Roberts may do it again with a colt related to Do It Again

The career of Michael Roberts as a jockey had numerous highs, but he has found the going tougher as a trainer and is still searching for a grade 1 champion.

Roberts, who rode his first winner in 1968 at the tender age of 14, won 17 SA championships before relocating for a 17-year spell in the UK.

There he rode with considerable success — he won the King George and Queen Elizabeth Stakes on Mtoto — and the crowning glory was capturing the UK jockeys title in 1992. He was only the sixth non-British rider to win the championship.

This term Roberts’ search for a top horse may finally have been realised as See It Again — a three-parts brother to Do It Again — has looked decidedly smart in his four outings.

A son of Twice Over owned by Nic Jonnson, See It Again has moved into second place for the WSB R7.5m Gold Rush race to be run on Met day next year.

The Cape horse, Dave The King, tops the log with 105 points with See It Again and Time For Orchids on 104. Next in the table are Far Away Winter (102 points) and Lord William (100). Champion Warrior remains on 94 after failing to run a place at Kenilworth last Saturday.

Roberts has played a huge part in the emergence of female jockey Rachel Venniker, and the talented rider and she is in ninth place in this season’s national log. She was engaged to ride six horses for top trainer Justin Snaith at Kenilworth last Saturday.

Venniker partnered Hawk Circle — a R500,000 son of Silvano — into third place in the third race and the three-year-old won’t be in the maiden ranks for long.

Then — on Sunday at Greyville — came the latest chapter in the Roberts-Venniker success story with SA racing’s No 1 lady piloting Pongola to victory in the final race on the card. The three-year-old is a son of Ideal World and races in the colours of Jet Dark’s co-owner, Tommy Crowe.

Provided there is no further rain, the Vaal will host an eight-race Work Riders meeting on Tuesday and Ashley Fortune’s three-year-old, Prime Example, provides punters with a banker bet in the fourth race.

Fortune booked experienced work rider, Sam Mosia, to partner the son of Canford Cliffs who is overdue to leave the maiden ranks. The gelding’s chief rival could be Joe Gwingwizha’s mount, Ballycotton.

Gwingwizha has a ride in all eight races and his second-best mount looks to be Sean Tarry's three-year-old, Future Pearl, in the sixth race. This son of Futura cost Anthony Beck R525,000 as a yearling and the gelding should take this 1,700m contest en route to better things.

Tarry and Gwingwizha also team up with a fancied runner in the final leg of the Pick Six in which National Star will be tough to beat if ready to roll after a 20-week break. There are four first-timers in the race and the pick could be Fabian Habib’s daughter of Gimmethegreenlight, Royalgreenlight.

VAAL SELECTIONS

1st Race: (13) War Empress (5) Wow (10) Pompom Queen (9) kabuki Mo

second Race: (10) Southern Style (9) Inventrix (7) Mandalay (2) Last Survivor

third Race: (1) Corvette Captain (3) Integrate (8) After Hours (2) In Cahoots

fourth Race: (4) Prime Example (7) Ballycotton (1) Harold The Duke (3) Twice In Camden

fifth Race: (3) Ponderosa Pine (8) Broadlands (4) Sassy (1) Batik

sixth Race: (3) Future Pearl (4) Break Point (1) Spring Will Come (5) Black Lightning

seventh Race: (3) Warbonnet Creek (1) Robert Burns (6) What Say You (5) Thermopylae

eighth Race: (4) National Star (6) Rowins Dream (5) I Am Who I Am (1) Queen Theodora