David Thiselton
Cape trainer Des McLachlan scored the first KZN Graded race win of his career on Saturday when landing the Gr 3 Post Merchants with Jet Force and it was his best KZN result since his Gr 1 Cape Guineas winner Ethno Centric placed in the Gr 1 SA Guineas in 2001.
McLachlan had formed a prolific partnership with Grant van Niekerk before the latter left to ride in Maurtitius and Van Niekerk flew over to ride Jet Force on Saturday.
It was Grant’s only ride on the day and he rode a pearler.
Jet Force was backed in from 20/1 to 5/1, which was not surprising as he came in with a record of two wins in three starts over the 1200m trip and his recent form over further was either wins or performances where not disgraced against the best of the best.
Jumping from a good draw of four Jet Force did not get the best of breaks but Van Niekerk managed too get him forward enough to find a position just backward of midfield.
After lifting his head momentarily he did settle well once he had cover.
At the top of the straight he still had plenty to do and had about five lengths to make up.
However, a nice gap opened for him and he ran on well through it to hit the front 100m out before fending off Buffalo Storm Cody and Tenango, beating them by half-a-length and 0,55 lengths respectively.
He had earlier overtaken the 7/2 favourite Buffalo Storm Cody as the latter was battling to get going on the outside. However, when Buffalo did find his big stride he was eating up the ground and, like last year, he put in a good preparation for the Gr 1 wfa Mercury Sprint over the same course and distance.
Des said he would also consider running him in the Mercury Sprint, which takes place three weeks after the Post Merchants on the 25th of July.
He will only be 2kg worse off than Buffalo Storm Cody in the Mercury, so on paper will have a chance.
He has duly been nominated and is sitting with a fair draw at the time of writing of nine out of 26 horses still standing their ground, although there is a draw reversal against him with Buffalo Storm Cody as the latter was drawn nine on Saturday and is now drawn eight in the Mercury.
Jet Force will also be 2kg worse off with Tenango, who ran on superbly on Saturday from the back after jumping from draw five.
Tenango has landed a plum draw of two in the Mercury.
The Beaumont Stud-bred four-year-old Master Of My Fate gelding Jet Force was the last lot on the November Two Year Old Sale of 2023 and Des landed him for R350,000.
Des always goes to the stud farms before the Sales to look at horses and revealed, “I liked him all along and he just grew on you and grew on you, there was improvement all the time.”
He added, “Horses find you.”
He said, “He took a while to get going as he was very difficult, so we decided to cut him. We just gave him time to mature, we weren’t in a rush and he has done us proud up till now.”
Jet Force started his career in the February of his three-year-old year with a win over 1200m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth and has won seven out of his 13 starts to date, including the Listed Jet Master Stakes over 1600m and the Gr 3 Variety Club Mile.
Van Niekerk has ridden him to five of his victories.
Des’s long term aim for Jet Force is to go give him a break in Cape Town and then go for the Green Point and the L’Ormarins King’s Plate.
He concluded, “He was still a little bit immature in this year’s Green Point and King’s Plate, he was very, very green, he didn’t know what it was all about as the Green Point was only his third run around the turn. It was quite difficult for him, a lot for him to take on and he didn’t disgrace himself. I think he has got the ability to be competitive in features.”
Jet Force is owned by Messrs Denis Le Breton & A L Taylor, Mr K & Miss K Geemooi & Mrs G C Hutchinson.
