Jack Milner: Vaseem might not be the best handicapped runner in Race 7 at the Vaal on Tuesday but he will be the horse they all have to beat in this Pinnacle Stakes over the straight 1200m.
The five-year-old Vercingetorix gelding has always had ability but also had some issues and lost his form. That saw his merit rating fall sharply which gave trainer Roy Magner some leeway when Vaseem joined the yard in February.
After two placed runs he reeled off three successive victories and still appears to have more to offer.
He may have only got up late last time to beat Mr Flood by 0.70 lengths, but it was a well-judged ride from Muzi Yeni who timed the run to perfection. That win was probably a touch easier than the margin suggests, which it will have to be, because Mr Flood is 1.5kg better off this time.
This means the Lucky Houdalakis-trained six-year-old stands out as a major danger, especially with in-form S’manga Khumalo in the irons.
Another who needs to be considered is Riverstown. Paul Peter’s charge carries just 54kg, one of the lowest weights he has carried in his entire career.
He showed this sort of distance was no problem for him when winning his penultimate start over 1160m at Turffontein. Last time, over 1450m on the Turffontein Inside track, he did not have much luck. He had an awkward start and received a bump, so that race is best ignored.
The five-year-old Byword gelding will be ridden by Warren Kennedy.
One runner who is coming back to form and does come into this race as the best weighted runner, is Chimichuri Run from the Sean Tarry yard. His last four races have all been in Grade 1 company and although he might be in need of this race, the Trippi entire needs to be treated with utmost respect, especially as he has champion jockey Lyle Hewitson in the irons.