The country is bracing itself with increasing anticipation for the Gold Cup Festival of Racing weekend and the Pick 6 will be a bet many will take on both days, because it has a guaranteed pool of R3,5 million on day one with an expected pool of R4 million, and a guaranteed pool of R5,5 million on day two with an expected pool of R6 million.

On day one on Saturday, the pivotal Pick 6 leg will be the Grade 1 Champions Cup over 1800m. Three horses stand out, Captain America, Marinaresco and Bela-Bela, but others have to be considered in a race which has produced upsets before.

Bela-Bela VDJ 2017 (Nkosi Hlophe)`

Captain America finished third in an ultra strong Grade 1 Sun Met over 2000m, where he beat Marinaresco by 2,55 lengths. He will have the advantage of running fresh, but Marinaresco, who is defending his crown, will now be 1,5kg better off. The latter come off his win in the Vodacom Durban July, where he proved again his love of Greyville. He beat Captain America in the Drill Hall over 1400m and his run in the Grade 1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge, where comfortably beaten by Captain America, can be ignored as he was too handy in a fast run race. His wide draw of 12 will not be a problem as he will be dropped out before employing his exceptional turn of foot. A draw of ten will not be ideal for the more handy Captain America, but he overcame that identical draw in the Gold Challenge. Bela-Bela will make her swansong here. She has to reverse a 1,5 length beating by Captain America in the Gold Challenge, but she had to be steadied at the top of the straight that day and could have got closer. Two of her three Grade 1 wins have been over 1800m and 2000m respectively, but her ideal trip is a mile. Sail South came from last in the Gold Challenge and was only beaten 2,5 lengths. He is now 2kg better off, runs fresh and will be hoping for a faster pace. However, he is a horse who seldom settles and the trip will stretch him. Judicial finished second in this race last year, and his trainer Tyrone Zackey’s charges can never be written off in big races. He hasn’t run since November, but has won a Grade 2 running fresh before and has a fair draw.  Table Bay comes in relatively fresh and has a good draw. He is highly regarded and his mile form, which at one stage looked disappointing, now looks very strong. He does have to prove he stays further than a mile though. Ten Gun Salute looked to be beaten already when a horse crossed him in the VDJ, but he looks likely to appreciate the drop to this trip, having won the Betting World 1900 in exceptional style. He does have a tough task at the weights and is likely hoping for soft ground. Deo Juvente beat the like Of Legal Eagle when winning the Premier’s Champions Challenge over 2000m and now runs relatively fresh. However, he does have a tricky draw. It’s My Turn was beaten 1,4 lengths in the July and is now 4,5kg worse off with Marinaresco. However, a lot of use was made of him in the July from a wide draw and he was also given only one preparation outing going into it. With more conservative tactics from a plum draw, he could be a threat. Matador Man showed how good his turn of foot when winning the KZN Breeders Mile and his relaxed style might enable him to see out this trip, over which he is unexposed. Black Arthur ran wide in the July, but did have cover and other than having to be switched outward he had a trouble free run, so has a tough task at the weights. Brazuca also has a tough task on paper, but was caught wide in the July and might well enjoy the step down in trip. However, he does have a tricky draw.

Marinaresco (Nkosi Hlophe)

The final fields for all of the other legs still have to be announced.

In the Grade 2 Gold Bracelet over 2000m on day the Silvano filly Nightingale is the stand out horse over an ideal course and distance. Girl On The Run, Bella Sonata, Star Express, Premier Dance and Epona also have chances and amazingly are also all by Silvano. The non-Silvano challengers will be led by the unexposed Wukkin Up, Fort Ember, Captain Gambler, Witchcraft and Intergalactic.

The first leg of the Pick 6 on day one is a MR 82 Handicap over 1000m on the poly. Paul Gadsby’s trio Vision To Kill, Miss Varlicious and Gunner have all landed fair draws and are among the eye-catchers.

There should be a good pace in this race. with speedy sorts Swakopomund, Gee Whizz and Rocky Valley among the entries. Classy two-year-old Touch Of Magic is a fascinating entry.

The next race is the Listed Umgeni Handicap over 1000m on the poly. The Louis Goosen pair of fillies Effortless Reward and Hashtag Strat are immediate eye catchers from good draws among a big entry list and the up and coming Lloyd’s Legacy could be anything.

The Listed Darley Arabian over 1600m on the poly has also attracted a lot of entries and among the eye catchers are last year’s winner MacDuff, the twice winner of this race, Night Trip as well as Table Bay, Irish Pride, Celtic Captain, Copper Pot, No Worries and Gingerbread Man.

