Ontheverge on the verge of some Motown Magic

Two Pick 6 bankers is an enticement for Tuesday’s race meeting on the Vaal Classic circuit. There appears little to seriously challenge Ontheverge in Leg 1 and Motown Magic in Leg 2.

Ontheverge is well named as the filly lays siege to her maiden status. Trainer Candice Dawson’s three-year-old was heavily backed in her last two runs but managed to find horses to beat her.

Jockey Gavin Lerena got fined for overuse of the crop in both those races, suggesting a tad more effort was expected of Ontheverge.

In her fifth outing she tries blinkers for the first time and this tweak could be what’s needed to get her more focused and into the winner’s box. By now Lerena and Ontheverge will have got to know each other fairly well and they should put it all together in Race 3, a Maiden Plate for young fillies.

Punters seeking Exacta, Trifecta and Quartet combinations have a tough task finding horses to fill the minor placings – many are coming off rests or have shown little zest for the racing game thus far.

By Crickey Man, Putting Green and Twenty Four Kay could show improvement. Lady Fair has some speed but ran disappointingly at Turffontein last week.

In the second leg of the Pick 6, Race 4, a 1600m Maiden Plate for three-year-olds, Mike de Kock-trained Motown Magic looks highly likely to convert steady improvement into a first win.

The colt showed promise in his first three races earlier in the year, then took a three-and-a-half-month breather. That seems to have brought him on nicely as finished just 0.50 lengths adrift of Equillo on 11 September, despite starting slowly and encountering traffic problems.

He was backed for that comeback effort and connections will be keen to get their money back.

Sean Tarry’s charge Indelible has clear promise and must be considered a danger but might need the run after an 87-day absence from action. Arlington Action performed well above expectations when grabbing third place in a 1800m race on this track last week and must be included in Quartets.

SELECTIONS

Race 1:

5 Arverni Warrior, 6 Edward Longshanks, 3 Cross Examiner, 8 Moya Wa Laliga

Race 2:

11 Pink Legacy, 7 Escape Artists, 5 Definitely Maybe, 3 Red Hot

Race 3:

1 Ontheverge, 8 By Crickey Man, 9 Putting Green, 6 Twenty Four Kay

Race 4:

1 Motown Magic, 4 Arlington Action, 6 Indelible, 7 JP Two Thousand

Race 5:

8 Banha Bridge, 1 Prince Evlanoff, 2 Theory Of Flight, 4 Nordic Rebel

Race 6:

7 Rapid Fire, 2 Bold Ransom, 5 Valyrian King, 8 Alesian Chief

Race 7:

1 Anne Boleyn, 6 Phoenix, 8 Toto, 4 Sultanah

Race 8:

1 Hollywoodbound, 6 Sister Light, 3 Lady Calavera, 2 Elusive Woman

Pick 6:

1 x 1 x 1,2,4,5,8,10 x 2,3,5,7,8,9 x 1,4,5,6,8 x 1,2,3,5,6,8 (R1080)

PA:

5,7,11 x 1 x 1 x 1,8 x 2,5,7 x 1 x 1 (R18)