Grand Heritage messes with our heads

Whoever invented the 1475m World Sports Betting Grand Heritage race at the Vaal was messing with our heads – ’avin’ a laff, as the Brits would say. The race conditions are designed to put together a field of horses that isn’t just competitive, but in the realms of lottery.

Take the lineup for Saturday’s R500,000 renewal at the riverside course. It has 23 runners (mercifully reduced from 25 by a couple of scratchings, and from the 28 that used to thunder up the straight with commentators yelling about a cavalry charge) and anyone who professes confidence in picking a winner is … well, ’avin’ a laff.

The merit ratings range from 106 to 86, the ages from three to six, the weights from 60kg to 52kg; there are pure sprinters such as Black Egret and Chyavana, established milers like Whafeef and Funky Music, and five runners who have won over 2000m.

Duke of Sussex

One horse has a single win to his career credit, another has nine. The only runners to have attempted 1475m before are veterans of this race, like defending champ Duke Of Sussex, because there are no other races anywhere in the world over this trip.

Collateral formlines in Computaform run to a full page and make the head spin.

A positive thing to be said for the Grand Heritage is it’s a change of pace. When it was introduced about a decade ago, a “big betting race” was the target, with the promise of big dividends amassing big pools.
They’ve surely achieved some of that.

Theoretically, the sensible thing to do is to select “the field” for this leg of exotic bets. Trouble is, there are 23 of the blessed creatures to include, chalk which multiplies the investment somewhat.

Silent War

The 7-2 favourite is Tony Peter-trained Silent War, who is going for five wins in succession and has clearly benefitted from a change of stable.

He had several of these opponents behind him when he won an MR105 Handicap at Turffontein a fortnight ago – his most impressive effort to date by a long way. But that was over 1600m around a bend – a different proposition to the old cavalry charge. Also, he has drawn No 6 and word is that outside draws are better on the Vaal straight.

Sean Tarry saddles four, with the stable pick apparently four-year-old filly Celtic Rumours, who gets the services of leading jockey Richard Fourie. Positive for this girl is that she has won three times over 1400m and 1450m and has a wide draw.

Her stablemate Pyromaniac also has a good draw and has competed at a much higher level than this over the past year, seldom being far off at the finish. However, this could be on the sharp side.

The sole raider is Michael Roberts’s Sun Blushed, who comes up from KwaZulu-Natal with regular partner Rachel Venniker. He is a genuine sort whose only blemish was when tried over more ground.

Pick 6

At longer odds is Funky Music, who has won five of eight starts since moving to Paul Matchett’s yard earlier this year – all over the right sort of distance. Jockey Jarryd Penny will need to negotiate from draw No 5, but a feather weight of 52.5kg might help him do so.

There are at least a dozen other runners that a case can be made for.

With such a loaded Leg 4 of the Pick 6, finding a banker becomes imperative.

The standout candidate is unbeaten On The Horizon in Race 6, who is aiming for four wins in a row. But the three-year-old filly tackles males for the first time and not all of them are mugs.

Another banker option might be The Africa House in Race 8, who comes off decent showings in the Dingaans and the Grade 3 Graham Beck Stakes and appears to be maturing nicely.

In the lucky last, championship title-chasing Fourie has clinched the booking on Fanie Bronkhorst’s filly Boom Boom, another improver and one who has attracted shrewd advance betting money.