Andrew Harrison

The Dennis Drier-trained Golden Chance can put her last run behind her and record the third success of her career when she lines up in the sixth at Hollywoodbets Scottsville on Sunday.

She pulled up last of the 13 runners in the Pointsetia Stakes but was going along sweetly before shortening her stride and Sean Veale easing her out of the race, looking both sides for the problem.

A post-race vet check reported not striding out off-fore which accounted for the disappointing showing.

Prior to that she had matched strides with the best including a third behind Celtic Sea in the Sceptre Stakes and beaten less than two lengths by Front And Centre in her warm-up to that race. That form sees her rated way higher than her opposition, hence the steadier of 63.5 kg on her back but that has been countered by the presence of 4kg claimer Kyle Strydom in the saddle. Strydom is way more accomplished than most four-claimers and Golden Chance should get a solid ride.

Sorting out the balance is a little tricky. Georgina Rose has been trying further but her last win was over this trip and that form did hold up. A further plus is that Anton Marcus stays aboard. Jack’s Bird and Queen Of Alamo are two others to consider.

In the opening leg of the Pick 6, Stoptheclocks was well beaten by Via Salaria last time the two met but is now 2 kg better off. They are both having their second run after a break and are drawn alongside each other which could make for a match race. But there are a couple that could put a spoke in the works. One is Mark Dixon’s runner Admiral’s Guest. The gelding is under sufferance but has done well when stepped up in this company before and has a light weight. Solid Gold is smart on his day but is not always reliable while Duc D’Orange found his best form last start and is one to keep an eye on in the betting.

What A Thrill will be a popular banker for many exotic bet punters in the opening leg o the jackpot even though she has done most of her recent racing over further than the 1400m of the fifth race. However, she has hit top form since returning from a break and meets modest opposition. 

Joyful Winter had the worst of the draw last start and her form before that was consistent. From a better gate she should improve on her last effort and along with Ms Rosa Parks could provide the sternest test for What A Thrill.

Lezeanne Forbes is never afraid to toss her charges in at the deep end and after her maiden win on debut, Sofia Erin was tested in two features including the Gr1 Allan Robertson Championship where she finished last but ran below the form of her previous start in the Strelitzia Stakes.

She meets a lot weaker here and given that Forbes thought enough of her to take on feature company speaks volumes. Of the balance, 

Bella Bellarina has been consistent of late and goes well this course and distance. Royal View was a close-up second over course and distance last time out and is at her peak while somewhere In Time has had one outing since a break and is likely to improve. She may be worth following in the betting.

The last two races are difficult low-rated handicaps and it could pay handsomely to load up in these two legs of the exotics.

Rite Of Passage and Hail Columbia look to dominate the opening leg of the PA. The younger Rite Of Passage made good improvement at his second start finishing a close-up third at relatively long odds for a Justin Snaith-trained charge but should strip cherry-ripe. The imported Hail Columbia is a late starter but made a smart debut and is sure to come on from that effort and looks the biggest threat to Rite Of Passage.

The card opener is a work rider’s race where at best, Drunken Sailor should be hard to beat. However, he has lost some form of late which is a concern. The filly Bindi will have her supporters as she has gone close at her last two and has an accomplished rider aboard. 

by David Thiselton

Justin Snaith’s stable jockey Richard Fourie will have a headache choosing his Vodacom Durban July ride this year after Belgarion put up a scintillating performance yesterday to win the Grade WSB 1900 at Greyville under Anton Marcus.

Belgarion is set to carry 53kg in the July as things stand not the widely reported 54kg. 

The 54kg is in fact two kgs out because he will be 1kg under sufferance off his expected 119 merit rating. 

Belgarion is likely to be given the maximum six point raise for his three length win over the KZN horse Tristful, who was 1,4 lengths clear of another KZN horse Camphoratus.

That means he will go from 113 to 119 which is 16 points less than the 135 merit rating of the current highest rated horse Do It Again. 

As each point represents half-a-kilogram that equates to 8kg and with top weight being 60kg it would have him carrying 52kg in a true handicap. 

However, the July is a mixture between a handicap and a conditions race and one of the conditions is that the minimum weight for a male horse is 53kg, meaning he has to go up 1kg from his true handicap weight. He will thus, as things stand, be “1kg under sufferance”.

