Jockey in confident mood

What sets this race apart from all others is that all 16 horses in the Grade 2 race will be running for a specific charity and where they finish will determine the size of their windfall. R1 million will be split between the 16 organisations. The organisation that draws the winning horse will receive R150,000.

The second-placed horse will result in their charity receiving R100,000, while R75,000 will be given to the charities represented by the third and fourth-placed horses and all the other participating charities will receive cheques for R50,000. To make the day a lot more fun, each charity will be represented by a celebrity.

“It’s always a great event for the jockeys and I’m glad I can play a part in a day where a charity is going to benefit from my riding skills,” said Strydom.

“Hopefully, they will be good on the day and I can help maximise their bonus.”

The concern expressed about Paul Peter-trained Riverstown is that he might not see out 1 600m. Strydom disagrees.

“I think he will stay. I’ve ridden him a couple of times where I’ve had to be vigorous early on to get a position out the gates because he continually lands wide draws.

“Despite all that, he stayed on well. Luckily, for a change, we have a good draw [No 7] and I can be more conservative on him. I have asked Paul to nominate him for the Summer Cup, which is over 2 000m. If he sees out 1 600m he will probably be taking his place in that race next month.”

Strydom also pointed out the son of Byword has improved with gelding. Riverstown is joint second favourite with Crown Gardens at 13-2. The favourite, at 11-2, is Sean Tarry-trained Cornish Pomodoro.

– news@citizen.co.za

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