Gavin Lerena, Johan Janse van Vuuren and Laurence Wernars are household names on the domestic racing scene.
This powerful jockey-trainer-owner triumvirate has and continues to enjoy frequent success, especially at ‘home’ on the Highveld. That trend shows no sign of abating with the eight-race card on the Standside track at Turffontein on Thursday 30 May likely to bring further success to all three prominent industry players.
Janse van Vuuren-trained Simply Majestic should get favourite backers off to a winning start under Lerena in Race 1 over 1000m. She won an 1100m Grade 3 for two-year-old fillies in her last start, which represents the strongest form in the race, and this exciting daughter of Canford Cliffs ought to have the measure of her four male rivals (from whom she receives 0,5kg each) if reproducing a performance similar to that of her Pretty Polly Stakes success.
Wernars-owned The Africa House acquitted himself well against two of the country’s highest-rated three-year-olds, the Grade 1 winners Main Defender and Purple Pitcher. By What A Winter, The Africa House confirmed his obvious ability with an eye-catching comeback run over 1450m on the Classic track at the Vaal early last month.
Despite his ‘rustiness’, Sean Tarry’s charge finished 1.5-lengths ahead of Wyzeact who renews rivalry on identical weight terms – thus unlikely to reverse that form – in Race 5 over 1400m.
Lerena, as retained rider for Wernars, takes over the reins from last-start rider Kabelo Matsunyane who steered The Africa House to an encouraging third that day. With improved fitness on his side and scope for further progress, The Africa House is good value to resume winning ways and be rewarded for his consistency.
It is also probably worth noting that he is the best-weighted runner in the race, so need only run to his rating to register an overdue second career victory.
Wernars’ silks will be seen to the fore again in Race 6 as he is represented by three runners in the 1000m sprint.
Lerena rides Karangetang for Janse van Vuuren but is likely to play second (if not third) fiddle to smart Lancaster Bomber gelding Dreamland, who Richard Fourie rides again for trainer Lucky Houdalakis.
Fourie booted home the rapidly improving three-year-old on the Inside track five weeks ago to complete his sprint hat-trick, having won his previous two starts over 1160m and 1100m.
Janse van Vuuren also saddles lightly raced Rainbow Reward, the third of Wernars’ trio, who finished second to Dreamland last time out. This four-year-old Rafeef-gelding meets his last-start conqueror with a 2,5kg swing in the weights, so is weighted to pose more of a threat and could even turn the tables on these revised terms.
Either way, Wernars’ red and white silks with a black fleur de lys look likely to dominate.
And that could also be the case in Race 7, as progressive Potala Palace-gelding Strewn Sky lines up over the same course and distance of his runaway maiden success.
Janse van Vuuren’s charge relished the step up to 2000m last time when running out a wide-margin winner by more than five lengths under Lerena – a recipe for Strewn Sky success which could be repeated on his handicap debut.
Clive Robinson
