Second Base came back to his best form when he won the Grade 3 London News Stakes over 1800m at Turffontein on New Year’s Day.
And although finishing unplaced in the World Sports Betting Cape Town Met over 2000m at Kenilworth last month, he was only beaten five lengths by some of the best horses in the country in that Grade 1 race which is run at weight for age.
He is back in action at Turffontein on Saturday in a Pinnacle Stakes over 1800m, this time on the Inside track, he looks the runner to beat.
Johan Janse van Vuuren-trained Second Base comes into this race as the best weighted runner, although by just 0.5kg. He also has a liking for this course as three of his six wins have been on the Inside track. He has the ability to quicken at the drop of hat and that always helps runners on this course with its shorter run-in.
The one concern is that he has been down to Cape Town and back and that can take a lot out of a horse. Hopefully he has had enough time to recover from that lengthy trip.
Interestingly, Janse van Vuuren has engaged Keagan de Melo to ride this four-year-old son of Gimmethegreenlight, his fourth jockey in his last four runs. However, De Melo could be an excellent choice as he is in top form currently and is riding winners consistently all over the country.
The main threat is likely to come from Majestic Mozart who has been is top form since moving up from Cape Town and joining Ashley Fortune’s yard. He has won three of his five starts since arriving on the Highveld and also went on to finish runner-up in the Grade 1 WSB Summer Cup over 2000m.
He finished unplaced behind Second Base in the Sea Cottage Stakes but he was reported to be making a respiratory noise during the running of that race so perhaps one should put a line through that race.
Reunion is an interesting runner. He is taking a jump in class and based on his merit rating, should not be competitive in this race, despite only having 52kg on his back. But he won a very good race last time, beating Motown Magic by three lengths, giving him 5kg.
The Mike de Kock-trained runner came out on Tuesday at the Vaal to win a Middle Stakes over 2400m by 3.50 lengths.
In addition, Motown Magic will be off to Cape Town later this month to contest the Grade 1 Cape Derby over 2000m at Kenilworth.
So, with such a light weight and Warren Kennedy n the irons, Reunion cannot be ignored, and the Paul Peter-trained runner needs to be included in all bets.
Clive Robinson
