Is Il Palio great?
He may not have the reputation of the famous Italian race with a tradition stretching back 700 years, but the South African bred four-year-old gelding Il Palio does at least have decent recent form. The Bill Human trained Il Palio runs in Race 9 at Flamingo Park today.
S’manga Khumalo rides Il Palio at Flamingo Park today. Picture: Supplied
He was unplaced in all his starts in KwaZulu-Natal before making a fair sand debut. Three wins this year has seen his merit rating rise but with only a four point penalty coming from his win last week.
It is hard to win back-to-back races at this course, particularly only a week later but the step up in trip should suit and it has not been missed that despite bad draws Il Palio has held his form well.
A good draw and South African title chasing S’manga Khumalo are positives. Visiting trainers are having a dreadful run with their raiders at Flamingo Park this season but trainer Louis Goosen has done it all before and Wishful Heart in Race 8 should prove hard to beat.
This Carpocrates gelding ran a much improved runner-up to Yukon Gold on the Vaal Sand just a few days ago.
It was sad to hear the news that Johan Myburgh (trainer of Jack Dan) passed away late last week as he had recently got a win out of the aged Jack Dan.
Hopefully the gelding competes and runs well in Race 8. Shepherds Song and Greatest Hits are two others that can run well.
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