Race 5: RACING TODAY MR 87 OPEN HANDICAP (3-years-olds) (3 year olds)

VAAL RACECOURSE | Thursday, 02 April 2026 | 14:35

Distance: 1450m
Going: Good
Stakes: R88,000

Race Results

Pos Horse A.C.S. Weight Draw Jockey Len MR CMR Odds
1st Golden Operator 2 b. c 60.0kg 6 Mr C Zackey - 87 87 2/1
2nd Oklahoma Smokeshow 2 b. c 54.0kg (56.5) 5 Mr B Marx - Jacobson 2.5 80 80 5/1
3rd Aquarius 3 b. f 57.0kg 4 Mr K de Melo 2.9 81 81 10/1
4 Never Never Land TF 3 b. g 59.0kg 2 Mr P Mxoli 4.15 85 85 13/10
5 Blushing Bloom 2 b. f 56.5kg (58.0) 1 Mickaelle Michel 4.35 83 83 14/1
6 Jabari Thimba 2 ch. c 58.5kg 3 Mr C J Habib 6.75 84 84 25/1

Race Timing

Winning Time
84.74s
Average Time
86.06s
Difference
%.2fs
Total Pool
R892,000
View Official NHA Assessment

Rating Analysis

Horse Pos MR Before MR After Official Δ Expected Δ Discrepancy
Golden Operator 1 87 87 0 + 7 -7
Oklahoma Smokeshow 2 80 80 0 -1 + 1
Aquarius 3 81 81 0 -1 + 1
Never Never Land 4 85 85 0 -2 + 2
Blushing Bloom 5 83 83 0 -2 + 2
Jabari Thimba 6 84 84 0 -3 + 3
Note: Expected changes are calculated using simplified algorithms. Official NHRA algorithms from the PDF will provide accurate benchmarking.

Stipes Report

THE STARTER REPORTED:
a)	NEVER NEVER LAND (P Mxoli) jumped inwards leaving the stalls.	
b)	BLUSHING BLOOM (M Michel) was slow into stride.	

THE STIPENDIARY STEWARDS REPORTED:
a)	All horses selected for TCO2 were within the required levels, and no retests were recorded.
b)	Shortly after the start, BLUSHING BLOOM (M Michel) was carried in by NEVER NEVER LAND (P Mxoli), which jumped inwards leaving the stalls.	
c)	At approximately the 100m, NEVER NEVER LAND (P Mxoli), which shifted in away from the crop, brushed the inside running rail. 
d)	GOLDEN OPERATOR (C Zackey), the winner, was selected for the taking of specimens for analysis.
Trainer S G Tarry was advised (MS).
	
JOCKEY CHANGES:
a)	NEVER NEVER LAND was ridden by Jockey P Mxoli (declared 2 April 2026 at 07H34).		

RACE CARD CHANGES / OTHER:
a)	NEVER NEVER LAND raced equipped with blinkers (declared 28 March 2026 at 06H53).	

THE VETERINARY SURGEON HAD NO REPORTS.

THERE WERE NO SCRATCHINGS. 

DISQUALIFIED / DECLARED NON-RUNNER:

None.