On A Jet Plane completes a treble for St. John Gray and a double for Philasande Mxoli
St John Gray and Calvin Habib both enjoyed individual trebles at Turffontein Inside today (Thursday), which ensured they are both in the top 10 on the respective Lucky Fish Trainers and Jockeys Logs.
Robyn Klaasen and Philasande Mxoli both had individual doubles.
Gray has been on an amazing roll that has seen him operating at a very high strike rate.
The first leg of his treble today began in Race 3 over 1200m.
In this MR 66 Handicap he ran his 66-rated Bezrin homebred gelding Spy Story.
This five-year-old had been in good form except for his last run, where the jockey felt something amiss over 1400m and he found no extra to be well beaten.
He was backed into 5/2 today as a drop down to 1200m might well have been deemed by some to be suitable considering he had pulled early in his previous start.
This time he broke well, but Philasande Mxoli made the astute decision to drop him back to last rather than risk being caught wide.
He loped along around the first turn, but clearly had plenty still in hand and when Mxoli switched him out early he made up ground rapidly before going all out to catch Stage One, which he did just before the line to win cosily by 0,30 lengths.
St, John’s next win was in the sixth race over 2000m.
In this MR 91 handicap for fillies and mares he ran his 91-rated homebred Futura mare Future Date and she was backed into 9/2 having been close up in her last two starts over 2000m and 1800m respectively.
Jason Gates was up from pole position and he had her nicely settled in third place on the rail as Winter Rainfall opened up a gap out in front.
Future Date swept to the front between the 400m and 300m marks and got into a tussle with Anahita over the last 200m.
Gates rode her vigourously and she won cosily by 0,40 lengths with the rest of the field 2,60 lengths further back.
Gray had a a coupling in the last race over 1450m for fillies and mares with Gates on the more fancied Secret Life, who went off at 5/1, and Mxoli on the 7/1 shot On A Jet Plane.
On A Jet Plane, a homebred by Bezrin, was interesting because she had beaten Lightinthewoods by 4,50 lengths over 1450m in August and she was now only 3kg worse off, although Lightinthewoods is a three-year-old and would have improved since that run.
Nevertheless, the latter’s odds of even money looked too short, and On A Jet Plane’s 7/1 odds looked generous.
Mxoli skillfully found the rail on On A Jet Plane from a wide draw of seven, but she nevertheless only had two horses behind her.
However, she accelerated smartly in the straight and still clearly had a ton in hand as Mxoli looked for a gap.
He found one on the inside and burst through to beat Lightinthewoods by 4,10 lengths.
In the fourth race Calvin Habib took the Robyn Klassen-trained speedster Antonio Gaudi straight to the front from a tricky draw of five out of eight in the Middle Stakes event over 1000m. Habib allowed the speedy Chocolate Soldier to go ahead of him and then drove his mount down the centre. The 89-rated five-year-old Erupt gelding kept going well to win by a length from African Prince with Chocolate Soldier next best.
In the next Habib was aboard the Heather Adamson-trained Royal Mo filly Elisa Mbali and the latter made it a hattrick, ridden by Habib in all three races, when producing a late run to win the MR 72 Handicap for fillies and mares over 2000m by 0,70 lengths.
Antonio Gaudi had converted 2/1 odds and Elisa Mbali 5/2.
Habib’s mount in the seventh race, the Roy Magner-trained Legislate filly Fair Proposal represented tremendous value at 16/1 as she had finished second to Got The Look last time and was now 4kg better off for a 4,75 length beating. Furthermore, she looked likely to enjoy the step up to 1450m. She was well drawn too and Habib placed her in a position from where she could strike and she ran on resolutely to beat 2/1 shot Jack’s Legacy by a length with Got The Look next best.
Habib has had 22 wins this season at a strike rate of 10.43%.
He is 31 wins behind log leader Keagen de Melo, whose 53 wins have come at a strike rate of 20.95%.
Mxoli is on 16 wins at 13.68%.
Gray has had 15 wins at 21.74%.
In the top 20 on the log only Alan Greeff has a higher strike rate, with his 33 wins coming at 21.85%.
Klaasen is on 8 wins at 17.78%.
