JACK MILNER RXP.
RECENT results in the ``Lucky’’ Houdalakis yard have been anything but serendipitous in recent weeks but there are indications that after a disappointing run, form is beginning to return to the yard.
Houdalakis has two chances to break the run in Race 6 at the Vaal on Thursday, a MR 90 Handicap over 1400m, when he saddles Da Vinci’s Legacy and Zorba’s Tale.
Zorba’s Tale has a win and two seconds to his credit on the Vaal turf where racing takes place. However, in recent times he has suffered from some respiratory distress during his races to the extent that Piere Strydom did not persevere with him in the closing stages of his last race on the Turffontein inside track.
As a result Da Vinci’s Legacy, who will be partnered by Anton Marcus, looks to be the better option. The Australian-bred gelding has had four runs since coming up from Cape Town, racking up a win and two third places with one unplaced run. The victory was over this course and distance and he probably found the 1800m too far when seventh to Bayete.
Strydom rode Da Vinci’s Legacy when he won and in that race won by Bayete. In this race the blond rider will partner Forest Of Dreams for Dianne Stenger.
The five-year-old Fort Wood gelding was out of action for almost three months before returning to finish a 3.50-length second to Pattaya Beach over 1400m on the Turffontein standside track. He meets his conqueror on 4kg better terms so there should be little to separate Forest Of Dreams and Brett Webber’s runner.
Pattaya Beach features in a number of other form-lines as well. Stenger’s second runner, Celestial Moon, ran third that day while Geoff Woodruff’s Access Code finished sixth. At the weights neither has a chance of reversing the form.
Pattaya Beach was also beaten 4.50 lengths by Da Vinci’s Legacy in a race won by Infinite Spirit and they meet on identical terms.
On that basis there is little chance of a form reversal, although Webber did indicate that Pattaya Beach probably did not enjoyed the soft underfoot conditions that day.
An interesting runner is Mike de Kock’s Sir Dodge, a full brother to Rat Burana. He was supported as if the result was a foregone conclusion over 1000m on the sand in his last start and only managed to get up on the line. However, he will be better suited to 1400m and with just 53.5kg to carry it would be ill-advised to leave him out of Pick 6 and Jackpot permutations.
One other runner for the notebook is Sean Tarry’s Flo Quest. The four-year-old gelding performs best over this distance and is 1.5kg better off with Zorba’s Tale for a 1.50-length beating. SA jockeys’ log-leader Andrew Fortune takes the ride and Flo Quest must come into the reckoning.
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