Young horses running for old man Striker

It was put to Piere Strydom that he seemed to get on well with a particular winning horse at Turffontein on Monday. Without thinking, he replied: “Most horses!”

It wasn’t boasting, just a statement of fact. Anyone who watched the master jockey register four winners at the postponed Victory Moon meeting will have found abundant evidence of the truth of his affinity with the equine temperament.

His nickname is ‘Striker’, but not for reasons of vigorous coercion with the crop. He hardly lifted his whip-hand from the reins all afternoon, steering the four partners home with hands and heels, precise judgement of pace and a rare, uncanny, magical talent to get them to run for him.

Owner Arun Chadha, speaking after his syndicate’s filly White Pearl had landed Race 9, a Pinnacle Stakes, observed: “Would these horses have won anyway? Probably not; it’s Piere!”.

Still going strong

Chadha is one of the reasons 58-year-old Strydom keeps putting off retirement. The top businessman’s ASSM Racing Syndicate has retained him to ride its large band of runners.

The other, much-publicised, reason for pension postponement is See It Again, a horse that keeps threatening to carry the master jock to yet another major race victory – possibly in Joburg’s Betway Summer Cup in a couple of weeks’ time.

In a post-race interview, Strydom drily stated: “If it wasn’t for See It Again and this syndicate I’d probably be retired and sitting at home, doing nothing.” That last bit contained not a hint of regret – indeed possibly a note of distaste – so racing fans will hope the veteran keeps on rolling for a while yet.

Good horses and big races

The six-time champion jockey gave a boost to such hopes when he attributed his recent run of hot form to high-quality rides that had “fallen into my lap” and suggested that staying on good horses in big races was a powerful incentive to keep working.

One of the stars in the lap is Dyce, trainer Lucky Houdalakis’s resurgent sprinter who carried Strydom to victory in Monday’s Race 5, a Pinnacle Stakes event down the 1160m Turffontein straight.

Strydom’s other two successes on the day were on promising sorts, too – Sean Tarry’s three-year-old colt One More Star, who is destined for a Triple Crown challenge, and Fabian Habib’s four-year-old filly Ice Star, who could move on to bigger things now she’s grown into a sizeable frame.

The four-timer took Strydom’s seasonal winning total to 31 – at a phenomenal strike rate of 30.39%.

Punters simply can’t leave him out of anything.