Clive Robinson
With three weeks left of the current season, jockey Warren Kennedy could take his family on holiday right now in the knowledge he has his second National Jockeys’ Championship well and truly locked up.
At the time of writing Kennedy, with 249 winners, is 65 clear of second-placed Richard Fourie, who in turn is just five ahead of Keagan de Melo.
But Kennedy is still looking to extend that lead further and on Saturday he will travel to Turffontein to ride predominantly for Paul Peter. They have been quite a team, as Peter looks well on his way to his first Champion Trainer’s title. He holds a R2.4-million lead over Justin Snaith.
But neither is resting on his laurels and Peter has 15 runners in the nine-race card, seven of which will be ridden by Kennedy.
Perhaps their best could be Anne Boleyn in Race 8, a MR 95 Handicap for fillies and mares over 1400m. Like so many handicaps for fillies, it is highly competitive, but she does have form to win a race of this nature.
Two runs back, the daughter of Duke Of Marmalade defied odds of 16-1 to win a Pinnacle Stakes over this course and distance. Kennedy rode her on that occasion and overall, he has a very decent record on this five-year-old mare. He has ridden her 11 times for three wins and four places and from No 1 draw over a course and distance where inside barrier positions are important, that is an added advantage.
In that last in Anne Boleyn finished 2.25 lengths ahead of Mill Queen and although the latte is now 1kg better off, t may not be enough to reverse the placing. Nevertheless, the David Nieuwenhuizen-trained filly does look the main threat, especially with S’manga Khumalo up, who comes off a win in last Saturday’s R5-million Hollywoodbets Durban July on Sparkling Water for trainer Mike de Kock.
An interesting runner is Brett Webber-trained Lucy In the Sky. She won her last race over 1450m on the Vaal Inside track and has Gavin Lerena back on board. Although the official margin was just 0.50 lengths, the manner of the victory was a lot more impressive than the margin suggests.
