JOE GWINGWIZHA
Jack Milner: Defending champion Joe Gwingwizha goes into the final leg of the Work Riders’ Challenge with a substantial lead over his rivals.
Leg 3 of this R50,000 event will be staged on the Inside track at Turffontein on Tuesday.
Gwingwizha won Leg 1 with 30 points and Leg 2 with 34 points and that has already seen him accumulate R10,000 for those victories. Should he maintain his overall lead after the final leg he will secure R20,000 for winning the Work Riders’ Challenge, and a victory in Leg 3 will add another R5,000 to his prize money.
Phenisile Mongqawa lies in second spot and will be looking to close down Gwingwizha’s 27-point lead. If not, he is well positioned to claim the R10,000 for second-placed finisher. The third-placed work rider goes away with R5,000.
Chamu Mabaya, last year’s runner-up, is on 32 points, just five behind Mongqawa, but hot on both their heels are Daniel Baase (30 points) and Tshepiso Matsoele (29 points).
The card is made up of eight Maiden Plates on the Turffontein Inside track, which means all races are run around the turn.
However, although Gwingwizha does not have the strongest card, the best rides seem to be equally distributed among the riders so it does not look as if any of his main rivals will be able to close the gap significantly.
Gwingwizha, however, does appear to have the right horse in the opening races where he rides Magic Choice for champion trainer Sean Tarry. The Willow Magic filly has placed in all of her last three races and while she has yet to race on this track, she is perfectly positioned at No 2 draw.
She appears very hard to beat and looks the best bet on the card.
However, closest rival Mongqawa has some decent mounts on the card and his best comes up in Race 6 over 1600m. He rides Pomelo for trainer Paul Peter and this lightly raced Pomodoro gelding looks ready to win.
He ran unplaced on debut but he injured his mouth and that run can be ignored. In his second start he showed great improvement over 1450m and was only caught late when a two-length third behind Sudden Break.
This will be his third outing and he will take a power of beating. He jumps from No 2 draw which is ideal over this course and distance.
There is a bigger test lying in wait for the top work riders because on Saturday 1 May they will participate in the Inaugural Highveld Work Riders v Jockeys Challenge between the top eight Highveld work riders and the top eight Highveld jockeys. The race is a R150,000 Maiden Plate over 1160m. Work riders will receive a 3kg weight allowance from the professional jockeys.
Jack Milner’s selections
Race 1: 7 Magic Choice, 3 Night King, 10 Pick A Lily, 11 Princess Camelot
Race 2: 1 Quick Run, 9 It’s Raining Men, 4 Stormy Weathers, 10 Looking Hot
Race 3: 9 Masaaken, 10 Munabadha, 4 Understated, 3 Royal Siege
Race 4: 2 Arizona Lady, 5 Super Duper, 1 Rizzoli, 3 Fatalistic
Race 5: 3 Just Magic, 2 Love Posy, 1 Fasinada, 4 Amber Light
Race 6: 7 Pomelo, 2 Rainy Season, 8 Nitro Girl, 1 Curfew
Race 7: 3 Sheltering Sky, 1 Fort Snow, 2 Rose Willow, 9 Stunning Kitten
Race 8: 2 Ra’Ed, 1 West Coast Lover, 3 Valencia, 6 Quality Joker
BEST BET
Race 1 No 7 Magic Choice
VALUE BET
Race 5 No 3 Just Magic
BEST SWINGER
Race 6 2×7
BIPOT
R96
Leg 1: 7
Leg 2: 1, 4, 9
Leg 3: 9, 10
Leg 4: 2, 5
Leg 5: 1, 2, 3, 4
Leg 6: 2, 7
PLACE ACCUMULATOR
R192
Leg 1: 1, 9
Leg 2: 9, 10
Leg 3: 2, 5
Leg 4: 1, 2, 3
Leg 5: 2, 7
Leg 6: 1, 3
Leg 7: 1, 2
PICK 6
R1350
Leg 1: 9, 10
Leg 2: 1, 2, 5
Leg 3: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Leg 4: 2, 7, 8
Leg 5: 1, 2, 3
Leg 6: 1, 2, 3, 6, 7
JACKPOT 1
R135
Leg 1: 1, 2, 5
Leg 2: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Leg 3: 2, 7, 8
Leg 4: 1, 2, 3
JACKPOT 2
R225
Leg 1: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Leg 2: 2, 7, 8
Leg 3: 1, 2, 3
Leg 4: 1, 2, 3, 6, 7
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