No jockey has ridden more winners on the Highveld this season than Gavin Lerena, whose current mark of 78 winning rides at Vaal and Turffontein meetings since 1 August has come at an impressive rate (25.7%) and is 31 clear of nearest pursuer Piere Strydom.
Lerena’s pressed home his dominance of the Gauteng riding ranks with a three-timer at last Tuesday’s Vaal Classic track fixture and that trend is set to continue this weekend, as he resumes his pursuit of national jockeys’ log leader Craig Zackey with a full book of rides on a nine-race Standside card at Turffontein on Sunday.
Lerena, who has a full complement of 12 rides – including Red Palace in the Grade 1 Cape Town Met – at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth a day earlier, trails Zackey by five in the national standings but should erase the deficit at Sunday’s meeting (if not sooner).
Each horse he rides has solid form credentials and strong cases can be made for them all, though a handful of Lerena’s mounts are particularly appealing and make for attractive betting propositions.
Roy Magner-trained Bingo is the first of those and the two-year-old, one of two juveniles in the field to have already raced, need not improve much to open his account in Race 1 over 1000m. This son of Rafeef would have come on appreciably following a debut fourth over 800m and with that experience to count on, he may hold too many guns for the newcomers with Lerena aboard in the opener.
Buffalo Bill Cody filly Roaming Spirit has shown promise in her four outings, all over sprint distances under Raymond Danielson. She stretches out to 1400m in Race 3 and should improve sufficiently over this extended trip to shed her maiden tag with Lerena aboard for trainer Mike de Kock.
Tony Peter-trained Vibe SA was an authoritative winner of his handicap debut over 1160m and the four-year-old Just As Well gelding returns to the scene of that victory in Race 5 bidding to complete a hat-trick, with Lerena taking over the reins from Chase Maujean.
On the evidence of his latest performance, a seven-point penalty is unlikely to prevent Vibe SA and Lerena from winning again.
The same applies to wide-margin last-start winner United Council, Robbie Sage’s runner in the Listed Spook Express (Race 6) over 2400m. Her successful defence of the Sun Chariot Stakes (Non-Black Type) over track and trip last month with Lerena aboard was impressive and earned The United States mare a six-point rise.
However, given the manner of that runaway course-and-distance performance, United Council is good value to follow up under the penalty.
As is Vercingetorix filly Komati River who made a winning reappearance in an 1160m maiden following a five-month absence. She concedes weight to older, hard-knocking handicappers in Race 9 over 1160m but Peter’s charge has the most scope to improve in just her sixth career outing.
Clive Robinson
