Baahir set for win No 7
Dorrie Sham has had a good run on the Highveld since moving her string from Port Elizabeth. She is based...
SEVEN UP: Baahir has become one of the stars in trainer Dorrie Sham’s yard since she moved to the Vaal and he could score his seventh win in Race 7 at the Vaal tomorrow,
Dorrie Sham has had a good run on the Highveld since moving her string from Port Elizabeth. She is based at the Vaal and they have had a number of winners at that course.
Tomorrow Sham sends out Baahir to contest a MR 80 Handicap over 1200m on the Outside track and this five-year-old Australian-bred gelding can notch up his seventh victory.
He is a beautifully bred son of Galileo who started off with Mike de Kock but Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Maktoum of Dubai, who both bred and raced Baahir early on in his career, is really looking for Graded race winners and looked to be quite ordinary.
When Sham bought him in 2016 he was a two-time winner but while he has still not been picking up feature victories he has gone on to win four more races.
His last win was in April but since then he has put in two very good races.
In his penultimate start he was the fastest finisher in a race won by Buffalo Bill Cody over 1200m on the Turffontein Inside track. Although he finished sixth, he was only 0.90 lengths behind the winner.
Baahir had a short break and came back to race at Turffontein on 1 July in a MR 88 Handicap over 1160m. He went off at 12-1 but ran a cracker to finish a 1.40-length second behind African Ruler.
He takes a drop in class in this Vaal race and also holds two of his rivals based on his last start – Donny G and Dorman. In their race won by African Ruler Donny G was fifth, 3.10 lengths behind and Dorman 13th some 12.50 lengths behind African Ruler.
Baahir has run well for jockey Craig Zackey who is back in the irons.
Play The Night could be the main threat to Sham’s runner. This three-year-old son of Querari has only raced six times and went off the boil after running out a 3.25-length winner over Pillaroftheearth in his second start. He was gelded before his last start and ran an improved race when running on to finish a 4.10-length fifth behind Wild Curve over 1200m on the Inside track at Turffontein. He had a wide draw on that occasion and got too far behind.
His merit rating has fallen from 90 to 78 and that could make him very competitive in this line-up. Lyle Hewitson takes the ride.
Others to consider are Great Shaka, Sail For Joy and Donny G who will have the services of visit- ing jockey Aldo Domeyer.
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