Mike de Kock was left scratching his head when Al Sakeet ran way below his best in the recent Golden Horse Sprint at Greyville. His charge is back in a sprint handicap (Race 8 at Scottsville) and Mike said on Friday: “I really thought he’d run a big race but he walked over the line and there was nothing physically wrong with him. The jockey said he pulled too hard and faded. His work is very good, again, we’re taking the blinkers off and bringing him back to 1000m, his best distance. I’m expecting a big run, hoping he delivers this time.”
Good Queen Bess (Race 9) has been somewhat of an enigma in her lightly-raced career so far and Mike said: “She has me confused. She is by Kingman from a mare by Champs Elysees and everything in her pedigree suggests stamina, her three-parts brother won over a mile-and-a-half. We’ve tried her over 1500m and 1800m without success. We’re back over 1200m now, she won her Maiden over 1160m and she’s had two other good sprints, so this may be truly what she wants. She should run well.”
