Supreme Warrior would beat a cow any day

The great humourist PJ O’Rourke died this week and it would be remiss not to share a bit of his wit. He once wrote: “Everything that’s fun in life is dangerous. Horse races, for instance, are very dangerous. But attempt to design a safe horse and the result is a cow … It’s impossible to be alive and safe.”

Fun and danger return to Turffontein on Saturday, in the form of the Egoli Mile and a bumper nine supporting races. No cows allowed.

The main event has drawn a bunch of promising three-year-olds, currently just below the top level but vying to propel their way into contention for big races in the Highveld autumn season.

The dangerous horse – for his rivals and for punters – is Supreme Warrior, trained by Mike and Adam Azzie. This guy looked very special after his first two outings, winning impressively over 120om and 1450m. Then he took a big step up in class in the 1600m Gauteng Guineas – and disappointed massively.

After shooting to the front and tugging along the field, Supreme Warrior folded like a deckchair and finished last. Those tactics will surely be ditched this time and jockey Diego de Gouveia encouraged to let the colt’s true ability shine.

This theory has seen the son of Vercingetorix installed at the top of the betting boards at 5-2. The next two in the betting, at 9-2, are Sean Tarry-trained Litigation and Weiho Marwing’s Picture Perfect.

The former, a colt by Greys Inn, has two wins from seven tries and is clearly a competitive individual. Gavin Lerena has ridden him in three recent starts and will get back into the saddle with a clear idea of how best to handle the bloke.

Picture Perfect has been to the only races once and was a bit jittery when he got there. But that didn’t stop him thrashing his fellow maidens and getting his name scrawled in a few notebooks. He will carry just 52kg, which will be mostly in the shape of under-rated jockey Julius Mariba.

Beyond these three runners, Eagle Strike and Quiet Rebellion might be considered for betting combinations.

SELECTIONS

Turffontein Saturday

1: 1 Courante, 9 Gilded Butterfly, 2 Azucar, 3 I Am Royal

2: 2 Leeson, 6 Harold The Duke, 5 Jaipur Jewel, 1 Tabebuia

3: 1 Fire Lord, 2 Pottinger, 13 Miss Otis, 10 Lemme Go

4: 2 Castleton, 3 Castle Of Glass, 8 Elusive Current, 7 Caralluma

5: 3 Hotchiwitchi, 6 Roha, 1 McKenna Skye, 2 Florentine

6: 1 Shining Armour, 8 Wokonda, 5 Trump My Queen, 9 Captain Of Grit

7: 2 Supreme Warrior, 3 Litigation, 7 Eagle Strike, 8 Picture Perfect

8: 9 Reunion, 2 Second Base, 1 Majestic Mozart, 4 Golden Pheasant

9: 2 Zanetto, 1 Corvette Captain, 12 Java House, 4 Excellerator

10: 1 General Hancock, 7 Lulu’s Boy, 6 Grindelwald, 10 Tiki Taka

Pick 6: 2,3,7,8,9 x 1,2,3,6 x 1,3,5,8,9,10 x 2,3,7,8 x 9 x 1,2,12 (R

PA: 1,2 x

Scottsville Sunday

Best: Race 2 No 5 Red Sole

Value: Race 5 No 10 Go Man Go