‘Tommy’ weighted to win Pinnacle on sand

Uncle Tommy cost R2.4-million as a yearling and while he is unlikely to recover anything close to his purchase price the son of Kahal is one of the most honest performers in racing.

He is at his best on the Vaal sand track and that course has contributed the most to his R330,240 earnings. Sadly for owner Hassen Adams, the Emerald Cup is the only race of real value on the sand and that does not give Uncle Tommy too many opportunities.

The Weiho Marwing-trained runner is equally comfortable running over 1200m as he is over 1600m and that makes him the horse to beat in Race 3 on the sand today, a Pinnacle Stakes over 1200m. Uncle Tommy is, by a long way, the best weighted runner and is at least 4.5kg better off on handicap than any other runner in the field.

To add to his advantage, apprentice Wesley Marwing takes another 2.5kg off his back. Couple that with a decent No 5 draw and, on paper at least, Uncle Tommy is the proverbial “racing certainty”.

Having given him all the kudos it should be pointed out that Uncle Tommy has only raced once over the course and distance and that was in the Grade 3 August Stakes earlier this year. He finished second, beaten 1.25 lengths by talented stable companion Here Comes Billy, to whom he was conceding 7.5kg.

Across The Ice has a far better record over 1200m at this track, having run six times for four wins and a place. His lone unplaced effort came in the August Stakes in which he finished sixth, 5.75 lengths behind Uncle Tommy.

The bad news for trainer Sean Tarry is that Across The Ice, courtesy of the apprentice allowance, is now 2.5kg worse off. The good news is that the half-brother to Capetown Noir has been reunited with Piere Strydom, who has had a lot of success on the seven-year-old gelding.

The unknown factor is Charles Laird-trained Distinguished. He is 8kg out with Uncle Tommy but gets a 4kg-claiming apprentice in Jarryd Penny, so that puts him a lot closer. This will be his first start on the sand but, like Uncle Tommy, he is a son of Kahal and they tend to race well on the track.

Distinguished is beautifully drawn at No 2.

Depardieu, contentiously left out of the Emerald Cup, which saw the connections go to court over the matter, gets his day in the sun and it will be interesting to see how he handles the course.