Jason Gates earned his riding fee on Spy Story, driving him vigorously from a long way out to win cosily (JC Photos)
St. John Gray and Jason Gates combined for another win on Wednesday at the Vaal to keep up their high strike rates.
Kabelo Matsunyane is in lone second place on the national Jockeys log after riding a treble at the meeting.
Gates only had three rides at the meeting, all of them for Gray, and in the last race, a MR 74 Handicap over 1400m, he won on the Bezrin five-year-old gelding Spy Story.
Spy Story had the advantage of a high draw and was prominent throughout.
He did not appear to be traveling particularly well as they approached the business end.
However, Gates drove his mount from a long way out and the gelding responded well to win by 1,10 lengths at 6/1 odds, beating the 7/1 shot Sunset Warrior and the 17/2 chance Unsolved Riddle.
Gates has now had eight wins for the season at a strike rate of 25.81%.
Gray had six runners at the meeting and also clinched two third place finishes.
He is on nine wins for the season at a strike rate of 29.03%.
Matsunyane rode a double for Tony Peter on Noble Saint (Fire Away) and Art Nouveau (Querari) and his other winner was the Sean Tarry-trained Peace Treaty (Act Of War).
He has had 18 wins for the season at a strike rate of 21.95% and he lies second on the national log, nine wins behind Keagan de Melo.
De Melo had one win at the meeting on the Johan Janse van Vuuren-trained Periodic Table (Danon Platina) and is on 27 wins for the season at a strike rate of 27.84%.
