Val D’Orcia could be the value at the Vaal

Trainer Tony Peter goes into Race 8 at the Vaal on Thursday, a MR 101 Handicap over 1200m, with a potent hand of three runners in Aussenkehr, Power Broker and Val D’Orcia.

The value, however, could be with Val D’Orcia who, after some disappointing runs, bounced back to best when a 1.75-length third behind Savannah Storm over 1400m at Turffontein last week. This run was in a strong Pinnacle Stakes and after a break.

His merit rating has come down and he now looks ready to win again in handicap company. S’manga Khumalo takes the ride.

Aussenkehr is another who has been in good form since moving up to the Highveld and joining the Peter stable.

He arrived at the yard a maiden and is now a four-time winner but there is a concern that the handicapper may have caught up with him right now. He finished out of the places in his last race for the first time in 10 starts since joining Peter, which might corroborate that fact.

However, he cannot be underestimated and does need to be included in exotic bets. He will have a first-time jockey up in Calvin Habib.

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Power Broker is well weighted but the concern is that this four-year-old ran a shocker two runs back when finishing 21.25 lengths behind Raven Black. There were some excuses, and he did prove that run all wrong last week when he finished a two-
length second behind Cornwall at Turffontein last week. That run put him back into contention.

However, Clinton Binda will be looking to upset the Peter triumvirate with Black Egret. While he might not be in the top echelons of racing and there might not be many trophies of Graded race wins filling the cabinet at home, Black Egret is honest, reliable and has only once in 15 starts not earned a cheque for his connections.

This four-year-old son of Rafeef has a record of four wins, five seconds and five thirds. He was originally trained by Ashley Fortune but when they immigrated to Australia earlier in the year, he moved to Binda. He has had five runs for the new yard and they have yielded two wins and three seconds.

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Last time out Black Egret finished second behind Raven Black, but that winner does seem to be something special, and a big feature looks to be on his agenda in the next few months.

Black Egret gets a new jockey for this race as Muzi Yeni will jump into the irons on this occasion. He has been in top form and having him aboard can only be an asset.