Trainer Mike de Kock admitted last weekend in a post-race interview at Turffontein that, “I’d probably had too many whiskeys at the time but I once told Piere (Strydom) he is the Tiger Woods of South Africa’s jockeys,” after the 58-year-old veteran rider displayed his sheer brilliance in the saddle on White Pearl.
Strydom tracked the leaders, looking left and right as he waited for a gap to open, before threading the eye of the needle on the grey daughter of Danon Platina to win the Grade 2 Mike de Kock Ipi Tombe Challenge, leading home a stable 1-2 ahead of Silver Sanctuary.
‘Striker’ – as he is affectionately known – is riding at the top of his game and retirement plans are now a thing of the past. Rarely does he have a full book of rides at any meeting countrywide, given his advancing years and view of riding quality over quantity, opting only for mounts with legitimate winning chances in their respective races.
And the eight-race Vaal Classic track fixture on Tuesday 24 December is a prime example as each of Strydom’s six rides on the Christmas Eve card has a strong each-way chance, including three attractive betting propositions with undeniable winning potential.
Improving De Kock-trained Great Notion should get Strydom off to a winning start in Race 2 over 1600m, the same course and distance over which this three-year-old daughter of Danon Platina finished second in her last start 12 days ago.
Great Notion was game in defeat on that occasion, leading most of the way and staying on under pressure before being outrun in the closing stages by the winner.
From stall No 1, Strydom has options available to him but will likely make full use of his inside draw and tactical prowess by adopting similar tactics. He is a renowned judge of pace so Great Notion will benefit from his power of judgement, and she needn’t improve much to open her account.
Strydom has forged a formidable partnership with Johan Janse van Vuuren and this potent jockey-trainer combination should add to its tally in Race 3 over 1600m with Strewn Sky.
The four-year-old gelding bounced back to form with a good second at a higher level over 1600m on Turffontein’s Standside track earlier this month when refitted with blinkers, and a repeat of that performance off an unchanged mark with the headgear retained should be good enough for this son of Potala Palace to go one better.
Grant Maroun’s Bezrin mare Rattle Bag scored in her only association with Strydom so it could pay to side with horse and rider when reunited in Race 8 over 1450m.
Romeo’s Magic (Race 4), Sakhala Is’cathulo (Race 5) and last-start winner My One And Only (Race 6) make up Strydom’s strong complement of six rides on the day.
Clive Robinson
