Gold Circle Pty (Ltd)

Today's Racing :

Headstrong about Happy Valley

David Thiselton

The Mike de Kock Summerveld yard sent out four winners in a meeting 10 days ago at Scottsville and have a chance of repeating the feat at Clairwood on Sunday.
In the first they send out Keep Icy Calm who failed over 1 600m last time and is now back over 1 000m in this Maiden Plate. She showed some pace on debut over 1 200m without troubling the judge, but with expected improvement could be a contender with a 4kg claimer aboard.
Interestingly, De Kock’s stable jockey Anthony Delpech is riding the Bart Rice-trained Andrew’s Pride in this race, a first-timer who is a full-sister to the talented Mr. Flatley. The Rice yard also sends out another filly that they hold in good regard, Lady Charlotte, who returns from a 10 month rest.
De Kock’s next runners are in the fourth and he could bag his first winner of the day in this fillies and mares MR74 Handicap over 1 200m with the Pivotal filly Headstrong. Officially she is a four-year-old but actually only turns four on March 22 having been born in the Northern Hemisphere.
However, after failing in two starts over 1 600m, she beat the talented Dennis Drier-trained Rise Again in a handicap over 1 200m at Scottsville last time by two lengths. The rest of the field were strung out like the washing, always a sign of good form, so she should be able to handle the five point raise she was given, especially at this level. The Tony Rivalland-trained Turf Queen usually shows some speed so is an interesting outsider dropped back to this trip with a 4kg claimer aboard. De Kock also sends out Kauthar in this race. She is 2,5kg better off with Headstrong for a 6,75 length beating, although she did have the excuse of a slipped saddle in that race. In the sixth a Merit Rated 71 Handicap over 2 000m, the De Kock yard send out Happy Valley, an Argentinian-bred half-sister to Milk And Honey. She won on debut over 1 600m despite dwelling at the start. Not only will she have come on from that run but now has Delpech aboard from a fair draw of seven against another uninspiring field.
An outsider who could fare well here is the Paul Lafferty-trained Royal Park, who has always struck as better than her form suggests. She is now upped considerably in trip and is drawn in pole. In the eighth, a Merit Rated 73 Handicap over 1 450m, the De Kock yard send out two horses with chances, Propiciada and Cream Cheese. Propiciada was a facile winner of her maiden in good to soft going over 1200m at Clairwood and in her last start ran a fair third to Headstrong. Delpech now takes the ride. Cream Cheese finished just 5,35 lengths behind runaway winner Imperious Star over the Clairwood 1 600m in her penultimate start and the form has been franked as the latter was a facile winner again earlier this week. Cream Cheese reportedly did not act in the soft last time and didn’t settle either so that run is best ignored. She looks likely to prefer this sort of trip and is well drawn with Muzi Yeni aboard. In this race Madam Councellor will provide Sean Cormack with his last ride for the Dennis Drier yard before leaving for Singapore and she has the form to go close. Her last run over 1 400m at Greyville is best ignored as she was bumped and cramped. In the last, a Maiden over 1 600m, the De Kock-trained Pennrock caught the eye last time with a strong finish in the soft over 1 600m, but Delpech has opted for Distinta Wells who will relish the step up to this trip.
Cormack has his last ride here on the Glen Kotzen-trained Dreams And Fancies. She is another to consider dropped back to what appears to be her optimum trip.

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