David Thiselton

The Vaal Classic track holds an intriguing nine race meeting today which should give exotic and on the nose punters come opportunities.

The headliner is likely the fifth race, a Graduation Plate over 1200m. Richard The First was beaten 5,30 lengths over by Raven Black in his penultimate start and the latter who followed up with another easy 3,25 length win. He was then beaten seven lengths by the crack colt Main Defender in the Gr 3 Graham Beck Stakes when receiving just 2kg. He finished just 1,25 lengths behind the 106 rated Sovereign State in the latter race. He is just 1,5kg under sufferance with the best weighted Tsar Bomba here and has a fair draw of four. Silver Tudor, also 1,5kg under sufferance with Tsar Bomba, has draw five in his third run after a layoff so he should get closer to Richard The First than he did the last time they met when making his reappearance and beaten 4,20 lengths. He has plenty of ability. Tsar Bomba is consistent and distance suited but does have a tricky draw of six. However, he should be right there as the best weighted runner. Godspeed is 5,5kg under sufferance with Tsar Bomba, but has shown signs of ability. One Fell Swoop has run two good races on the Highveld and considering her good draw and Tony Peter’s ability to do well with former Cape Horses she can’t be ignored despite officially being 3,5kg under sufferance with Tsar Bomba.

The previous race is the first leg of the Pick 6 and is a Middle Stakes event over 2400m. Flying Bull’s last two runs over this trip have been well beaten third place finishes to Zeus, but the latter has come into his own and is regarded by Fabian Habib as the best he has trained. It is also now Flying Bull’s third run after a layoff and he is just half-a-kilogram under sufferance with the best weighted. Rule Book is lazy at home so would have come on from his last run 12 days ago. He is also officially just half-a-kilogram under sufferance and has a fair draw carrying just 52kg over a suitable trip. Professor Snape is one of the joint best weighted and looks to have scope for further improvement so will be a contender from draw three. Battleground is another one of the joint best weighted runners and is proving to be a useful stayer. However, he has to bounce back from a 20 length defeat by Zeus, where Flying Bull was 13,25 lengths ahead of him. Nothing amiss was found  by the on course vet that day. Mambo Come Tesio is a promising stayer who is also a joint best weighted runner and he would not be a surprise winner either. He is in fact 6kg better off with Flying Bull for a 4,25 length beating last time which puts him ahead of the latter on paper.

The eighth race is a MR 86 handicap over 1600m and looks competitive. However, Dungeons strikes as a  decent sort who is on the up and this trip should be right down his alley plus he has a fair draw of five. Royal Mo is having a fine trot as a sire at present which indicates his progeny take a bit of time and this augurs well for Mo The Man, who is five points higher for his last win over this trip and he is now drawn in pole.  Fort Lauderdale won well when stepped up to 1450m last time and his pedigree suggests he needs this trip at least. Bob’s Your Uncle has a lot of talent but has to overcome a wide draw. Archimedes and Captain Of Grit could both earn.

In the sixth over 1200m the progressive Esquevelle has landed a plum draw of three as he attempts to follow up on his easy Highveld debut win. He is seven points higher in the merit ratings but considering his record with blinkers on reads three wins and a third in four starts he could have more to come. Strydom stays aboard. Chocolate Bomb is capable of better than last time and is well drawn. PrinceOfGreen is interesting stepped back in trip and he also looks to be on the up since blinkers have been applied. Siberian Steel is in fine form and only three points higher for his last win but he has a tricky draw of seven. Pinch Hit is a capable sort on his day.

In race seven over 1450m Duenna has won over 1200m and done well over 1600m so the 1450m trip should be right down her alley from a good draw. She should be progressing being from the Stuart Pettigrew yard. Coming In Hot has fine recent form over this distance category and is well drawn so will be dangerous. Full Go is capable of running on, so from pole position is interesting in his first run out the maidens over the same course and distance and off a reasonable merit rating. Parker Getrix is in good form and can be right there is able to overcome a tricky draw. Godfather always tries hard and is well drawn.

The  last race over 1450m sees Sweet Basil returning having won her debut in May over 1400m. She only has an 80 merit rating but has a wide draw. However, this race is ultra competitive and as many as possible must be included.

The first leg of the PA over 2000m should be fought out by Romeo’s Magic, Viva Brazil and Kambulu, the former being a reliable sort and the latter pair up and coming. 

Earlier, Karoo Gold, being by Ideal World, should love the 2000m trip in the first leg of the Bipot.

