Grant van Niekerk will be keen to find form again on Wednesday. Picture: Lo Chun Kit /Getty Images
The other day Grant van Niekerk made an admission about not riding well when it was pointed out he hadn’t had a winner in three weeks. Well, maybe he hasn’t been quite at the top of his game, but the cheeky chappy is too big a talent to be underachieving for long.
On Wednesday at Kenilworth, GvN partners a few runners who could haul him from his slough of despond.
As early at the first race, he has a good chance, with Justin Snaith-trained Che Vincera, who looks likely to fight out the Maiden Juvenile Plate with stablemate Open Secret, ridden by S’Manga Khumalo.
Van Niekerk looks most likely to pick up a win from Races 4, 5 and 6 – or even two or three.
In the fourth, curiously named a Maiden Special Weights race, Andre Nel-trained Futurismo looks raring to open his account. After decent efforts over 1400m and 1600m, the three-year-old will surely relish the 2000m. If the uncommon race conditions don’t throw up something from the bottom of the “handicap”, Futurismo might be one of the better bets on the card.
Lightly raced Policy Target will be a big factor in the fifth. It is a peak run for Nel’s five-year-old, who has been highly rated – and consistently backed – by the stable. He has performed fairly well, getting two wins, without fully delivering on the promise. However, a newly determined Van Niekerk could bring out the best in him.
Our rider switches allegiance back to Snaith for the sixth, with Tout A Fait, a three-year-old who has improved steadily since gelding in August.
Interestingly, the jockey’s regular mount Double Charge is a main adversary in the MR 91 Handicap. Nel’s runner is in fact going for a hat-trick, yet Van Niekerk has opted for Tout A Fait. We must presume the self-confessed recent loskop tendencies haven’t skewed his judgement in terms of choice of horse.
SELECTIONS
1: 8 Open Secret, 1 Che Vincera, 4 Echo Of Life, 8 Fields Of Corn
2: 7 Marvel William, 9 Smith And Wesson, 2 Charlie Malone, 8 Pure Maverick
3: 5 Dean Street, 9 Eleodoro, 1 Boisterous Buddy, 2 Castle Time
4: 2 Futurismo, 10 Twice The Master, 5 Double Duet, 7 Keep Shining
5: 8 Policy Target, 3 Exceeder, 6 Captive Moon, 1 Dubai Lights
6: 7 Tout A Fait, 5 Gallic Tribe, 4 Adios Amigos, 2 Double Charge
7: 9 Axl, 3 Surjay, 7 Captain Dizzy, 4 Transact
8: 4 What A State, 3 Nippy Winter, 8 Della’s Sword, 15 Apollo Moon
Pick 6: 5,9 x 2,4,5,7,10 x 1,3,5,6,8 x 2,4,5,7 x 3,4,7,9 x 3,4,8 (R2400)
PA: 7,9 x 5 x 2,10 x 3,6,8 x 4,5,7 x 3,9 x 3,4,8 (R216)
