Olympian to scale heights
Trainer Vaughan Marshall raids Port Elizabeth today and it will come as something of a surprise if he does not go home with a couple of winners’ cheques in his wallet.
GOOD DAY. Trainer Vaughan Marshall raids the Eastern Cape this afternoon and should not go home empty handed.
Best of his runners could be Olympian who runs in the feature race on the card, the Glendore Sprint (Non-Black Type) over 1000m.
This three-year-old colt has raced nine times for three wins and four places but it is only recently that he has started to reach his peak.
He is clearly a horse who has been underestimated by many pundits as he always tends to go off at a good price.
He shed his maiden at the fourth time of asking and followed up with a 5.75-length fourth behind talented Kingvoldt in the Listed Somerset 1200 at Kenilworth.
He led for most of the journey but faded late and it appears 1200m is outside his compass at the moment.
He returned to racing as a three-year-old following a break of more than two months and after finishing unplaced on his return, has gone on to notch up two successive victories.
His last run, in particular, was most impressive in that he beat Harry Lime by 0.40 lengths over 1000m at Kenilworth.
The runner-up was coming back from a rest but it was a win full of merit and indicates that with 52.5kg to carry, Olympian could be hard oppose. Regular pilot MJ Byleveld takes the ride.
Yoshie showed a lot of guts to her last start in a Pinnacle Stakes but with the weight turnaround she could battle to hold off some of the runners who finished behind her. Insearchofthesun was a 0.50-length second in that race and now meets the filly on 2kg better terms. That should be enough to reverse the placings.
In fact, Tetelestai, Trade Emblem and Swift Wonder all have the form to finish in front of Yoshie but Alan Greeff’s charge is a gutsy girl and could have a surprise in store for those runners.