The last leg is a maiden over 1800m on the turf and Texas Sky and Turf Conqueror are two who catch the eye among a huge entry list.

By David Thiselton

Durban July hero Marinaresco, so far a seemingly rock-solid favourite to repeat last year’s win in the World Sports Betting Champions Cup, is reported very much on target for Saturday’s Greyville Grade 1.

Candice Bass-Robinson said: “He was on easy work for two weeks or so after the July. He doesn’t take a lot but he worked last week and will do so again this week. He is fit and well, and ready to go.”

The Vodacom showpiece, although completed in fast time, was marked by a moderate early gallop and Mrs Robinson said: “I think the race could be run differently this time with different tactics but it all depends on what they do with Captain America and on whether he goes to the front. It would suit us to have a pace.”

Marinaresco is 18-10 favourite with the sponsors while Captain America shares second spot with Bela-Bela on 9-2. Other prices are 8-1 It’s My Turn, 10-1 Table Bay, 12-1 Black Arthur, 16-1 Deo Juvente, Brazuca, Ten Gun Salute, 20-1 Sail South, 25-1 Judicial, Matador Man.

Betting World goes fractionally shorter about the favourite at 17-10 with Captain America on 9-2 and Bela-Bela on 5-1.

By Michael Clower

South Africa’s thoroughbred studs are producing world-class racehorses and many of them will be clashing over 1 600m in the two final juvenile feature events of the season at Greyville in Durban on Sunday, July 30, the second day of the Gold Cup Festival of Racing Weekend.

Captain And Master (Nkosi Hlophe)

The meeting, that is headed by the R1.25-million, eLan Gold Cup, is the grand finale to South Africa’s Champions Season 2017 and the 2016-2017 South African racing season and results of the major races on the day could have an important influence on the annual Equus Awards in August.

The juvenile programme in KwaZulu-Natal is run at Scottsville and Greyville during South Africa’s Champions Season and starts with the Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion and the Allan Robertson Championship over 1 200m at Scottsville before the 1 400m clashes in the Durban Golden Horseshoe and Gold Circle Golden Slipper at Greyville on Vodacom Durban July Day to the Premier’s Champion Stakes and Thekwini Stakes that close off the programme over 1 600m on eLan Gold Cup Day at the end of July.

A tribute to South African breeders is that only one of the 31 horses carded for the two races this year was not bred in this country so the likely major players in both races will be locally-bred horses.

In the R750 000, Grade 1 Premier’s Champion Stakes champion trainer Sean Tarry holds a strong hand, saddling three runners that include the winner and third-placed horses from the Durban Golden Horseshoe, Purple Diamond and Captain And Master with Warrior’s Rest completing the team.

Desert Rythym (Nkosi Hlophe)

However, as strong as the Tarry team appears to be, they could be upstaged on this occasion by the Joey Ramsden-trained Oratorio colt Ancestry that was just a head behind Purple Diamond in second place at the line.

Tarry will also be strongly fancied to win both juvenile races on the day as he did on Vodacom Durban July day, with his Mambo In Seattle filly Desert Rhythm that won the Gold Circle Golden Slipper, looking to have a chance of completing the double by winning the Thekwini Stakes.

Let It Flow, that ran second to her that day by a length, is not in the race with her closest rival from that encounter, stable companion Rockin Russian, having to make up two lengths to turn the tables.

But, there is another special filly in the race and she is the Dennis Drier-trained daughter of Dynasty, Lady In Black. She is unbeaten in two starts and all the talk has been about her being something special and a filly with a bright future.

She has yet to meet this level of competition but she is likely to be one of the shorter-priced runners in the race and will command the greatest respect as a major challenger to Desert Rhythm.

By Richard McMillan

Highveld trainer Weiho Marwing will bid to win the unofficial “stayers triple crown” when he saddles his four-year-old Ideal World gelding Hermoso Mundo for the R1.25-million, eLan Gold Cup over 3 200m at Greyville in Durban on Sunday, July 30.

The gelding has won the 3 200m Gold Bowl at Turffontein and the Grade 3 SABC Gold Vase over 3 000m at Greyville in his last two starts and will confirm his status as the country’s champion stayer if he can lift the ultimate marathon challenge title on the second day of the Gold Cup Festival of Racing Weekend at the Theatre of Champions at the end of the month.

Weiho Marwing (Nkosi Hlophe)

Marwing has proved time and again that he is one of the best conditioners of long distance runners and with brother Weichong in the saddle for this important encounter, Hermoso Mundo has a good chance of completing the treble. The record shows that the further they go the more he loves it and in winning the Gold Bowl he humiliated his opposition in winning by 5.25 lengths.

