TAB will operate a second Jackpot pool on one South African race meeting daily from today’s race meeting at Fairview.

The second Jackpot will start on the race after the first leg of the normal Jackpot at race meetings comprising eight or nine races.

So, at an eight-race meeting, Jackpot ONE will be on races 4 to 7 as normal and Jackpot TWO on races 5 to 8.

In the case of a nine-race meeting, Jackpot ONE will be on races 5 to 8 and Jackpot TWO on races 6 to 9.

TAB customers must note that in order to play Jackpot TWO in Phumelela regions they must mark venue oval number 9 and the first-leg race number of Jackpot TWO.

TABGOLD customers in KwaZulu-Natal totes must mark the SPQ oval.

This is in order to ensure that will pays for both Jackpot pools on a meeting can be displayed correctly. If there are two South African meetings on a day, Jackpot TWO will be offered on the race meeting likely to attract the biggest pool.

Paul Gadsby was caught off guard when the course commentator announced that La Duchesse would be ridden ‘cold’ not having given any instruction to her jockey. In any event, La Duchesse was ridden from off the pace and arrived on the scene too late, snapping a string of placed runs.

Making excuses for beaten horses is bad punting policy but Warren Kennedy is back in the irons for the first at Hollywoodbets Greyville tomorrow evening and La Duchesse may be worth another chance in spite of being labelled a bookies favourite.

Her latest defeat was particularly painful for those that had banked her in their exotics as the field looked ripe for the taking. Tonight, she faces a more competitive line-up. Masters Beauty was much improved last run but may have found the 2000m a touch too far when trying to make all. Lightly raced, she appears to have come to hand and this shorter trip should suit. Imperial Seal comes from an in form stable and has been close up at recent starts while Storm Tune has come to hand and goes well over course and distance and is a must for all bets.

Keeping up with an ever-changing programming can be a testing exercise and for the first time in KZN we have Progress and Graduation Handicaps. The first of these comes in the second, a Progress Handicap (maximum three-time winners capped at MR90) for fillies and mares. Wendy Whitehead has been amongst the winners of late and she saddles Liquid Irish in an exceptionally difficult race with all 11 runners in with some sort of chance. Liquid Irish has only once been out of the money and was a game winner of her last start beating the useful Statute. She is equally at home on the poly and the turf and should be thereabouts. The lightly raced Star Vega won well from a wide draw on her poly debut and may still have more to come. She should start at long odds as should Just One More looks held on current form, but this is her third run after a break and improvement is expected off her light weight. This trio could be the pick in a tough race.

Head Boy is the obvious choice in the third given his consistent form over the trip and the modest opposition but Paddy’s Legacy is the highest rated runner who was badly in need of his last start. He makes his poly debut and had shown some fair Highveld form early in his career. Royal Pursuit showed improvement first time out for his new stable and on the poly. He may be worth following.

Backing horses first up in handicap company is a risky business but Silva Magic finally got it right when coming from a long way back to shed her maiden and second-placed Magic Mountain has franked that form. Silva Magic does face stronger here but is lightly raced and can go in again. Zagara is on her favourite surface and found good market support last outing while Silver Prancer improved last run and her two best recent efforts have been on the poly. Chatty Cathy finally had some luck last run for a well deserved win and is definitely not out of the reckoning.

By the way, JG Guthrie is not a new trainer – Julie Dittmer married Gordon Guthrie last month. All the best Jules.

By Andrew Harrison

The National Horseracing Authority confirms that an Appeal was held in Johannesburg on 15 November 2019, against the finding and the penalty relating to a contravention of Rule 72.1.11 imposed by an Inquiry Board on 8 August 2019.

BACKGROUND:

At an Inquiry held at its offices in Turffontein on 8 August 2019, Jockey M Yeni was charged with a contravention of Rule 72.1.11, in that whilst riding the horse MR GREENLIGHT, he intimidated and interfered with Jockey L Hewitson, when he took his hand off his left side rein and placed it on Jockey Hewitson’s arm, in the second race at Hollywoodbets Greyville Racecourse on 27 July 2019.

Mr Yeni pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The Inquiry Board found Mr Yeni guilty of the charge.

In determining a suitable penalty, the Inquiry Board balanced Mr Yeni’s factors in mitigation with the need to protect the integrity of horseracing, the public’s perception regarding racing control and from circumstances which have the potential to cause danger to both horse and rider. Accordingly, the Inquiry Board imposed a suspension from riding in races for a period of 90 (ninety) days.

Mr Yeni was afforded the right of Appeal against the finding and the penalty imposed.

The National Horseracing Authority and Mr Yeni were legally represented at the Appeal hearing.

