Race 1: Preview: SERENDIPITOUS (7) ran an absolute cracker last time finishing a close up second. She looks cherry ripe for the win and might be hard to oppose. FANTASY GIRL (8) is holding form, placed six from ten and has a huge each way chance. A must for all bets. NEWTON HEATH (2) keeps running fourth – quartet chance. AND ACTION (1) is taking time, can do way better than last time – place chance. (Warren Lenferna 7-8-2-1) 

Race 2: Preview: MR BELVEDERE (1) brings solid Cape Town form into the race and should be way too good for this field. Strong win suggestion. EXTRACTION (6) has placed seven from ten and should get it all right soon. Bright chance. AXIS POWER (3) was only just over 5 lengths off on debut and with natural improvement, can get a lot closer now. Place value. HAT HOT HAT (5) is an obvious quartet inclusion. (Warren Lenferna 1-6-3-5) 

Race 3: Preview: JOY AND PEACE (1) is a seven-time winner, boasts ultra-consistent form and should be able to dispose of this field. She could be a possible banker. RED SASH (3) is in mustard form and she can be expected to provide plenty of cheek to the first choice. CHERE FOR ME (2) is taking time to win again, but can pop up and place at an attractive price as she does sometimes. BACK FOR MORE (8) has a first four chance. (Warren Lenferna 1-3-2-8) 

Race 4: Preview: JACK IN THE GREEN (5) has run two creditable races since winning his maiden and has to be taken seriously. He has strong each way claims. FOUR JACKS (1) has finished two close up seconds since relocating up the coast and should win very soon – could well be today – big chance. GOLD GUNNER (2) has won two out of his last three and can continue on winning ways and HAWK CIRCLE (6) has a first four chance. (Warren Lenferna 5-1-2-6) 

Race 5: Preview: BOSNAY (1) is clearly relishing life in Port Elizabeth as she has found form and finished 1^st and 3^rd respectively since relocating. She is the firm first choice. JAMBO SANA (6) has won three of her last four races, which is a fabulous feat – she can give plenty cheek all the way home and is a big runner. BRETTY (8) and WHITE HILLS (7) are the place value suggestions. (Warren Lenferna 1-6-8-7)

Race 6: Preview: MONTELENA (4) has been banging loudly at the door of late and deserves to finally go one more. ARTICUNO (5) boasts consistent form and can never be excluded from any bets – strong each way. DONNY TEE (1) goes well for Yuzae Ramzan and is one for the shortlist – a huge effort can be expected. FERRANDO (2) is holding form – chance. (Warren Lenferna 4-5-1-2) 

Race 7: Preview: THREE ROCKS (1) is a talented filly and although disappointed by being beaten favorite in her last four starts, can be expected to bounce right back to winning ways. ANUSCHKA’S WORLD (6) is clearly in a good space and looks to be a big runner and danger to the first choice. LEDELL’S ECHO (5) and ELLORIX (7) have solid form and must be given the utmost respect – trifecta must. (Warren Lenferna 1-6-5-4) 

Race 8: Preview: A BIT CHILLY (7) is never far off the action and is the strong each way value suggestion. NOTORIX (1) is probably the one they all have to fear the most. Big runner. SWISS WALT (11) showed up well in his last run and can place again – one for the shortlist. PUPLE OPERATOR (4) is the place value suggestion. (warren Lenferna 7-1-11-4) 

David Thiselton

The Hong Kong international race day in December is fast approaching, as is the Longines International Jockeys Championship, and race fans got a foretaste of the former with two scintillating performances by Romantic Warrior and Ka Ying Rising at Sha Tin on Sunday.

Romantic Warrior is surprisingly only rated joint eleventh best racehorse in the world on a rating of 122, but perhaps that is because the ranking period happens to a northern hemisphere time scale and runs from January until December. This great Danny Shum-trained Acclamation gelding ended last season with five successive Gr 1 wins, starting with Australia’s most prestigious weight for age race, the Cox Plate and then including three prestigious Hong Kong races, the Longines Hong Kong Cup, the Hong Kong Gold Cup and the QE II Cup, and although all four of those races were over a mile and two furlongs (2000m) he then ended the season by winning the Gr 1 Yashuda Kinen in Japan over a mile.

On Sunday he was over his favourite 2000m trip in the Gr 2 Jockey Club Cup and despite giving the whole field five pounds he cruised in by 4,25 lengths under regular rider James McDonald.

This season he is likely to defend his titles in all of the Kong King Gr 1s mentioned above.

In one of them, the QE II Cup, he will be going for his fourth successive victory. He is the only horse to have won this prestigious international weight for age race three times.

Romantic Warrior could soon become the highest earning racehorse in history.

On Sunday he took his overall record to 16 wins and three seconds from 21 starts and boosted his prize money earnings to HK$154.92 million. He is now not far behind retired Golden Sixty’s world record haul of HK$167.17 million in earnings.

