Good Card
He has eight nice rides and partners our top-rated Vino Veritas in the Vaal Tuesday topliner, a Progress Plate run over 1700m. Vino Veritas, latin for ‘in wine there is truth’, is a consistent sort and Gavin Van Zyl is in great form. Nicely drawn at 1, the 4yo has won 2 from 10 and the daughter of Silvano looks rather well in here. She ran a cracking 2,50 length fifth behind
Pine Princess (a decent subsequent effort behind Arcetri Pink in the Gr2 Ipi Tombe Challenge too) in the Gr3 Yellowwood Handicap last time out. At her penultimate start she slammed Amber Orchid in a Scottsville 1950m fillies handicap.
the Fillies Mile on Summer Cup day. At her penultimate outing she ran on steadily for a close up third behind Rich Girl in the Emperors Palace Ready To Run Cup. Cont. p.2
Young Ones
Two lightly raced 3yo’s may give her most to think about. Sean Tarry’s Australian bred Tamaanee ran a creditable fourth and 4,50 lengths back to Banbury in
Another foaling season successfully completed! We have some very smart individuals on the ground.
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Tel: Mike Sharkey 082 372 2682 www.highlandsfarmstud.co.za