Completing the treble may not be that easy in the eLAN Gold Cup where he will meet, among other top stayers, the four-year-old Captain Al gelding from the Justin Snaith stable, Captain Splendid, that beat Hermoso Mundo by about a head only to be denied victory in the steward’s boardroom after an objection in the SABC Gold Vase. Piere Strydom, a master at judging pace, retains the ride on Captain Splendid and this time his mount will be 2kg better off in the weights with the Marwing runner.

Hermoso Mundo received a six-point penalty for his win in the SABC Gold Vase while Captain Splendid escaped a penalty and the difference could well have its effect over the extra 200m of this race.

But both could be upstaged by the Mike de Kock-trained Australian-bred gelding Kinaan, the four-year-old son of one of the world’s leading sires Galileo, that finished third in the SABC Gold Vase just 1.55 lengths behind the other two. He is again set to carry the low weight of 52.5kg which will be in his favour over this longer trip with top rider Callan Murray, back from a stint in Hong Kong, in the irons.

Others that could feature in the finish are Krambambuli, Mr Winsome, Trophy Wife, Banner Hill and Zante but it is the top three finishers in the SABC Gold Vase that could hold the aces in what should be a great race to bring the curtain down on South Africa’s Champions Season 2017.

By Richard McMillan

The R1-million, Grade 1 World Sports Betting Champions Cup at Greyville on Saturday, July 29 has the hallmarks of a race that could go down as one of the greatest thoroughbred clashes in South African racing history.

Captain America (Nkosi Hlophe)

Run over 1 800m at the Theatre of Champions on the first day of the two-day Gold Cup Festival of Racing Weekend that also features the R1.25-million eLan Gold Cup, the race has brought together a group of the best horses in the country including four Grade 1 winners that could all make their mark on the international stage.

The World Sports Betting Champions Cup heads the nine-race card on the Saturday and will be followed on the Sunday by a 10-race programme that, in addition to the eLan Gold Cup over 3 200m, also features the final races in the season’s juvenile programme, the R750 000, Grade 1 Premiers Champion Stakes and the R750 000, Grade 1 Thekwini Stakes for fillies with both races being contested over 1 600m.

Heading the 12-horse field for the World Sports Betting Champions Cup are two of the top horses from the Cape, Captain America from the Brett Crawford stable that thrashed the opposition in the Grade 1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge and Marinaresco from the Candice Bass-Robinson stable that defied his top weight to win Africa’s Greatest horserace, the R4.25-million, Grade 1 Vodacom Durban July and will be bidding to complete the Champions Cup double.

Bela-Bela VDJ 2017 (Nkosi Hlophe)`

Capable of upsetting all her opponents and also from the Cape is the brilliant Dynasty filly Bela-Bela from the Justin Snaith stable that demolished her opposition in the Grade 1 Jonsson Workwear Garden Province Stakes and is likely to be retired to stud after the meeting. Her impressive record includes victory in the Grade 1 Paddock Stakes at Kenilworth at the beginning of the year.

Also in the field is the winner of the Grade 1 President’s Champion Challenge at Turffontein, Deo Juvente from the Geoff Woodruff stable, that had to be withdrawn from the Vodacom Durban July due to a set-back in training. The Woodruff yard is renowned for producing winners of big races and this Trippi gelding will be a major contender in this race.

The surprise winner of the Grade 2 Betting World 1900 at Greyville earlier in the season, Ten Gun Salute from the Duncan Howells yard, is also among the runners and his disappointing unplaced run in the Vodacom Durban July is best ignored as he suffered major interference in the running.

With the other well-performed runners like It’s My Turn, Sail South, Judicial, Matador Man and Black Arthur also in the field, this race could be the highlight of the weekend and the season as they fight out what should be a thrilling finish.

By Richard McMillan

South Africa’s racing supporters have another massive betting bonanza to look forward to when the Gold Cup Festival of Racing Weekend takes place over two days at Greyville in Durban at the end of the month.

Racing enthusiasts saw mind-blowing pools for the exotic bets at the Vodacom Durban July meeting at the beginning of the month and while not expected to reach quiet the same heights at the duel meetings on July 29 and 30, they will attract country wide interest where just for the Pick 6 bets on the two days, the pools are expected to total about R10-million.

The National Totalisator has announced that for the Pick 6 on the Saturday which features the R1-million, World Sports Betting Champions Cup, they will start the pool off with a R1-million carryover and guarantee a pool of R3.5-million with the expectation  that it will reach R4-million plus.

