JACK MILNER Racing Express
JOCKEY Anton Marcus is carded to ride at the Vaal on Thursday and as Charles Laird has just one runner at the meeting, it is probably an indication the stable has high expectations for Cyber Case when he contests Race 6.
The son of Casey Tibbs has run only once at the track and recorded a convincing 4.50-length win over Golden Web, to whom he was conceding 4.5kg. That was over 1200m and although he steps up in class in this MR 102 Handicap over 1200m on the sand, Cyber Case should be capable of repeating that victory.
He appears to be one of those runners who adapt equally well to sand and turf. Two runs back at Clairwood he finished a 2.50-length second to Thunder Key. That form-line was franked last Friday night when Glen Kotzen’s runner finished a 0.50-length second to Sharks Bay in the Grade 2 Post Merchants at Greyville.
Cyber Case’s next start was equally impressive - a 0.75-length third to stablemate Galahad, also over 1200m at Clairwood. Galahad has been leading the pack at the Vaal this year and is now unbeaten in six starts on the sand, remarkably winning them by an accumulative 33.50 lengths.
The victory at Clairwood was Galahad’s first on turf and it says a lot for Cyber Case as he had to give his stable companion 6kg.
Beyond Cyber Case, one can make a case for a number of runners but St John Gray’s Belorus looks the main challenger to Jay Peg’s half-brother. He looked pretty ordinary until fitted with blinkers and since then has not looked back.
The four-year-old Jallad gelding went on to win four of his next five starts, all on the sand and all effortlessly. He has won over distances from 1000m to 1450m and interestingly Marcus has ridden him to two of those victories.
Gray has taken no chances and retained Piere Strydom to ride his charge. The pair is beautifully drawn at No 3, while Cyber Case and Marcus jump from barrier No 5. Both horses carry 54.5kg so it looks set to be an exciting duel between two capable horses ridden by two gifted jockeys.
While this pair looks hard to oppose, the unknown quantity is Dominic Zaki’s Master Blaster. He has won two of his five starts but has yet to race on the sand. An indication of his ability is the fact he has started favourite on all five occasions. He beat Fenerbahce by 3.25 lengths in his debut and then finished a 2.50-length second to Sir Lowry over 1450m on the Turffontein inside track.
After finishing a 5.25-length seventh behind Sporting Boy in a three-year-old handicap over 1600m, a distance that proved 200m too far, in November last year, Master Blaster was gelded and rested. He came back to beat Mirage Of Stars by 1.50 lengths over 1200m on the Turffontein inside track and then journeyed to Scottsville where he could only manage a 3.50-length fourth behind Cruso.
He is sure to have come on from those two runs so if he copes with the sand track, he looks upset material. Donovan Habib, who has ridden him to both his wins, is aboard again and they will jump from barrier No 8.
Four of Clean Getaway’s five victories have come at this track so he’ll have no trouble handling the surface, but it is questionable if he has the class to beat the leading contenders. Stablemate Red Mist has class but has not raced for 208 days and may need a run.
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