Mike de Kock magic at Turffontein

He lies fourth on the national trainer championship log and has an excellent win strike rate of 15.7% – with 80 winners from 511 runners. He’s been in good form on the Turffontein Standside course, too, with a 22.5% winning rate in the past 28 days.

But the master trainer is more than holding his own in South African racing’s bread-and-butter stakes.

At Thursday’s Standside meeting De Kock is poised to give those stats a further boost as he fields several horses primed for victory.

Races 3, 4 and 5 could keep him in the winner’s circle for a good while.

The Drakenstein filly Bureau Des Legende owes a few important people money after failing to deliver when well backed on her debut in February. De Kock gave her 117 days off to think about the error of her ways and she returns fresh and ready to make amends in the third race, a fairly competitive Maiden Plate over 1400m – a distance far better suited to the daughter of Legislate than the 1000m scurry of her debut.

I Dream Of Genie is the De Kock hope in Race 4, a Novice Handicap over 1160m. This filly has the bearing of a good one and has promised much in her first five starts – which include a win from the front in her penultimate outing over 1200m. Last time, over 1400m, attempting a repeat performance, she was nabbed on the line. She is clearly fit and firing and has the admirable Craig Zackey in tow for the third time running.

Race 5, a 2400m marathon handicap for fillies and mares, sees De Kock kitting up Australian import Masaaken. In addition to the saddle, the trainer will be fitting the blinkers which have proven such a boon to the daughter of Teofilo.

After showing good consistency in her first eight outings, Masaaken donned the headgear for the first time – and doddled up over 2600m, repeating next time out over 2000m. Now Zackey has the job of delivering the blinking hat-trick.

De Kock has other winning chances on the day, with the likes of Golden Spoon in the seventh and Sybaris in the eighth.

SELECTIONS

Race 1:

Many first timers, watch the betting.

Race 2:

12 Star Aglow, 4 Country Flame, 16 Waya Yire, 5 Golden Aspen

Race 3:

9 Bureau Des Legende, 1 Dance Lesson, 8 Night Lily, 2 Cape Diamond

Race 4:

2 I Dream Of Genie, 4 Money Fighter, 6 Global Ransom, 10 Bronco Billy

Race 5:

8 Masaaken, 2 She’s A Cracker, 4 Illuminate, 5 The Sash

Race 6:

3 All Aglow, 9 Encore, 8 Hey Bennie, 11 Zarbarjad

Race 7:

11 Now You See Me, 3 Sultanah, 5 Golden Spoon, 10 Making A Scene

Race 8:

6 Senescence, 12 Sybaris, 4 Un Deux Trois, 2 Devilish Dancer

Pick 6:

1,8,9 x 1,3,4,6,10 x 2,4,8 x 3,8,9,11 x 3,5,11 x 6,12 (R1080)

PA:

4,12,16 x 1,9 x 1,4,6 x 2,8 x 3,8,9 x 11 x 6 (R108)