However, he will be regarded by the experts as being well weighted because his 119 merit rating is likely “capped”. A condition of the WSB 1900 is that the winner can not be raised more than six points and given freedom the handicappers might well have raised him higher.

One of South Africa’s best handicappers Jay August unofficially awarded Belgarion 115 on a scale which can be compared to the Asian Pacific Conference (APC) ratings.

This makes his performance equal best for the SA Champions Season so far alongside the Snaith-trained, Kasimir, who ran to that rating when second in the IOS Drill Hall.

However, August said Belgarion could even be given a 115+ considering the ease of the win.

On the other hand he said the international handicappers on the APC panel, which includes South Africa’s chief handicapper Lennon Maharaj, would always challenge a 115 first time for a horse outside of a Grade 1 race and predicted they would knock him down to 114.

Last year Do It Again achieved the highest APC in this country of 121 with Hawwaam and Rainbow Bridge close behind on 120 and 119 respectively.

Presuming Belgarion is given a 114 that puts him just seven points lower than Do It Again at his best and under that rating scale Belgarion would have had to carry 56,5kg in the July. The experts might thus regard him as being 3,5kg “well in”, i.e weighted 3,5kg better than he should be. 

Marcus does not yet have a ride for this year’s July so might well be aboard the leading Snaith contender Fourie rejects i.e Belgarion or Do It Again.

Do It Again was ridden by Marcus to win the July two years ago and was ridden by Fourie last year.

Fourie’s minimum riding weight is 54kg and Marcus’ is 55kg, so both will have to slim significantly to ride Belgarion as things stand.

Caption: Belgarion easily winning yesterday’s Grade 2 WSB 1900. (Candiese Lenferna).

Belgarion will have his odds slashed by the sponsors for next month’s Vodacom Durban July as he turned in a terrific performance in the Grade 2 World Sports Betting 1900 at Hollywoodbets Greyville today.

Justin Snaith has done a masterful job in placing his charge for a crack at the country’s biggest race, ducking the Sun Met, and even after his facile win in a race that is a traditional stepping stone into the VDJ, he is likely to make it into the field with close to bottom weight for his age group.

Belgarion will not be seen out again before the big race, “my runners are out for one look before the big day,” explained Snaith and if he gets into the VDJ off a predicted 54kg he could take some stopping.

Snaith stable jockey Richard Fourie is marooned in Cape Town at this stage of the virus lock-down but Anton Marcus could be on a diet of brown rice and stewed apple to make the weight if he can jock Fourie off Belgarion in spite of possibly having the possible option of Do It Again for a record-breaking third successive VDJ win.

“He was super, super impressive,” enthused Marcus post-race. A disappointingly slow pace saw the field bunch up on the home turn with Belgarion seemingly taking a couple of awkward strides as they came off the turn. Marcus was then left hunting for galloping room. “The horse got me out of trouble,” he said as he had to dodge further traffic in the straight. But once in the clear, Belgarian accelerated home to win comfortably.

Tristful ran a cracker in second and may well have booked his place in the VDJ and the mare Camphoratus, sixth in the big race last year, gave notice that she is on the up as she snatched third after blowing the start.

“It has been difficult but a year ago this was sort of the plan,” explained Snaith. “Bernard (Fayd’Herbe) found himself in no-man’s land in the Derby and he finished some seven lengths off them. We gelded him after that and it was then a case of run in the Met and finish fifth or sixth and get a penalty or save him for the Natal season.”

Snaith is in the fortunate position of having owners who are wise to the ways of the sport and Gillian and Alec Foster, who also bred Belgarion, have gone along with the plan. Given that all goes smoothly in the lead-up to the VDJ, Belgarion will be among the strongly fancied runners.

It may still take a month or so for handicap ratings to settle into some form of normality with the majority of runners coming off an enforced three-month break from the Covid lock-down. That said, Miyabi Gold was rated a division superior to her opposition in the East Coast Handicap (Listed) and consequently made short work of her opposition.

Although skating home by the best part of three lengths from a late finishing Perfect Air, the win may have held more merit than the bare facts would suggest.

The early pace was little more than a strong canter and Anton Marcus had his mount handy and on the heels of the pacemakers. But he took action a long way out and was hard at work on Mayabi Gold as the field hit the final turn and at that stage looked to be in a spot of bother.