Breath Of Magic looks the one to beat in the first race over 1500m, a workriders event where he will be ridden by the accomplished rider Siyabonga Mkhumbuzi.

Graeme Hawkins

On the form of last season, the Glenn Kotzen-trained Rascova looked well held by both Mrs Geriatrix and Winter Cloud but that proved to be of little account in Saturday’s R400 000 Western Cape Fillies Championship (Gr 2) over 1400m at Hollywoodbets Durbanville as the daughter of Lancaster Bomber stormed home from pillar-to-post under Craig Zackey to score a dominant victory.

Racing in the now familiar blue and white silks of Eugene and Sandy Arundel’s Itssa It & Business Solutions, Rascova, who was voted KZN’s Champion 2yo filly of last season, defied odds of 40/1 to make a sensational start to her 3yo campaign. The race was over as a contest halfway up the home stretch and it was left to the well-supported Double Grand Slam and the winner’s stable companion, Royals, to chase her home, but they were more than three lengths adrift at the line.

So, what happened to Mrs Geriatrix and Winter Cloud? It’s not a good habit in our profession to make excuses for beaten horses but sometimes you just have to pretend a race “never happened”. Things went completely awry from the start for Mrs Geriatrix (just as with then unbeaten Lucky Lad on World Pool Gold Cup raceday), only this time Mrs Geriatrix was drawn 5 and not 15 as was the case with Lucky Lad. Nonetheless Mrs Geriatrix never settled, had difficulty in trying to negotiate the Durbanville corner and found herself hopelessly wide on the bend.

Even the most optimistic fan of Mrs Geriatrix would have known then already that the writing was on the wall, and it was testimony to her courage and ability that she recovered somewhat to finish fifth. I chatted to Sean on Sunday morning and fortunately it would appear that, save for a few minor “cuts and scratches”, Mrs Geriatrix pulled up sound and the R1,25million WSB Fillies Guineas (Gr 1) on 2 December is still very much on her radar.

Winter Cloud on the other hand was not persevered with and trailed in more than thirteen lengths behind Rascova. She was also headstrong in the early stages and never travelled comfortably, but fortunately the own sister to Clouds Unfold has also pulled up well and was in good shape on Sunday morning. Speaking to Candice Bass-Robinson, she is keeping an open mind as far as the WSB Fillies Guineas is concerned, as she harbours some doubt as to whether Winter Cloud will be effective over 1600m. The Sceptre Stakes may be her preferred route, leaving Beach Bomb as one of the stable’s Fillies Guineas’ options.

Saturday’s race meeting at Durbanville also saw the return of the reigning Horse-of-the-Year, Princess Calla, in a Cape A Stakes over 1250m, and what a fine comeback run it was. Fourie gave the 6yo mare every chance, but she just failed to get to terms with the in-form and race-fit King Regent with a neck separating the pair at the post. Princess Calla, having her first run since winning the 1800m HKJC Champions Cup (Gr 1) in July, will no doubt come on a ton from this race and looks very much on track for another highly successful Cape Summer Season. Given her versatility, Tarry is spoilt for choice when plotting the immediate way forward for Princess Calla.

But all credit to King Regent, who is clearly a sprinter of some class. Although he has been tried over varying distances of up to 1800m, it is clear that the son of Dynasty is in fact a quality sprinter. He is unbeaten over 1200m to 1250m with all four career victories coming over these distances. Given his pedigree, one can’t blame Glenn Kotzen for believing King Regent should be effective over further, but the formbook certainly suggests otherwise.

The “old man” and former Champion Sprinter, Rio Querari, was doing his best work late to grab third spot ahead of the winner’s stable-mate Countdown and it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that the 7yo son of Querari could add another major victory to his impressive CV.

Trainer Piet Botha has done an amazing job with Montien, and the son of Louis The King stepped up in class with aplomb to deny Richard Fourie and Royal Aussie victory in the R300 000 Cape Mile (Gr 3). Royal Aussie appeared to be in control with 200m to run but Montien found another gear close home and snatched victory in the shadow of the post. Cosmic Highway ran on steadily at the finish to complete the Trifecta. Unfortunately, Trip Of Fortune bled (bilateral epistaxis) and was pulled out of the race halfway up the home straight.

On a highly frustrating afternoon for Richard Fourie, he also had to settle for the runner-up berth in the 1000m Laisserfaire Stakes (Listed) on the well-backed favourite October Morn. In a fast run race October Morn settled about five lengths off Candy Town with the speedy Baltic Secret in a handy position. Baltic Secret took over from Candy Town approaching the final 200m, getting first run on October Morn who accelerated smartly but failed narrowly to make up the leeway.

