Louis Nhlapo scores on Banyan (Flower Alley), the first leg of a double with just two rides on Saturday (JC Photos)
Louis Nhlapo is being given some chances by Johan Janse van Vuuren this season and is taking them with both hands, while he also took the chance Tony Peter handed him the previous weekend on the unbeaten young three-year-old Rifle Queen.
Louis is now 50 years old and is one of a number of older jockeys who have come back from adversity and hopefully he can get the breakthrough he deserves this season as he is not only a fine horseman but is also tactically astute and, furthermore, he is a lightweight who can ride 52kg .
On Saturday at Turfontein Inside Louis had just two rides, both on Janse van Vuuren horses, and he rode a 55/1 double.
In the second race he was aboard the Wilgerbosdrift and Mauritzfontein-bred first-timer Banyan.
This gelding looked a picture in the preliminaries. However, being by stamina influence Flower Alley out of Dynasty mare Chakri, whose three wins were from 1400m to 1600m, the 1000m trip of this maiden plate was going to be on the sharp side, but he did have the advantage of pole position. Louis bounced him out well and had him handy on the rail. He eased him off the rail when the path looked blocked going down the straight section before the elbow and he thus had a clear run straight to the line as they came off the elbow. The tall horse was clearly still full of running but Louis remained patient and only delivered the first of his backhanders at about the 300m mark. The tall horse stayed on well to win by a comfortable 1,30 lengths having been backed in from 25/1 to 7/1.
Louis showed his tactical awareness in his only other ride in the Chris Haynes Middle Stake over 1000m where he also had pole position. After bouncing out well and taking the lead he was aware that none of the others were keen to lead and he was thus within his rights to go no more than a steady pace. The challengers came to swamp him at the 300m mark, but he hadn’t even asked the horse yet and when giving him more rein he found extra. The favourite Karate Kid delivered a strong late challenge. However, there was plenty still in the tank when Louis gave Sheldon a backhander at the 150m mark, his only use of the whip in the whole race. The seven-year-old Querari gelding converted 7/1 odds by a cosy quarter-of-a-length, his first win for two years.
Louis will obviously be given more chances after those performances, while he is the only one so far to have ridden the Tony Peter-trained Bufflo Bill Cody three-year-old filly Rifle Queen, who is unbeaten in two starts and has done it impressively.