For the Sunday meeting where the R1.25-million, eLan Gold Cup, the country’s premier marathon event over 3 200m, will take centre stage, they will start the pool with a R1.75-million carryover and will guarantee a pool of R5-million which they expect to reach at least R6-million.

The tote has also introduced a new bet for the weekend called the “Festival Cup Double” which they will start off with an injection of R100 000. In this bet punters will have to select the winner of the World Sports Betting Champions Cup on the Saturday and the winner of the eLan Gold Cup on the Sunday and 70% of the eventual pool will be shared by those that get it right.

They are also offering a consolation double where 30% of the pool will go to punters whose selection finish 1^st and 2^nd or 2^nd and 1^st in the respective Cup races. Betting on this double opens on Tuesday, 25 July and will close at 16:10 on Saturday and a minimum bet of R10 is required. Those using the betmark cards are required to mark the cards “SPQ” as the venue.

With the traditional great interest in the meeting, the pools on all bets for the two days are expected to be well above the normal weekend levels.

By Richard McMillan

Justin Snaith is optimistic that there will be no repeat of the start problems that cost Star Express all chance last time when the four-year-old lines up for the Gold Bracelet at Greyville on Saturday week.

Bernard Fayd’Herbe’s mount became fractious, in the words of the stipes report, when leaving the pens in the Garden Province and in no time she was four lengths last. She finished with only one behind her.

Snaith said yesterday: “I hope she doesn’t do that again because she is a huge runner in the Gold Bracelet but sometimes the biggest problem comes at the starting stalls. You get the horse spot on, it’s a big day and the horse is super-excited and you can’t control what happens at the pens.”

Star Express has long been held in high regard by the Snaith stable and in the Klawervlei Majorca on Met day she was only beaten half a length by Nightingale. She was also fifth in the Maine Chance Paddock Stakes, beaten little more than two lengths.

Michael Clower

The two-day Gold Cup Festival of Racing, taking place at Greyville next Saturday and Sunday, brings the curtain down on the season and while some of the categories for the Equus Awards are already fairly settled as far as likely candidates are concerned and up for debate, there are still a number of questions to be answered come the final two race meetings.

Two categories that go down to the wire almost every year are Champion Two-year-old Male and Filly. As things stand at present Gr1 Allan Robertson Championship winner Brave Mary, Gr2 SA Fillies Nursery winner Green Plains and Gr2 Golden Slipper winner Desert Rhythm would appear to be the principal contenders for the filly’s award. Of this trio, only Desert Rhythm is an entry in the Gr1 Thekwini Stakes next Sunday and victory there will go a long way to cementing her place at the top of the pile.

In the male category, Gr1 SA Nursery winner Mustaaqeem will be an automatic contender as will Gr1 Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion winner and unbeaten Sand And Sea along with Gr2 Golden Horseshoe winner Purple Diamond. The latter pair are both entries in the Gr1 Premiers Champion Stakes.

Other categories that are far from settled are Champion Older Male and Champion Middle Distance.

Obvious contenders for both categories are Legal Eagle, Whisky Baron and Marinaresco. Legal Eagle and Whisky Baron are done for the season but Marinaresco will enhance his chances in both categories if he triumphs in the Gr1 World Sports Betting Champions Cup next Saturday.

In the older male category, Gr1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge winner Captain America must be in contention as well as in the Champion Miler category where he will be up against reigning Horse of the Year, Legal Eagle.

Champion Stayer has always been a bone of contention with the only Gr1 that falls into this category (2400m and further) being the Gr1 SA Derby, obviously restricted to three-year-olds. All other staying stakes races over ground are Gr3 or Listed, including the eLAN Gold Cup that has been down-graded from Gr1 to Gr3 in spite of a Gr1 stake of R1 million.

However, no matter the down-grade, it still ranks as the country’s leading race over ground through tradition and also as most of the country’s best staying horses compete on a level playing field.

Derby winner Al Sahem will be in contention and the Gold Cup is likely to have a major influence on the Equus judges.

Carry On Alice, retired after her triumph in the Gr1 SA Fillies Sprint, and who won a Gr1 in each of the four seasons’ that she raced, has surprisingly not won an Equus award although featuring prominently in nominations each year.

She is a strong contender this year for Champion Older Filly or Mare and also Champion Sprinter.

Silvano has sewn up the Champion Stallion award for the second time ahead of the recently deceased Captain Al while Klawervlei are way clear of perennial rivals Summerhill Stud in the leading stud category. The human categories are all but done-and-dusted. Markus and Ingrid Jooste under the Mayfair Speculators banner will again walk off with the trophy as leading owners. Champion Trainer elect Sean Tarry has enjoyed a phenomenal year and has left his rivals trailing. At time of writing he had sent out 211 winners for record stakes of over R35 million, R15 million more than nearest rival Justin Snaith.

