Category Archives: Poinset

Fly BY Night (Liesl King)

Champions Season ready for takeoff

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South Africa’s Champion Season blasts off at Scottsville Racecourse in Pietermaritzburg on Sunday, 1 May 2016, where four feature races top the programme which includes the first Grade 3 juvenile events in the three-month bonanza of high class thoroughbred racing.

In all, 58 feature events will be staged with close to R46-million in stakes on offer during the season which is headed by the R4.25-million Vodacom Durban July.

Sunday’s meeting will see the two-year-olds competing over 1 100m in the Strelitzia Stakes and the Godolphin Barb Stakes while the fillies and mares will compete in the Grade 3 Poinsettia Stakes over 1 200m. The Listed In Full Flight Handicap over 1 100m will get the feature programme for the day underway.

Fly BY Night (Liesl King)

Fly BY Night (Liesl King)

The In Full Flight Handicap has drawn an exciting field headed by the Brett Crawford-trained winner of the Grade 1 World Sports Betting Cape Flying Championship at Kenilworth at the end of January, Gulf Storm, that will have to shoulder the big weight of 65kg. Among his opponents is fellow Capetonian Ernie, winner of the Sophomore Sprint where he beat subsequent surprise winner of the CTS Million Dollar event, Illuminator.

Also taking him on are Dean Kannemeyer’s Captain Alfredo and two other sons of Captain Al, Captain Swarovski from the Justin Snaith yard and the Sean Tarry-trained Captain’s Causeway.

Some exciting two-year-olds will be in action in both juvenile races with seven of the runners in the Strelitzia Stakes unbeaten. The Mike de Kock-trained Al Hawraa and Wake Up Maggie from the Mike Bass yard have won both the races they have contested.

In the Godolphin Barb Stakes the small field of nine runners includes the Judpot filly Timedtoperfection from the Corne Spies stable that ran a close second to Pinot Var in her only race to date. She takes on three unbeaten colts and the Argonaut colt Rob’s Jewel from the Mike Miller stable that has won two of his three races including the Sentinel Stakes.

Rob’s Jewel will meet the Lezeanne Forbes-trained gelding Skid The Red that he beat by 1.75 lengths last time out on 2kg worse weight terms which should bring them closer together.

The Poinsettia Stakes could produce an exciting finish with some well-performed fillies and mares in the line-up.  Runners like stable companions Lanner Falcon and Fly By Night, winner and second in the Diadem Stakes, Princess Royal and Cosmic Light that were winner and runner-up in the Sceptre Stakes are in the field and the pace should be hot from the start.

This is a top class meeting to set the stage for the season which promises a host of awesome racing over the next three months.

Fly BY Night (Liesl King)

Media Release: SA’s Champions Season starts on Sunday

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South Africa’s Champion Season blasts off at Scottsville Racecourse in Pietermaritzburg on Sunday, 1 May 2016, where four feature races top the programme which includes the first Grade 3 juvenile events in the three-month bonanza of high class thoroughbred racing.

In all, 58 feature events will be staged with close to R46-million in stakes on offer during the season which is headed by the R4.25-million Vodacom Durban July.

Fly BY Night (Liesl King)

Fly BY Night (Liesl King)

Sunday’s meeting will see the two-year-olds competing over 1 100m in the Strelitzia Stakes and the Godolphin Barb Stakes while the fillies and mares will compete in the Grade 3 Poinsettia Stakes over 1 200m. The Listed In Full Flight Handicap over 1 100m will get the feature programme for the day underway.

The In Full Flight Handicap has drawn an exciting field headed by the Brett Crawford-trained winner of the Grade 1 World Sports Betting Cape Flying Championship at Kenilworth at the end of January, Gulf Storm, that will have to shoulder the big weight of 65kg. Among his opponents is fellow Capetonian Ernie, winner of the Sophomore Sprint where he beat subsequent surprise winner of the CTS Million Dollar event, Illuminator.

Also taking him on are Dean Kannemeyer’s Captain Alfredo and two other sons of Captain Al, Captain Swarovski from the Justin Snaith yard and the Sean Tarry-trained Captain’s Causeway.

Some exciting two-year-olds will be in action in both juvenile races with seven of the runners in the Strelitzia Stakes unbeaten. The Mike de Kock-trained Al Hawraa and Wake Up Maggie from the Mike Bass yard have won both the races they have contested.

In the Godolphin Barb Stakes the small field of nine runners includes the Judpot filly Timedtoperfection from the Corne Spies stable that ran a close second to Pinot Var in her only race to date. She takes on three unbeaten colts and the Argonaut colt Rob’s Jewel from the Mike Miller stable that has won two of his three races including the Sentinel Stakes.

Rob’s Jewel will meet the Lezeanne Forbes-trained gelding Skid The Red that he beat by 1.75 lengths last time out on 2kg worse weight terms which should bring them closer together.

The Poinsettia Stakes could produce an exciting finish with some well-performed fillies and mares in the line-up.  Runners like stable companions Lanner Falcon and Fly By Night, winner and second in the Diadem Stakes, Princess Royal and Cosmic Light that were winner and runner-up in the Sceptre Stakes are in the field and the pace should be hot from the start.

This is a top class meeting to set the stage for the season which promises a host of awesome racing over the next three months.

Inara (Liesl King)

Challenge for Inara

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Inara will on Saturday attempt to become only the second of her sex to win the Premier’s Champions Challenge since Ilha Da Vitoria ten years ago and, for the second time in a fortnight, she will make the six-hour journey from Summerveld on the day before the race.

Candice Robinson said: “We are taking a bit of a long shot but it was either the Turffontein race or go for the Tibouchina which is a Group 2 and Drakenstein were keen to run in the Premier’s.

“She will have come on from her Empress Club win although it’s not going to be easy taking on the colts and over the 2 000m at Turffontein.”

Europa Point in 2012 was the other mare to win but the bookies have a healthy respect for Grant van Niekerk’s mount and Betting World makes her 7-1 second favourite. Legal Eagle heads the market at 6-10 while Captain America and French Navy are both 15-2 chances. Brazuca is next on 10-1.

Captain America was beaten three and a half lengths by Legal Eagle in the Horse Chestnut and was a length adrift in the J& B Met but Brett Crawford has not given up hope.

He said: “What I liked was that each time we were the only one coming back at him at the end, and he is doing very well.”

Justin Snaith, successful with Solo Traveller in 2011 and Legislate three years later, is making a determined assault on the Canon Guineas at Greyville on May 6 with Politician scorer Black Arthur (Anthony Delpech), Cape Derby winner It’s My Turn (Grant van Niekerk) and Baritone (Bernard Fayd’Herbe).

Delpech has also been booked for the stable’s Paddock Stakes third Bela-Bela in the Daisy Fillies Guineas while Vaughan Marshall has supplemented CTS Million Dollar third Victorious Jay for the Canon Guineas.

By Michael Clower