Earlier on Sunday the progressive David Hayes-trained New Zealand-bred Shamexpress gelding Ka Ying Rising smashed the Sha Tin course record set by Sacred Kingdom 17 years ago. Sacred King’s record was 68.35 seconds and Ka Ying Rising lowered it to an incredible 67.43 seconds.

Ka Ying Rising jumped from draw ten under Zac Purton and was being eased down at the line, which makes the record even more special.

When J J The Jet Plane won the Gr 1 Hong Kong Sprint over the course and distance in 2010, his time was 68.84 seconds.

Ka Ying Rising will be the one to beat in the latter race next month.

He has never won a Gr 1 before, but is unexposed as he only began his career in December last year, winning on debut before running two narrow seconds and since then he has won seven times on the trot. Ka Ying Rising’s record was the second notable course record lowered in the Far East recently.

Via Sistina lowered the Moonee Valley course record over 2000m in the Cox Plate a few weeks ago to 2:01.07, beating the previous mark of 2:02.07 set by the legendary four-times Cox Plate-winning mare Winx.

Meanwhile a top class line up has been announced for the Longines IJC, which is one of the world’s most prestigious Jockeys Challenges. Unfortunately, there are no South African riders, at least yet.

The two spots still to be determined for Hong Kong-based jockeys will go to Hugh Bowman and either Karis Teetan or Matthew Poon as things stand. The latter pair are both on 14 wins of the season, three ahead of Luke Ferraris and Matthew Chadwick and there is only Wednesday’s Happy Valley meeting remaining.

The Longines IJC is the most lucrative in the world for the winning rider. The four races are worth a combined HK$7.5 million in prize money. Furthermore, a total prize fund of HK$1 million in bonus money for the most successful riders will be split three ways, with the winner set to receive HK$600,000 with HK$250,000 for second and HK$150,000 for third, respectively.

The line up for the 2024 Longines IJC is: Vincent Ho (reigning IJC champion), Zac Purton (Hong Kong champion), Rachel King (Australia), Ryan Moore (Great Britain), Hollie Doyle (Great Britain), William Buick (Great Britain), Mickael Barzalona (France), Colin Keane (Ireland), Yuga Kawada (Japan), James McDonald (NZ), TBD (Hong Kong), TBD (Hong Kong).

Johannesburg, 15 October 2024 – 4Racing in conjunction with the Handicappers have published the first log for the 2024 R6 million Gr1 Betway Summer Cup to be run at Turffontein on Saturday 30 November.

Second entries close at 11am on Tuesday 05 November, and final entries at 9am on Monday, 18 November 2024, after which weights will be announced. Declarations must be in by 11am on Wednesday, 20 November 2024 and barrier draws will be conducted at a Betway event on 20 November 2024. The final log will be published on Tuesday 05 November 2024.

Local Quartet pools with fractional betting on selected UK race meetings will return to the TabGold betting menu from this Thursday following a mixed reception from customers to the introduction of commingled Quartet pools on all UK and Irish race meetings last month.

Such commingled Quartet pools have been welcomed in some quarters, but many TabGold customers have complained that this has resulted in them being unable to play fractional Quartet bets on UK races.

TabGold have taken note of the complaints and from this Thursday 12 September customers can enjoy the best of both worlds. As before local Quartet pools with fractional betting will be offered on two UK meetings most days with commingled Quartet pools on all other UK and Irish meetings.

Whether an Irish or UK meeting has local or commingled pools will be displayed clearly on Tab sheet race cards in store and online.

Unfortunately for several reasons, including vast differences in exchange rates, it is not technically possible to offer fractional bets on pools commingled internationally.

The minimum unit for commingled bets is R1 (more in the case of countries like the USA) and this is itself a fractional bet in international tote pools.

As an example, the unit of a UK Tote Quartet is one Pound and a customer playing a R1-unit Quartet with TabGold on a UK race is buying about 1/24th of the bet, depending on the exchange rate on the day. And if that bet is the only winning ticket, the customer will get 1/24th of the pool and the remainder will be carried over. To get the full UK Tote payout on a commingled Quartet requires playing the bet to a R24 unit.

That aside, the introduction of commingled Quartet bets has given TabGold customers many more opportunities to play Quartets on UK and Irish races, and access to bigger pools and payouts.

David Thiselton

The KZN Racing awards will be held on 30 August in the Classic Room at Hollywoodbets Greyville and there is going to be a quandary this year about the KZN Horse Of The Season just as there was last year.

The Horse Of The Year award, unlike the other awards, are open to horses from the yards of trainers who are not domiciled in KZN as long as the subject horse has had three or more runs in KZN. It can thus be won by an out of province horse who has excelled in KZN during the season. The other awards can only be won by horses from KZN  yards, although Glen Kotzen and Dean Kannemeyer count as KZN yards because they have had satellite yards in KZN for many years.