Similarly, Anthony Delpech is unchallenged for the Champion Jockey title ahead of Gavin Lerena.

The Equus Awards will be held at Emperors Palace in Johannesburg on Tuesday evening, August 15.

Andrew Harrison 

A post on social media this morning got it just about right at Greyville yesterday. “A Roy Moodley benefit,” it read. KZN’s leading owner was in the winner’s enclosure five times and to make it more exciting, three of them look to have a bright future.

Moodley’s winners were shared between Alyson Wright and Duncan Howells with champion jockey elect Anthony Delpech aboard four of and Keagan de Melo plucking one plum.

Three of Moodley’s winners were saddled by Howells who has pinched what is beginning to look like an unassailable lead in the KZN trainer’s championship. He was four clear of reigning champion Dennis Drier going into the meeting and is now seven clear with four meetings to go before the end of the current season.

Moodley’s run started in the third where the talented but often temperamental Roy’s Hollyhock was extricated from a seemingly precarious position at the top of the straight by Delpech. “She blew the start but I knew that if I gave her a clear run in the straight she would win.” Even that did not go quite according to plan as Delpech had to extricate himself from behind a tiring runner. But once clear, Roy’s Hollyhock motored home to win as she liked.

A race later it was the turn of Roy’s Zara, a second for the Howells, Delpech combination. The daughter of Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown made light of her wide draw and put three lengths over her rivals at the wire. It was not the strongest field but the lightly raced Roy’s Zara won well enough to suggest that over a bit of ground she can be really useful.

The Wright-trained Roy Is Second made light of her name to go one better in the sixth. A home-bred by Horse Chestnut, this was her second win from 15 starts and she finished well to catch long-time leader Dundrum, who for once was relatively well behaved at the gate.

Roy’s Regis has taken to the poly and made it two from two on the surface with a commanding win in the seventh. Always handy under De Melo, the Australian-bred son of Choisir led early in the straight and was never in trouble.

The last hurrah was left to Delpech and Wright. Veteran Roy Royale stormed home in the last to catch long-time leader The Lion Guard on the line to end a memorable day for Moodley.

The day was marred by three horses coming down in the fourth but thankfully all three riders and their mounts appear to have escaped with minor injuries.

Honeymoon Cove, who was over racing, clipped the heels of Roy’s Zara approaching the 600m mark and falling with apprentice Khanya Sakayi. Fonteyn then made contact with the fallen Honeymoon Cove and lost her footing dislodging MJ Byleveld. Warren Kennedy aboard Liberty Market was unable to avoid the pile-up and also came down.

The horses escaped unscathed but all three jockeys we taken to hospital for precautionary check-ups but appeared to be only shaken

Chairman of the stipendiary board, Shaun Parker, said that no-one was to blame and it was an “unfortunate racing incident.”

Andrew Harrison

The Gold Cup Festival of Racing, a first for South Africa, takes place over two days, Saturday and Sunday next week, July 29-30. The Saturday sees the running of the Grade 1 World Sports Betting Champions Cup and eight other races and Sunday the running of the Grade 3 eLAN Gold Cup supported by two Grade 1 juvenile features, the Premiers Champion Juvenile Stakes and the Thekwini Stakes on a 10-race card. All of these races could influence the outcome of the Equus Awards, horseracing’s equivalent of the Oscars that will be announced on Tuesday, August 15.

The two-day festival of racing is the grand finale to the current horseracing season that officially ends on Monday, July 31.

The festival kicks off with an exciting Gala Dinner in the Silver Ring Room at Greyville Racecourse on Thursday evening ,27 July 2017.

“The Gala Dinner launches the inaugural Racing Festival in style,” says Gold Circle’s Marketing Executive Graeme Hawkins. “The evening promises to be a great mix of good food; good wine, excellent entertainment and a wonderful opportunity for guests to mingle with Celebrities and sporting heroes across the spectrum,” he added.

Guest speakers will be former Springbok and Springbok coach Nick Mallett, former Bafana Bafana star Delron Buckley and current Comrades Marathan Champion Bongmusa Mthembu while celebrated artist Aaron McIlroy will provide the entertainment.

The 3-course buffet dinner will include wine and malt and additional entertainment will be provided by the Break-Thru Dance Company, with horseracing’s  own “funny man” Paul Lafferty acting as MC.

For bookings and further information please contact Nosipho Hadebe on 031 573 2682 or nhadebe@prosportinternational.com

By Andrew Harrison