Striker kicks off his KZN season at Scottsville today

I have decided to ride at Scottsville today which will be my first meeting in this KwaZulu-Natal season. It’s been a bit disappointing that I have had to miss so much of the season.

But all is not lost. I remember two years ago I was delayed coming back to ride because of a broken collarbone. But when I did ride I ended up winning three Grade 1 races, including the Vodacom Durban July aboard The Conglomerate.

My other Grade 1 winners were Mac De Lago in the Rising Sun Gold Challenge – although I won that on an objection when Trip To Heaven was demoted – and Talktothestars in the Tsogo Sun Sprint.

I’m hoping for a touch of deja vu this year, even though I have started out later this time. It might not be a Grade 1 race but I ride Flichity By Farr in the Track And Ball Oaks over 2400m at Scottsville today and she must have a big chance of winning as she is well-handicapped and she has good form to back her up.

My concern is that she is a three-year-old taking on older horses and over this distance you want to favour your stronger and older horses. I have some other rides on the day and although I’m not familiar with the KZN form, some of them look to have winning chances.

For those who don’t know, I am riding Abashiri in the Durban July on 7 July and the Azzie yard is keeping him nice and fresh as he is super fresh and we want him raring to go for the big day.

The draws for the race will be out on Tuesday and I’m actually hoping to be drawn wide on Abashiri because he lacks early gate speed and I wouldn’t want to be caught on the fence.

Tomorrow we race at Turffontein on the Inside track and we start off with a race over 1450m for juveniles. They are all still lightly raced but the main contenders have to be Roll Of Drums, Tarzan and Samurai Warrior.

I would pick any two for the BiPot.

Race 2 is another Juvenile Plate and the horse with the strongest form has to be Parental Control. She could very well be a possible Place Accumulator banker but as these are juveniles it could be worth adding Long Pond.

Race 3 is a Maiden Plate and there are a couple of young horses taking their places. My first selection is Benji but unfortunately it looks like he has some issues to overcome. He was found to be blowing heavily when third behind Royal Italian on debut and last time, when he ran in the Grade 2 SA Nursery, he was reported to be coughing. Therefore you might have to consider adding in Misty Light and Nawaasi as back-up.

As far as the Pick 6 is concerned I would consider putting in as many as you can afford and I would even consider putting in the entire field because nothing really stands out.

Race 4 is another Maiden Plate and my first selection is King Of The Sky. But as he is still a young horse and lacks experience, for the Place Accumulator include Liberado and possibly Shadow Man.

For the Pick 6 Limestone Mass and Gift For The Gap need to be included as well.

Race 5 is another Maiden Plate but this time it will be run over 2600m. The horses with similar form lines are Smart Deal, Hirohito, Festive Linngari and Imoto. They should be good enough for the Pick 6 but for the Place Accumulator putting in just Smart Deal and Hirohito should see you through.

Race 6 is a handicap over 2600m and it is quite a competitive field. It could be worth loading the Place Accumulator so go with Fortune Fella, Detonation, Tapanzee and Cheat The Cheaters. Others to consider for the Pick 6 are Just A Jet, Condor Gulch, Porcupine Creek, Sebastian and maybe my ride, Scotland. He has a bad draw and is unsure to stay the distance but on his best form he could produce the goods.

Race 7 is another handicap where we have many horses with winning chances. My main selection and Place Accumulator horses are Top Shot, Kremlin Judgment and The Rising Legend. Other possibilities to go into the Pick 6 are Bold Viking, Notting Hill and my ride, Gambado who has been competing in feature races and could appreciate the drop in class. Race 8 is another handicap and the horse who has a lot going for him is Skynight. He has the field beaten on form and has the added benefit of being drawn No 1. He is a possible Place Accumulator banker.

For the Pick 6 you need to include Yer-Maan but there are others with bad draws who have decent form but could have their chances affected because of that.

I ride Evolver who was sluggish last time off a bad draw and if he does that again, especially on this Inside track, he could let his followers down.

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