Weights favour Main Defender

The Highveld season moves into full swing on Saturday at Turffontein with the running of the Grade 2 Betway Joburg Spring Challenge and Grade 2 Betway Joburg Spring F&M Challenge. Both races are over 1450m on the Inside track and are run at weight-for-age plus penalties.

A number of runners will be using this race as a building block for some of the bigger features of the season and some are unlikely to be at peak fitness. Three-year-olds have a good record in these races because they come in with light weights.

Three-year-olds Mount Pleasant, Anything Goes and Big Burn have all won their respective events and as a result, Main Defender has to be a serious contender. Tony Peter’s charge has raced four times, winning his first three and then finishing second behind Equus Three-Year-Old Champion colt/gelding Sandringham Summit in the Grade 1 Premiers Champion Stakes over 1600m.

Main Defender has just 50.5kg on his back and is well drawn at No 5. Durban July winning jockey Kabelo Matsunyane takes the ride. But this race looks quite tricky and there are many with chances.

The other main contender is Mike de Kock-trained Dave The King who is the best handicapped by at least 3kg. This four-year-old son of Global View joined the De Kock yard in March this year and won his first outing for the yard in a Graduation Plate over 1200m at this course.

Since then he has run four more times, in one Grade 2 race and three Grade 1 events. His first two were in three-year-old company and he performed with aplomb, finishing third behind champion miler Charles Dickens in the WSB Guineas over 1600m and then running a 0.70-length second to another three-year-old champion, See It Again, in the Grade 1 Daily News 2000.

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His next start was the Hollywoodbets Durban July over 2200m and from No 1 draw he was well fancied to be a lively contender. He led for much of the journey but tired late to finish sixth. His final run last season was in the Grade 1 Champions Cup over 1800m on 30 July, and he again led from the off and this time finished third behind Horse Of The Year Princess Calla.

Dave The King has enjoyed a short break and will now begin his preparations for the Grade 1 Betway Summer Cup over 2000m on the Turffontein Standside track on Saturday 25 November. While he will not be at his peak, he is likely to race fresh and could even benefit from the drop in distance this time. The only concern is that he will have to jump from barrier No 13 which can be quite a hurdle over this course and distance.

Fortunately, this colt does have excellent gate speed and he should be able to overcome it without too much effort. JP van der Merwe has been riding well and he has picked up the ride for the first time.

Thunderstruck was narrowly beaten in two Grade 1 sprints over 1200m in KwaZulu-Natal and if Sean Tarry’s charge handles the additional 250m, he must be a contender, especially with Richard Fourie up again.

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Anfields Rocket is top class and tends to race well fresh so Grant Maroun’s charge needs to be included in the Pick 6.

If ever a runner deserves a graded race win it is Feather Boa in the race for fillies and mares. Stuart Pettigrew’s charge has been runner-up in some of the country’s leading three-year-old races and sadly nobody has been able to get her nose down where it really matters. Gavin Lerena has ridden her in her last two and he will be hoping it will be third time lucky for this hapless filly.

Pettigrew also has a hope and that is if Feather Boa is unable to pull it off then stable companion Captain Peg will take the honours. This four-year-old filly is unbeaten in three starts over the course and distance and is perfectly positioned in stall No 3. Calvin Habib gets the ride for the first time.

Another runner to consider is last year’s winner, Humdinger. This De Kock-trained mare pulled off an upset win last year when setting the pace for her more fancied stablemate Desert Miracle but kept running doggedly to hold her off. Despite a wide draw this time it would come as no shock were she to pull off the double.

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Many eyes will also be on Tarry-trained Mrs Geriatrix in Race 3, the Non-Black Type Bloodstock SA Sales Cup (Fillies) over 1450m. This daughter of Vercingetorix was unbeaten in five starts as a juvenile and it is great to see her making a comeback run.

She is the best weighted runner by at least 5.5kg, she is drawn No 1 and has Fourie in the irons. No doubt, she will be a popular banker in the carryover Pick 6.