The Vaal 9th June

Should be a rather cold day, post your fancies

Exhilaration 33/10................13/2 on offer

Savona and To Remember look the bankers

good punting

Speed ratings for main contenders with recent Vaal Sand performances

R1…Aussie Diva 75, Pink Orchard 72, Shantam 64
R2…Grey Poet 73, The Western 70, Rulesofengagement 67
R3…Imani 73, Rose for Rossini 72, Neil’s Mission 72
R4…Milkwood Manor 78, Boogy Boy 74, Funway 74
R5…Parlotone 98, King’s Destiny 97, Wood Be 96, Rock My World 96
R6…Ugly Betty 102, Golden Mountain 96, Prismatic Fire 94, As Time Goes On 88
R7…Do It My Way 93, Calanish 91, Var’s Charm 88,
R8…Prime Mover 106, Valloire 105, Bownore 100, White Tie 100
R9…Nenekazi 88, National Danzig 87, Starstruck 85, Ponting’s Odds 85

‘Value’selections – mainly for quartets and PA where applicable

R2…10 Grey Poet – 10/1
R4….6 Funwayo – 33/1
R5….1 Parlotone – 7/1
R6….3 Ugly Betty – 6/1
R7….7 Do It My Way – 6/1
R8….8 Prime Mover – 9/2

I here it`s wet,meeting maybe in doubt?

Hibs in Alberton we have had a serious amount of rain in the past 36 hours, The Vaal is about 50kms away from me but this rain seems fairly widespread. We also know that the authorities don't need too much of an excuse to abandone a meeting.

maybe its time that phum stopped paying dividends and the ra took some money out the bank and fixed up the pathetic situation considering the racetracks in gauteng ...its a fcuking disgrace .

Clearly weather patterns are changing and racing should be changing strategy accordingly and SA needs "all weather" racing.
For this we need investment in "all weather" tracks.....where we will find all weather jockeys could be an added problem of course?

Track inspection at 8 a.m. Doesn't sound too promising.

I agree about the weather. Climate change is not a myth. We had a torrential (although fairly brief) downpour in Durban yesterday with a north easterly wind - which is where the rain doesn't usually come from. AW tracks are not everyone's cup of tea, and there is a school of thought that even the Dubai World Cup meeting has gone backwards since the switch from dirt at Nad al Sheba to Tapeta at Meydan, with the Americans suddenly unwilling to take their best horses there. Let's be honest, the field that Rocket Man beat in the Golden Shaheen this year was nothing like the line-up of American flying machines that contested the race in years past, and where were the Breeders Cup Classic winners and placed horses that used to run in the World Cup itself?

However, for everyday fare an AW track would go a long way to alleviating a problem which - thanks to the change in climate - is probably only going to get worse in future. While an AW track is no protection against lightning, it can cope with almost anything else except pea soup fog and tons of snow - neither of which is ever likely to be a serious issue in SA. Visibility is usually the biggest complaint amongst jockeys when it rains, and with no kick-up on an AW track that is taken out of the equation.

Maybe sort out the drainage problems at our Highveld tracks ..... they can't hold a bucket of water let alone a downpour...

Gb... you at work already.....

Get to work at 6 dude....

They are definitely not going to race today. The meeting might be postponed to tomorrow as very heavy rain in PE has placed Friday's Arlington meeting in jeopardy as well, but we will only know later if the Vaal will race tomorrow or be abandoned.