The Appeal Board found as follows:

The Appeal Board dismissed the Appeal in respect of the guilty finding by the Inquiry Board as well as the penalty imposed by the Inquiry Board.

The Appeal Board noted that because of the seriousness of the contravention by Mr Yeni, if appropriate evidence in respect of aggravation of penalty had been led on behalf of The National Horseracing Authority, the Appeal Board would have been prepared to consider interfering with the penalty imposed, by increasing same.  However, the Appeal Board elected not to interfere with the penalty imposed by the Inquiry Board of a suspension from riding in races for a period of 90 (ninety) days.

The Appeal Board ordered that the prescribed fee be forfeited in terms of rule 85.5.8. The decision of the Appeal Board was unanimous.

– NHA

Gold Circle and Hollywoodbets are pleased to announce that in an exciting change, beginning 1 December 2019 and on a trial basis for 3 months, the carded horse number will reflect the barrier draw of the horse for all races in KwaZulu-Natal. In a change from the traditional top-weight-down, or alphabetical order, horses will now be carded according to barrier positions, regardless of the allocated weights.

Whilst this breaks with the traditional system used to allocate card numbers in South African racing, it will serve the purpose of making it easier for newcomers and racing fans in general to follow their selections from the saddle cloth number and standardised saddle cloth colour, through to the starting stalls where the number and colour will be clearly displayed.

Reserve runners will no longer be allocated a barrier draw, but should there be a scratching, the reserve will automatically take up the barrier of the scratched horse that it replaces.

“This move aligns our racing with international standards currently used in the USA and South America, and will make our KZN product more attractive to international racing punters, which in turn will increase turnovers in commingled pools”, said Raf Sheik, Racing Executive of Gold Circle.

Brand and Communications Manager for Hollywoodbets, Devin Heffer, added “As partners with Gold Circle, this is another joint initiative to differentiate KZN Racing, to generate interest and provide something new to our current racegoers, and make racing brighter, easier to follow and more appealing to newcomers to our wonderful sport. This trial period will run in conjunction with the Hollywoodbets Sizzling Summer Challenge, details of which will be released soon.

The finish of the Tabonline.co.za Handicap at Kenilworth yesterday would have done credit to any of the scrums in the Rugby World Cup with horses and jockeys being dangerously bounced against each other as if they were made of rubber.

Aqua Bolt was first past the post but he continuously drifted right into the path of those trying to close on him, particularly second-placed Jephthah. What was even more surprising was that the Andre Nel-trained “winner” was hanging into the whip. Normally horses drift away from it.

One of the stipes promptly lodged an objection on behalf of both M.J. Byleveld’s mount and third-placed Brave Tiger. To nobody’s great surprise this was quickly upheld with Jephthah declared the winner, Brave Tiger promoted to second and Aqua Bolt demoted to third. His rider Anthony Andrews did the right thing by having his whip in his right hand but the stipes felt he should have done more to minimise the interference and so he faces a disciplinary hearing.

You might think that a racehorse trainer has a charmed life, paid to go out into the fresh air while the commuter faces living nightmares in the traffic as he battles his (and her) way to work, and is then treated like a celebrity on the racecourse. Mike Robinson revealed that things are very different in real life and that the worrying insecurities of the existence can take years off you.

After Bernard Fayd’Herbe had got up close home on Wendy Hartley’s Happy Wanderer in the 1 200m maiden to give the Philippi trainer his first winner since that glorious treble two months earlier, Robinson said: “The treble feels like a year ago and I was getting worried. The horses were well, their coats were shining and they were all working like bombs but I was starting to doubt myself.”

He won’t now – at least not for a few weeks – but perhaps he could take lessons from Greg Ennion who has suffered plenty worse and learnt, not only to live with it, but how to bounce back and he struck with Etienne Braun’s R75 000 buy Winter Tango in the first.

Ennion said: “The horse was unlucky in his last two starts. In the most recent one he went a furlong too soon and in the previous race he got squeezed out. But he is improving all the time.”

Racing will not switch to the summer course until next month. Nothing unusual about that you might think – it’s the same every year – but Glen Kotzen yesterday queried the established practice.

He said: “It’s summer now so why aren’t we using the summer course? What we are doing, by not using it, is throwing the punter off. Saturday’s Concorde Cup will be completely different over the longer run-in when we come to the Cape Guineas. I know it means using the course more but so be it.”

Course manager Dean Diedericks answered: “This is a question that often comes up but the fact is that the summer course does not recover as well and this is a lot do with the soil temperatures. The extra month that we have on the winter course is a huge help to the summer one.”

By Michael Clower