National champion trainer Paul Peter will be out to land both features, the Listed Topbet Spring Spree Stakes over 1200m and the Non-Black Type Ladies Stakes over 1200m, at Turffontein Inside tomorrow.
He will be using a number of jockeys throughout the meeting tomorrow and said he would continue to do so, at least for a while.
Asked whether he intended to put a stable jockey in place soon to replace Warren Kennedy, he replied, “No … well, not yet.”
It would appear the jockeys he will chiefly be using are Muzi Yeni, Gavin Lerena and Rachel Venniker.
Asked whether Rachel’s 1.5kg claim clinched the position, he replied, “Even besides that claim she is a very, very good rider and will get better, I ttink she will become a top jockey. She has an excellent work ethic, she has good mannerisms and is level headed. I like her a lot.”
Asked whether he would be chasing his record number of winners set last season (221), he replied, “It will be very difficult too, but we will push along without putting ourselves under pressure to get the record.”
221 winners equates to 18,5 winners per month and he is not far off that at present, having sent out 17 winners with just over a month gone so far.
Asked whether he would be concentrating on only chasing the championship this season, he said that would also be “very difficult”, considering the strength in the Cape and the new stakes increases.
He added, “We will give it our best shot.”
It hasn’t taken long for the pecking order to be sorted out this season with Peter at the top of the early season log and Justin Snaith second.
Peter said the new incentives in the Cape were “a very good thing for racing.”
However, he said he had not yet committed to a campaign down there.
Looking at tomorrow’s two features, he said a line could be drawn through Val D’Orcia’s run in the Grade 1 Mercury Sprint.
He said, “He took an awkward step and Keagan felt something amiss so pulled him up. But he retuned a hundred percent sound.”
The Vercingetorix four-year-old gelding had displayed his liking for a 1200m feature around the turn in his previous run when winning the Grade 2 Post Mercvhants at Hollywoodbets Greyville.
He was handy in that race from a good draw of five and displayed a good kick and won by half-a-length.
However, he was given six points, but does face Sheela, who was a 1,60 length third, on half-a-kilogram better terms in tomorrow’s handicap event.
Peter said, “I think he has a big shout.”
Mercury Rising has won his only start for Peter, beating a good field by a cosy 1,50 lengths over 1160m.
She carries topweight of 61.5kg in tomorrow’s 1200m event and is drawn in pole.
He said, “She is very well but does have a big weight.”