Olympian Gold to strike another victory for Gray

Jack Milner

Wednesday’s racing is at the Vaal, and it is the lone meeting on the Highveld until Thursday 27 August.

It is quite an interesting midweek card and there do look to be some decent bets on the card.

Trainer St John Gray has his yard in good form and perhaps it is worth looking at his runners for the best bet on the card.

In this case, the nod will go to Olympian Gold who lines up in Race 5, a Middle Stakes over 1800m.

The lightly raced Potala Palace colt made a winning seasonal return over 1600m on the Turffontein Standside track, beating strongly fancied Ariovistus by 0.30 lengths. He clearly does have his issues and earlier in his career he had a tendency to hang, which saw him disqualified after his maiden win.

However, in terms of the rules, if the winning horse in a maiden is demoted following an objection, he not only loses his or her finishing position and the cash that goes with it, but also the maiden tag.

But Olympian Gold has run against some decent horses and clearly is not short on talent. He now steps up to 1800m and the five-point penalty is unlikely to stop his progression, particularly with further improvement expected over the extended trip.

Philasande Mxoli, who produced the winning ride last time, retains the partnership and can give Gray another winner.

Trainer Fanie Bronkhorst could make a serious impact when the Pick 6 gets underway in Race 3. Korcula has been a costly customer for punters, but five successive third-place finishes indicates that she is knocking loudly on the door. The four-year-old daughter of Hawwaam gets a new rider in Calvin Habib, and this could be the occasion when he finds the little bit extra required to finally get her head in front over 1400m.

 

Jack Milner’s selections

Race 1: 2 Master Christmas, 3 Hong Kong, 1 Vibe S, Salute The Flag, Secret Chord

Race 2: 4 Campo Formio, 3 Steel Pier, 6 Handsome Badger, 7 Mirum

Race 3: 1 Korcula, 2 Takeachanceonme, 7 Totheplaceibelong, 3 Beautiful One

Race 4: 5 Uncle Bob, 4 Future Red, 6 Echo Of The Wild, 2 Cuzzie

Race 5: 5 Olympian Gold, 1 King’s Express, 7 Dark Silver, 3 Titans Of War

Race 6: 6 Force Publique, 1 Culturati, 3 Boundless Love, 5 Futurewolff

Race 7: 3 Redlightgreenlight, 12 Silver Comet, 11 Aint No Doubt, 6 Sea Shanty

Race 8: 5 Valieva, 4 Quiet Winter, 10 Concordia, 12 Nkandla Gold

 

BEST BET

Race 5: 5 Olympian Gold

VALUE BET

Race 8: 5 Valieva

BEST SWINGER

Race 4 4×5

 

BIPOT

R144

Leg 1: 1, 2, 3

Leg 2: 3, 4, 6

Leg 3: 1, 2

Leg 4: 4, 5

Leg 5: 5

Leg 6: 1, 3, 5, 6

 

PLACE ACCUMULATOR

R324

Leg 1: 3, 4, 6

Leg 2: 1, 2

Leg 3: 4, 5

Leg 4: 5

Leg 5: 1, 3, 6

Leg 6: 3, 11, 12

Leg 7: 4, 5, 10

 

PICK 6

R1440

Leg 1: 1, 2, 3, 7

Leg 2: 4, 5

Leg 3: 5

Leg 4: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6

Leg 5: 3, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12

Leg 6: 3, 4, 5, 10, 12, 13

 

JACKPOT 1

R60

Leg 1: 4, 5

Leg 2: 5

Leg 3: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6

Leg 4: 3, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12

 

JACKPOT 2

R180

Leg 1: 5

Leg 2: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6

Leg 3: 3, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12

Leg 4: 3, 4, 5, 10, 12, 13