Mark van Deventer
Jockey Aldo Domeyer elevated an otherwise mundane midweek meeting at Kenilworth to a remarkable occasion when saluting on all six of his rides at massive accumulative odds of 14 263 – 1. Domeyer has long been one of the Cape’s better race-riders, with Wednesdays fine achievement taking him up to an elite level, as it’s a rare feat for any single rider to absolutely dominate a meeting.
The initial treble was sent out by Andre Nel, for whom Domeyer is a retained jock. The red hot conditioner has saddled many doubles since getting the job for owner Sabine Plattner, however this was the first three-timer for the stable. The aptly named Ready Set Go got up to win Race 2 at 28-10 as a portend of things to come. Then, the well-regarded 2-1 fancy, Loadshedder galloped clear in Race 3, followed by 6-1 shot Guilty Pleasure obtaining first run on favourite Sabina’s Dynasty to score in race 4, another Maiden contest.
Domeyer used a typically sharp sense of placement and balance in the finish to produce 4-1 chance Midnight Vision at just the right moment in Race 5, a MR 70 handicap. He plotted a clear path up the outside to get past pace-pressing, Rocketeer, and saved enough energy in the drive to the wire to also resist the late rally of One Direction, who switched inwards at a vital stage.
Domeyer’s ride on 11-2 shot Icon King in the seventh was cleverly judged. The son of Rebel King ran well enough despite being a bit of a tear-away at the beginning of his career, but gelding has helped Mike Stewart’s entry settle down and win races. Icon King was poised just off the early speed cut out by Cortada, as Domeyer conserved his mount for a decisive burst inside the final 300m to beat off Shizam’s bid.
In the finale, Domeyer used similar stalk and pounce tactics on 9-2 middle-pin, Wake Up Maggie. They tracked the speedy filly Clifton Sunset who raced clear on the outside before sweeping past at the 200m pole to cap a brilliant day.
Now with nine wins and six seconds from the last 30 rides, Domeyer is on a hot streak. Updated seasonal stats reveal 41 winners from 237 mounts at a juicy 17% strike rate. Prior to recent heroics, from a ranking perspective based on number of wins he was only just sneaking inside the Top 20 nationwide, yet Domeyer is a far better rider than that log position suggested – Wednesday’s Kenilworth master class providing ample evidence of his polished skills.