It could be Alssakhra’s day

At one stage Alssakhra was being touted as a possible Gauteng Guineas winner but despite all the great hype around this son of Seventh Rock, he has not been able to win a second race.

He clearly has ability as he rarely runs a bad race but trainer Paul Peter has struggled to find the best distance for this three-year-old colt. Despite having finished second behind Forafewdollarsmore in a race over 2000m on the Vaal Inside track, Alssakhra appears to be at his best when racing over distances from 1400m to 1600m.

He gets a perfect opportunity to notch up his second victory when he runs in Race 6 on the Vaal Classic track today when he contests a MR 80 Handicap over 1600m. Peter has tried top jockeys like Anton Marcus, Gavin Lerena and even Pat Smullen, who rode him during the International Jockeys’ Challenge as well as 4kg claiming apprentices, but none could deliver that second victory.

Now, for the first time, he has engaged Piere Strydom for the ride and will be hoping the six-time former champion jockey will be able to achieve what others have failed to do. In most of his races, Alssakhra has been taking on some top horses and the average merit rating of the race has been high. This time it drops to 74.

In most races where he has competed against lesser competition, Alssakhra has run well, finishing a close-up second on a number of occasions. Hopefully, this time Strydom will be able to get his nose down where it matters.

The main threat is likely to come for Mambo Symphony, who gets the assistance of 2.5kg claimer Dylan Lerena. Trained by Devin Little, this three-year-old gelding is a three-time winner, two of which have come over this distance. His maiden win was over 1400m. He is quite versatile as he has also run well over further but will need a touch of speed to win this event. His chances could be affected in that he will now carry 59.5kg because apprentice Lerena has now ridden 20 winners and his allowances drops to 2.5kg.

Querari Viking is another of those consistent runners who has won twice but is battling to get his head in front. Sherman Brown rides for Ormond Ferraris and this son of Querari should be thereabouts.

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