The Horse Of The Year exclusion was probably made due to there not being a suitable candidate for some seasons in recent times. However, should not genuine KZN-trained horses like the Michael Roberts-trained See It Again last year and the Nathan Kotzen-trained Royal Victory this year be acknowledged in some way? Everybody in the industry would have viewed the former as the best horse from KZN in the 2022/2023 season, although the Peter Muscutt-trained Isivunguvungu could also have laid a claim, and this season Royal Victory is viewed by all and sundry as the best horse from KZN, although the Gareth van Zyl-trained Flag Man could also lay a claim having performed better on paper than Royal Victory in both the Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Durban July and Gr 1 wfa HKJC Champions Cup.

The Highveld racing awards could also potentially lead to an out of province horse being named Horse Of The Season. They are actually called the Highveld Feature Season awards as they go on performances of horses on the Highveld in features races during the season. Royal Victory was thus named the Champion Middle Distance Horse and Champion Older Male in the Highveld feature Season awards this year and he was only ousted in the Horse Of The Season award by the outstanding Mike de Kock-trained Gimme A Nother.

However, the big difference is that the Highveld features only have a sprinkling of out of province horses competing in them. The Horse Of The Season award will virtually always be won by a Highveld horse and was this year it went to the outstanding Mike de Kock-trained Gimme A Nother, even though Royal Victory became the first out of province horse in history to win both of the Highveld’s biggest races, the Gr 1 Betway Summer Cup and the Gr 1 World Pool Premier’s Champions Challenge.

The KZN horses, on the other hand, have to compete with every champion from every province, because all champions from around the country descend on KZN for the three month long world famous racing festival, The Champions Season.

Last year the Horse Of The Season was won by the Sean Tarry-trained Princess Calla, who won three Gr 1s in KZN during the season.

This year the favourite must be the Mike de Kock-trained Dave The King. He qualifies because he ran in KZN three times in the season and he won two open weight for age Gr 1s in KZN. He was in fact the only horse in the country to have won two open wfa Gr 1s last season.

However, Royal Victory is a history-making KZN horse. On top of being the first out of province horse to do the Highveld double of the Summer Cup and Premier’s Champions Challenge, he is in fact the first out of province horse to have ever won the Premier’s Champions Challenge and the second out of province horse this millennium to have won the Summer Cup.

He could well go home empty-handed on KZN Awards night. If Dave The King is to be named Horse Of The Season then he must also surely be named Champion Older Male. Furthermore, the Dean Kannemeyer-trained Green With Envy ran three times in KZN during the season, so qualifies for awards as explained earlier by Kannemeyer’s KZN status, and like Royal Victory he won two middle distance Gr 1s during the season and one of them was in KZN, so he must be in pole position to win the Middle Distance award.

So the widely acknowledged best horse in KZN, Royal Victory, might be completely unacknowledged in his home province.

There are special awards occasionally put on at racing award ceremonies and this might be a case in point of creating one.

However, what would probably be better considering the realities of racing in KZN during any given season, would be to create a new permanent award to acknowledge KZN’s best horse of the season. The award should only be open to horses from KZN yards. 

Here’s good news for TabGold customers who take Trifecta bets on races in Australia, the UK, Ireland and France. 

Commingled Trifecta pools with Tote Ireland will be offered on all Irish races for the first time from this Friday and simultaneously the unit cost of commingled Trifecta bets on Australian, UK and French races will be reduced from R2 to R1. The unit cost of the Trio on French races also drops to R1. 

Commingled Trifecta bets on racing in Australia, France and the UK were introduced last month.
The benefits of commingling Trifecta pools with host totes (Tabcorp in Australia excluding thoroughbred venues in Victoria and South Australia; PMU in France, the UK Tote and Tote Ireland), as opposed to local pools, are many more Trifecta betting opportunities on races in those countries and bigger pools, which in turn afford TAB customers the chance to win bigger payouts.

Summer is around the corner in Australia, meaning it’s time for the scorching Perth Summer Carnival to kick off with five consecutive Saturday’s making up The Pinnacles at Ascot. Day One has two major highlights with firstly, the G3 $300,000 WA Champion Fillies Stakes for three-year-old fillies over 1600m. In recent years, this race has been a launching pad for superstars from the west and a key lead up to the G1 Northerly Stakes in three weeks. Arcadia Queen won in 2018 before winning multiple Group 1’s and Kay Cee placed in 2019 before winning the Northerly Stakes. The Placid Ark Stakes has had its prizemoney boosted to $500,000 in recent years and provides an opportunity for up & coming three-year-old sprinters to make a name for themselves. The undercard includes the G3 R.J. Peters Stakes offering a last chance to qualify for next weeks Railway Stakes plus the G3 Colonel Reeves Stakes and Listed Jungle Mist Classic for sprinters.

Western Mail (Lochie Taylor & Scott Embry cover the feature races and feature stories for the first day of the Pinnacles)

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Trackwork Interviews

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• Trevor Andrews, trainer – Paris Calling, Ayumi & Krysanova.
• Mitchell Pateman, trainer – Almighty Class.
• Jake Casey, co-trainer – Hanchi, Snow Prince, Read Admiral & Laverrod.