However, Marcus persevered and the mare responded under a vigorous hands-and-heels ride and a couple of backhanders to eventually shake off her rivals. Perfect Air came out of the scrum late to take second and Coral Bay holding on for the shallow end of the purse.

Miyabi Gold is out of the former Alistair Gordon-trained Mkushi Gold and is owned by Evanstan Investments with the late Robin Hamilton as nominee in partnership with Nick Jonsson. She does have the Vodacom Durban July pencilled and it will be interesting to see which path Justin Snaith takes with the mare as he has a boat-load of VDJ nominations including duel winner Do It Again and World Sports Betting 1900 winner Belgarian.

Marchingontogether has always struck as a better horse than his record shows as he looked set for a smart sophomore career but appeared to lose his way a little. As a late four-year-old he seems to have hit his straps and Gavin van Zyl and the Pathfork gelding’s myriad of owners can look forward to a promising end to the season after Marchingontogether spread-eagled his field in the Grade 3 Lonsdale Stirrup Cup.

Midfield turning for home in the 2400m event, Warren Kennedy threaded him through the traffic and Marchingontogether whistled past to win as he liked with the grey White Lightning finishing best of the rest for second.

On this showing, the 3000m Gold Vase on Vodacom Durban July day and the 3200m Gold Cup look well within Marchingontogether’s compass.

By Andrew Harrison

The premier South African Champions Season weight-for-age mile, the Grade 1 Gold Challenge has a new sponsor. The race to be run on Sunday, 28 June will be sponsored by South Africa’s leading bookmaker, Hollywoodbets.

The race makes up the trifecta for Grade 1 WFA 1600m races that includes the Grade 1 L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate run at Kenilworth and the HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes run at Turffontein.

The race is an important stepping stone into the Vodacom Durban July and the honours roll is littered with Vodacom Durban July winners from Dancer’s Daughter and Pocket Power, to Big City Life, Legislate and last year’s dual champion, Do It Again.

Other recent winners include Winter Solstice and international Grade 1 winning miler, Variety Club.

Devin Heffer, Brand and Communications Manager for Hollywoodbets, says that this race is another feather in the cap for his company. “Being able to sponsor a race of this magnitude is something we are incredibly excited about. Seeing the Vodacom Durban July contenders in Rainbow Bridge, Vardy, and Do It Again battle it out over the mile, will truly show who is poised to announce themselves as the number one contender in this year’s racing spectacle.”

“This is also Hollywoodbets’ first ever Grade 1 race sponsorship, and a milestone in our company’s history.”

“Hollywoodbets has invested heavily in horse racing in KZN, with the sponsorship of both Hollywoodbets Greyville and Scottsville Racecourses, the Grooms’ Initiative, and the Back On Track Challenge – encompassing trainers, jockeys, racehorses, grooms, apprentices and of course the punters.  Being able to collaborate with Gold Circle on these projects and sponsorships have allowed us to make a positive impact on racing in the province, and we look forward to continuing our support in the months to come.”

Gold Circle’s Events and Marketing Executive Steve Marshall said that it was both a privilege and pleasure to welcome a leading industry brand to one of their foremost South African Champions Season features.

The National Horseracing Authority confirms that at the Licencing Committee Meeting held in Johannesburg today, Jockey Grant van Niekerk was licenced as a Jockey with certain conditions attached.

Mr van Niekerk’s Jockey licence was withdrawn on 6 April 2020, whilst riding under the Rules of the Hong Kong Jockey Club due to a non-racing, conduct related matter. 

The Licencing Committee ruled that Mr van Niekerk be provisionally licenced for a period from 19 June 2020 to 18 September 2020 on condition that he enrols in and completes an Anger and Stress Management Course as determined by the NHA.

Upon proof of completion of the course, the Licencing Committee will consider issuing Mr van Niekerk a more permanent Riding Licence.

Glen Kotzen holds at least two of the aces in the valuable Klawervlei Farm Sale Graduate Race at Kenilworth’s Youth Day holiday fixture and Aldo Domeyer can win the race for the second successive year.

He scored a convincing success on the Sean Tarry-trained favourite Rock The Globe last season and this time he is also on the market leader, Tanzanite Queen. His mount has, at least arguably, the best form and she came in for significant support in the early betting (33-20 to 11-10).

She raced prominently when a little-considered 14-1 on debut and, despite losing a front shoe, she only went under by a neck to the much more experienced Fiftyshadesdarker who had some good form.

