Distance to suit The Thinker

The scratching of Clever Guy has paved the way for The Thinker to win Race 8 at the Vaal today, a MR 89 Handicap over 1000m.

Based on his 0.40-length second to Brutal Force last time Stephen Moffatt’s charge would have been hard to oppose but Clever Guy is under veterinary treatment and has been withdrawn.

The Thinker might not be one of the stars in Johan Janse van Vuuren’s yard but he is a mighty good 1000m runner. He has raced three times over the distance for three wins with his two defeats coming over 1200m and 1160m respectively.

He does not tend to win by far but that shows he has guts and secondly, it keeps the lupine handicapper some distance from the merit-rating door.

He only received three points for defeating All Night Flight by 1.25 lengths and with Gavin Lerena set to carry 0.5kg overweight on Roy Magner’s runner, The Thinker could well have the edge again. Randall Simons has ridden The Thinker to victory on all three occasions and he is back in the irons once again.

All Night Flight is a son of Noordhoek Flyer and has been reasonably consistent although he has only notched up two wins in 24 starts. That consistency may have contributed to his lack of victories, his last coming 215 days ago, because it has not given the handicappers a chance to drop his rating.

Gimmethemoney has had some decent performances of late and is not without a chance, especially with Piere Strydom up. He has ridden Paul Peter’s charge on four occasions for a win and two places. Another to consider is Isphan, who will appreciate the return to 1000m.