Time for Sleepy Hollow to wake up and run

Writer Tom Sharpe made his name by writing comic novels set in Pietermaritzburg – or Piemburg, as he dubbed it – a place where he lived for a few years. The worldwide best-selling Riotous Assembly and Indecent Exposure were screamingly funny but outrageously rude about the elegant old city and its erstwhile residents.

Back in the day, even locals referred to PMB as “Sleepy Hollow” and Sharpe said it was “half the size of New York Cemetery and twice as dead”. However, he also said it was “deceptive” and went on to relate mad tales of wild behaviour in the green valley.

Piemburg is much changed since Sharpe was there in the 1960s but it remains an enigma.

Jackpot of R3-million

The duality is reflected in the somnolent city hosting an annual “speed fest” of four important 1200m sprint events at its Scottsville Racecourse – which is a Jonty Rhodes-cricket-ball’s throw away from the sluggish Umsinduzi River.

The excitement gets added adrenaline at this year’s renewal on Saturday, thanks to a carryover pool to the four Grade 1 dashes that make up Jackpot 1. The mega-pool could top R3-million.

The challenge to compiling a Jackpot permutation is the fact that two of the sprints are for two-year-old horses and their limited racecourse exposure, minimal collateral form and notorious sudden improvement or regression due to immaturity.

The headliner is the R1-million Golden Horse Sprint, Leg 4 of the Pick 6, which presents a strangely lopsided handicap, with topweight Dyce having to concede 6kgs to most of the rest of the field.

Nonetheless, the raider from the Highveld yard of Lucky Houdalakis, is an automatic choice. He travelled to Cape Town and beat the best speedsters in the land in the Cape Flying Championship in late January – and you can hardly get better credentials than that.

Dyce has suffered problems in the past, and more recently, but has been gelded at the grand old age of five and his connections clearly believe his future value lies in his enduring galloping talents.

Inside draws are favourable up the Scottsville straight and Dyce’s draw of 7 is very handy. Perhaps his biggest advantage will come from the saddle, with Piere Strydom knowing exactly what’s needed to win this famous race.

Tarry winners

Another who must be included is Lucky Lad, a facile victor at this meeting last year in one of the juvenile contests and a recent brave winner of the Grade 2 Senor Santa Stakes at Turffontein.

His trainer Sean Tarry takes pride in winning as many of the Scottsville sprints as possible – taking three of the four last year – and will have Lucky Lad as sharp as a tack.

Cape trainer Candice Bass-Robinson holds the key in the weight-for-age SA Fillies Sprint with her duo October Morn and Winter Cloud.

The former is drawn well at 4 and the latter not so much at 15. Winter Cloud got the better of October Morn at Kenilworth last month, but is now 2kg worse off, yet stable jockey Aldo Domeyer has opted for Winter Cloud. It’s a conundrum, so both go into the Jackpot perm.

Scottsville supremo Tarry’s Mrs Browning is another must. And it would be foolhardy to leave out his other runner, Winter Greeting, who threatened in the Senor Santa and is now having her third outing after a rest.

Affinity to the quirky Scottsville track is significant, which brings Duncan Howell-trained Asiya Phambili very strongly into the picture.

White Pearl has the Strydom factor, while the recent form of Time Fo Orchids, Convocation and One Fell Swoop needs scrutinizing.

Record-chasing Richard Fourie

In the Gold Medallion, Jackpot Leg 2, the scratching of the standout, Truth, has made the task much tougher. Obviously, Tarry’s duo Proceed and Cosmic Speed will be popular choices, while the early toe of Cymric from a low draw, coupled with the power of Gavin Lerena in the irons, draws the eye.

The Allan Robertson Championship commemorates a legendary breeder and, fittingly, there are a few choicely bred fillies vying for the old trophy.

Gimme’s Countess has generated a lot of hype after her impressive debut win on Poly earlier this month and will start a short-priced favourite.

Just Reckless and Symphony In White are also bred in the purple and look set for big things; yet unfashionably pedigreed Quid Pro Quo could quite easily disrupt expectations.

Tarry’s Rodeo Drive is coming to hand and is the choice of record-chasing jockey Richard Fourie.

A line in Riotous Assembly says of Piemburg and its lush vegetation: “Everything grows immediately and just as immediately stands still.”

It’s a good description of a sprint horse race at Scottsville.

Suggested Jackpot perm:

1,3,6,8,9 x 2,3,5,9,11,14 x 4,5,6,12,13,14 x 7,11 (R360)