Piere Strydom’s best bets

Strydom could have a winner with Shadow Of his Smile.

Of late I’ve had a very good run. As I have said before my immediate target is to ride 5,000 winners and it will take a long time to get there with just a few chance rides.

You have to show the results otherwise you won’t continue to get the quality rides.

At the moment I’m 40 short of my target.

No so long ago I was having bad run and 5,000 looked a long way away.

Suddenly things have improved and the gap has closed quickly.

I have ridden many winners in South Africa but obviously overseas winners also count.

I’ve had some short stints where I have ridden in Hong Kong and the UK.

I also rode winners last year in Turkey, at an International meeting in Australia in 1994, and also in Zimbabwe.

One of my regrets is that I didn’t travel a bit more but I felt the time I did spend overseas improved my knowledge of race riding quite a lot.

There is also a rumour around that I’m looking to retire, which is obviously something I do think about.

Even when I do achieve my 5,000th winner I definitely won’t be retiring immediately.

As you get older you start thinking about your body because you definitely have a couple of aches and pains after riding thousands of horses.

Wear and tear starts to take effect and naturally you try to avoid injuries by taking fewer rides.

As a youngster, when I only had eight rides on a nine-race card I felt disappointed that I did not have rides in all nine.

As you get older you realise you have to be more selective but that could actually prove costly.

I am a very competitive person and it hurts me tremendously when I do miss out on a winning ride.

I could have ridden De Var Hyt the other day who was clearly the better ride.

But I took the other mount, who started favourite, because De Var Hyt can be difficult at the start and I opted to err on the side of caution.

There are times when you don’t have the option and are forced to take the risks.

Sometimes it pays off but there are other times, in spite of being aware of the danger, it come back to bite you.

Currently there are a number of jockeys over the age of 50 still riding and you might find a string of jockeys retiring, which could leave a nice gap for the younger jockeys to come through.

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We’re back on the inside track at Turffontein today and Race 1 is for work riders over 2200m.

I’m not sure which horse will stay the distance. With no confidence at all, the horses at the top of the betting boards – Phantom Bid, Anita and Secret Angel – should probably fight it out.

Race 2 is over 1450m so the draw is important as is racing experience.

With that in mind it will be hard to beat China Beach who also has the best form.

The obvious danger is Pearl Valley who finished some four lengths behind China Beach in her first start and naturally has the scope for improvement.

I’m not sure how much improvement is there but maybe there is enough to beat China Beach.

There are also a number of unraced or lightly raced runners so it could be a tricky race.

Race 3 is the opening leg of the PA and I’m riding The Captain’s Tune.

His first run was on the sand and he was beaten by quite some distance. Naturally I am hoping for some improvement and only the race will tell.

The horse I think we all have to beat is stable companion Starcraft Prince, who could be a possible banker. Unfortunately he has a wide draw and his good first run was on the sand.

Despite all that he looks better than anything else in this field.

In Race 4 I ride The Golden Boy. He is held on form on numerous runs and, in fact, was lucky to get that close to Weaponology last time as he had the run of the race and I can’t see him turning the tables.

The Golden Boy has been fitted with blinkers and he is already quite a puller so that could work against him.

For that reason I see only Weaponology and Diamond Jim fighting it out. They both need to be included in the PA and Pick 6.

Race 5 is a Pinnacle Stakes so you normally lean towards the best handicapped runners and the well-drawn horses.

The two best weighted runners are Mohave Princess and Pure Power. The fact both have run behind In The Fast Lane shows they have some class about them.

Unfortunately the distance, and the fact they are both coming off a rest, makes it difficult to select them.

The next best handicapped runner is Shepard One, who is an obvious contender.

But the fact Silent Rush beat her last time out and is 4.5kg better off, should make Silent Rush the horse they all have to beat.

As Silent Rush is only a three-year-old it is difficult to make her a banker in the PA so it might be worth backing her up with Shepard One, who could improve as it was her first run after a rest.

They should suffice for both PA and Pick6 but if you look further you may have to go with the field.

Race 6 is another Pinnacle Stakes race and I think the best-weighted runners will fight it out. I would lean towards S’il Vous Plait and Storm Warning for both the PA and Pick 6.

Race 7 is the third Pinnacle Stakes on the card and the horses are very closely handicapped, which makes this quite a competitive race.

The horse with the best form is Snowdon but he is coming off a short break and I’m not sure of his wellbeing.

The danger could come from my mount, Shadow Ofhis Smile, but he’s not proven over the distance.

The class horse is probably Heart Of a Lion but as he is more effective over further he probably has more of a place chance.

The next to consider would be Newton Power and Brad’s Surge but there is also Sabadell who has a similar form line.

As you can’t be confident about any of these horses you have to next consider Sovereign Mint, who is not the best handicapped runner but has won his last two starts and is the horse who could improve the most in this field.

It might be wise to go quite wide in both the PA and Pick 6.

Race 8 is a distance event for fillies and it worth going for those who are proven stayers. Those are Neon Tiger and Stylish Bay and they should fight it out. If those two are not to your liking then my next pick is Final Score.

I’m riding Silva Sharma and she looks held on form but she could improve over distance because when I rode her last time over 1600m she struggled to keep up with the pace. So I’m just hoping for a good run.
Race 9 looks quite open but I have narrowed it down to three horses – Dirty Champagne, Excalivar and Argomento.

The first two were both well beaten last time but it was their first runs back after a layoff and should improve.

Argomento only won a work riders’ race last time but was not heavily penalised for the victory and with just 50.5kg to carry must be in with a chance.

The one runner who could surprise is Form Up. He has raced against better but I felt when I rode him that he needed further and he would be better on a course with a longer straight.