Heather’s Boy prepares for Cape Guineas

Trainer Mike de Kock will have been disappointed with the performance of Greaterix in the Grade 2 Betway Dingaans on Saturday but he could get some consolation at Turffontein on Tuesday with a double in Races 5 and 6.

Unbeaten Heather’s Boy will line up in Race 5, a Graduation Plate over 1600m on the Standside track, and he looks to be one of the standout bets on the nine-race card.

The three-year-old Rafeef colt has won both his races and his first win has turned out be one of the strongest form lines around with four out of seven runners going on to win their next starts. His second win has also produced a winner so all the talk that is going round seems to have been substantiated.

Perhaps the best indicator is that De Kock has nominated both him and Greaterix to run in the Grade 1 Cape Guineas over 1600m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday 14 December.

Heather’s Boy won a course-and-distance handicap in his last start, giving weight and a beating to subsequent winner Bacchus. However, he is not all that well weighted for this race based on his current merit rating but that probably belies his ability and he can still come out of this with another win.

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This is quite a strong field and it will surely test Heather’s Boy but De Kock has never been sacred to test his runners against good opposition.

One needs to take into account that this is a prep run for the Cape Guineas but if he is to be a threat against the likes of One Stripe he should be able to beat this field. Craig Zackey takes the ride once again.

Stable companion Wolf Mountain was only touched off in the 1400m Grade 3 Graham Beck Stakes under a masterful frontrunning ride from Piere Strydom but the De Kock-trained gelding, a son of Buffalo Bill Cody, needs only to repeat that performance to go one better when he returns to the scene of that narrow defeat off a four-point higher mark in Race 6, a MR 98 Handicap for three-year-olds over 1400m.

Tony Peter also has some decent runners at the meeting and he too could come away with a few winners. Peter-trained Roman’s Revenge has struck a formidable partnership with Chase Maujean, winning both starts with that rider aboard. The progressive Fire Away gelding followed up his 1800m Vaal maiden victory under Maujean with a successful handicap debut over 1700m at the Vereeniging-based track in late October.

Despite earning a five-point rating increase, that penalty isn’t likely to halt the momentum of Roman’s Revenge when he lines up in Race 4, a MR 76 Handicap over 2000m, off a career-high mark of 89, with improvement anticipated from the three-year-old over this extended trip.

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Stablemate Palace Dancer, a three-year-old filly, is the least experienced of the 11 runners in Race 8 but is, arguably, the pick on all exposed form. This consistent daughter of Potala Palace finished worse than third for the first time in her five-start career when fourth over 1400m on the Standside track 18 days ago.

However, that was in a stronger race than the one in which she lines up in over the same course and distance in Race 8, a MR 80 Handicap for fillies and mares over 1400m. Peter’s charge should appreciate the ease in grade and the benefit of a slightly reduced mark, and the fact that Gavin Lerena retains the ride is also encouraging.

The same jockey-trainer combination should close out the meeting with promising three-year-old colt Pennsylvania, one of the better bets on the card, in Race 9, a MR 86 Handicap over 1160m. This Lancaster Bomber colt showed his rivals a clean pair of heels over the straight 1200m Vaal course almost nine weeks ago and the slightly shorter distance switching to Turffontein’s Standside track won’t hold any fears for Lerena’s mount.

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