“I‘ve no idea where in the race she lost the shoe so I can’t say whether it made a difference but she was a little unlucky because she was green,” says the Woodhill trainer. “She was hanging in to the stick and, if the jockey had changed it to his other hand, she just might have put her head down and won.

“But it was a brilliant prep for this. I’m just hoping, though, that it is not too close to her first run.”

However there is a doubt about her ability to handle the changed going. It was good to soft on Monday morning after 14mm of rain the previous day and a total of 86mm in the last week. “She is a big filly but very light on her feet so maybe she won’t go in deep,” says Kotzen. “But I don’t really know.”

Second favourite, after being backed from 7-1 to 4-1, is stable companion Musical Glitch who ran well in the Fillies Nursery. “She has had three months since then to strengthen up and she is a big runner.”

While Kotzen admits that Tanzanite Queen is his first choice of the quartet he points out that Morne Winnaar believes Musical Glitch is better and she was his choice.

Greg Cheyne rides 8-1 shot Magical Midlands (at R200 000 the second highest-priced horse in the field) who had to be withdrawn on debut when Anthony Andrews was injured in the pens. “The horse was fine – I galloped him the next day. It would have been nice if he’d had the experience of a race but he is a proper horse and he will be doing his best work at the finish.”

Ruby Rhythm (25-1) is the outsider of the Kotzen quartet. “She has shown huge improvement from her first two outings and she needed the run last time.”

Brett Crawford’s first-timer Maison Merci is perhaps the most likely of the newcomers, but there was no early money for him and  he has been eased from 9-2 to 15-2.

If it is still good to soft punters will be going into the maidens like an explorer without a compass because few of the runners have raced on this sort of surface and their ability to handle it – or otherwise – is largely a matter of guesswork.

Soft Day is marginally favourite for the www.proboost.co.za Maiden Juvenile (race three) and, in a field mainly made up of newcomers, the Glen Puller filly may just be good enough.

Her performance will be a pointer to the chance of Flower Of Saigon in the next, the Coup De Grace/Snaith Racing Maiden Juvenile, as Winnaar’s mount was just over a length and a half further back on debut despite racing green. She has already been nibbled at and could be good enough.

There is precious little to choose between the top four in the Soetendal Estate Maiden – Soetendal is where Rainbow Bridge goes for his holidays – but Fort Agopian ran well on Cape Derby day, has been backed from 7-1 to 4-1 and gets the vote.

Lastly, particularly if you are winning at this point, you might like to consider having a few rand each way on Ikebana in the last. The Brett Crawford five-year-old has raced six times when the going has been softer than good, winning on three occasions and being placed on two of the other three.

SELECTIONS:

Race 3: Soft Day
Race 4: Flower Of Saigon
Race 5: Fort Agopian
Race 7: Tanzanite Queen
Race 8: Ikebana (ew)

Glen Kotzen saddled two fillies in the in the World Sports Betting Fillies Guineas on Sunday, June 7 with both running forward races. Follow The Star finished fourth and Point of Sale fifth finishing alongside her stable companion.

Mississippi Burning, trained by Adam Marcus, showed her class when flying through on the inside to open her winning account in KZN and a Grade 2 under the belt. 

Follow the Star was hampered when making her run and had to check as her stable companion ran across her and she had to switch drastically, by this time the race was over as a contest for the pair.

Kotzen said, “they are both top fillies and will come on from their runs. Follow The Star will be aimed at the Woolavington 2000 (Grade 1) over 2000m and Point Of Sale The Tibouchina (Grade 2) over 1400m.” Point Of Sale got going too late but has a powerful finish that will make her a strong contender in the Tibouchina Stakes.

Follow The Star has a stout pedigree being out of a Galileo mare that should see her excelling over the longer trip in the Woolavington 2000 which is scheduled June 28 at Hollywoodbets Greyville. Jockey Stuart Randolf said, “She gave me such a good feel, in the race I was tracking the winner Mississippi Burning and as she started to get going I had to check. She managed to find her feet and started to get going again which is a good sign because usually when horses get bumped like that they don’t pick up again so easily, but she was tremendous. We would have run a lot closer if we had a trouble-free run however, she will be suited to the 2000m in the Woolavington.

“I’m excited and have my fingers crossed hoping to ride her again”.

Devonne Govender