Built From Nine Horses
Brett Webber’s name is synonymous with the Vaal in a way few trainers’ are with their home track. He set up shop at the Vaal training centre back in 2012 with just nine horses in his care, saddling his first runners that November. It took until the following May for his first winner to arrive — a maiden juvenile plate — but from there the operation never stopped growing. Webber has since built his string up into one of the biggest on the Highveld, with around 120 horses now passing through his stable, and the backing of senior riders including former champion jockey Gavin Lerena.
A Six-Runner Day
On a firm-going card at the Vaal, that scale was on full display: Webber sent out six runners across the afternoon, from sprinters to a mare stepping up in distance, a spread that only a stable built on real depth can manage on an ordinary midweek meeting. It’s the kind of presence that turns a trainer’s name into background noise on the racecard — until one of them crosses the line first.
Pretty Analia Gets There Again
That one was Pretty Analia, a six-year-old mare who’d had her share of frustrating afternoons since her last win back in early May at Turffontein — an unplaced run in between, then a couple of minor finishes that kept her in the picture without quite getting there. Stepping up to 1700m on home soil at the Vaal, with Chase Maujean back in the saddle for what’s been a settled partnership all season, she got the job done again, breaking through for what’s only her second win from eleven career starts.
It’s a reminder that a mare like Pretty Analia, with a modest overall record, can still deliver when the conditions click — and that for a yard with Webber’s depth of horsepower, those clicks come around often enough to add up.
The Vaal’s Long Straight
There’s a reason the Vaal has built a reputation as South African racing’s workhorse track. Its 3,000m oval carries the longest straight and run-in in the country, a genuine test of timing where horses sent too early or held up too long both get found out before the post. It’s also long been the proving ground where careers — equine and human — get built before a step up to the bigger Johannesburg tracks. For a yard like Webber’s, with horses at every stage of that journey, there’s no better home track to do business from.
If you’re following today’s Vaal card, the full racecard and form guide is at cfox.co.za/predictions.
