Bull charges to another Grade 1

Bull Valley started off his career with Dominique Zaki and has been lightly campaigned at intervals. Now with Sean Tarry, he’s raced ten times for six wins and sports a similar merit rating (115) to stable mate Carry On Alice (114). Trip To Heaven is arguably the best of Tarry’s trio of high class sprinters, yet sluggish starting habits have prevented him from fully doing justice to his raw ability.

At a more humble level, Power Grid got the job done down in a Pinnacle Stakes at Cape Town when beating Tevez and Silicone Valley. What makes this victory notable is that Power Grid has a crazy galloping action due to wasted leg muscles. It looks like he will fall down or perhaps trip up horses near to him, so extreme is the mis-step. But, he can run well enough despite the physical handicavanasap.

The three wins that trainer Andries Steyn has enjoyed in the last year have all been provided by Power Grid. A rare win by Chestnut Wild back in January 2016 has been the only other occasion during that long period when Steyn has visited Number 1 box – it’s not easy for competent horsemen with meagre buying power to battle on with humbly bred, infirm stock in their barn.

Fire Walker, the value pick on Interbet’s Cape podcast, romped home at 16/1 at the same meeting. He had competitive figures based on his penultimate start behind Al Wahed, but was generously priced due to flopping at his most recent try. That poses a dilemma for punters who tend to overemphasise last start stats.

If a favourite has done poorly at his most recent start it could be prudent to look at them with scepticism, but value seekers might be more lenient about a dodgy last out blunder by a long shot. Another example: punters who forgave Marinaresco’s fail in the Gold Challenge could have used this same principle to back him at big odds in the July, often price dictates the bet.