Tabgold is adding to its range of tote bets on horseracing from next Monday, 16th October with the introduction of a Trio on French races. The Trio is a brand-new bet for Tabgold customers. To win the Trio a punter must select the first three horses to finish, regardless of order. Effectively, it’s a three-horse Trifecta Box in a single bet.

For example a three-horse Trifecta Box, in which numbers 1, 2 and 3 are selected,comprises six individual bets (1-2-3; 1-3-2; 2-1-3; 2-3-1, 3-1-2; 3-2-1), whereas with a Trio it is only one bet. In the case of four horses, a Trifecta Box comprises 24 combinations as opposed to only four combinations or bets with a Trio. The unit cost of a Tabgold Trio on French races will be R2 with no fractional betting. So a four-horse Trio will cost R8 (four combinations @ R2 each) and a five-horse Trio R20 (10 combinations @ R2). Three different Trio bets will be offered – single (three runners selected), box (four or more runners selected) and multiple (one or more horses selected for each of the first three places).

An example of a multiple Trio is numbers 1, 2 and 3 for first; number 4 for second and numbers 5 and 6 for third. That’s six combinations @ R2 each for R12 (1-4-5; 1-4-6;2-4-5; 2-4-6; 3-4-5; 3-4-6).

As with the Trio, the unit cost of commingled Trifectas on Australian, French and UK racing will be R2 with no fractional betting. Thus a three-horse Trifecta Box will cost R12 (six combinations @ R2) and a five-horse box R120 (60 combinations @ R2). The standard R6 minimum bet will apply in all cases and all payouts displayed will be to a R1 unit, so winners will collect double the displayed Tabgold payout.

Also take note that from Monday, 16th October 2023 the Trifecta pools on Australian, French and UK races will be commingled, giving customers more Trifecta betting opportunities and access to bigger pools and payouts.

The benefits of commingling Trifecta pools with host totes (Tabcorp in Australia with the exception of thoroughbred venues in Victoria and South Australia); PMU in France and the UK Tote), as opposed to local pools, are many more Trifecta betting opportunities on races in those three countries and much bigger pools, which in turn will afford customers the chance to win bigger payouts

Tabgold is adding to its range of tote bets on horseracing from next Monday, 16th October with the introduction of a Trio on French races. The Trio is a brand-new bet for Tabgold customers. To win the Trio a punter must select the first three horses to finish, regardless of order. Effectively, it’s a three-horse Trifecta Box in a single bet.

For example a three-horse Trifecta Box, in which numbers 1, 2 and 3 are selected,comprises six individual bets (1-2-3; 1-3-2; 2-1-3; 2-3-1, 3-1-2; 3-2-1), whereas with a Trio it is only one bet. In the case of four horses, a Trifecta Box comprises 24 combinations as opposed to only four combinations or bets with a Trio. The unit cost of a Tabgold Trio on French races will be R2 with no fractional betting. So a four-horse Trio will cost R8 (four combinations @ R2 each) and a five-horse Trio R20 (10 combinations @ R2). Three different Trio bets will be offered – single (three runners selected), box (four or more runners selected) and multiple (one or more horses selected for each of the first three places).

An example of a multiple Trio is numbers 1, 2 and 3 for first; number 4 for second and numbers 5 and 6 for third. That’s six combinations @ R2 each for R12 (1-4-5; 1-4-6;2-4-5; 2-4-6; 3-4-5; 3-4-6).

As with the Trio, the unit cost of commingled Trifectas on Australian, French and UK racing will be R2 with no fractional betting. Thus a three-horse Trifecta Box will cost R12 (six combinations @ R2) and a five-horse box R120 (60 combinations @ R2). The standard R6 minimum bet will apply in all cases and all payouts displayed will be to a R1 unit, so winners will collect double the displayed Tabgold payout.

Also take note that from Monday, 16th October 2023 the Trifecta pools on Australian, French and UK races will be commingled, giving customers more Trifecta betting opportunities and access to bigger pools and payouts.

The benefits of commingling Trifecta pools with host totes (Tabcorp in Australia with the exception of thoroughbred venues in Victoria and South Australia); PMU in France and the UK Tote), as opposed to local pools, are many more Trifecta betting opportunities on races in those three countries and much bigger pools, which in turn will afford customers the chance to win bigger payouts

Gold Circle is thrilled to announce the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) as the new title sponsor of the Gold Cup race meeting. “Over the past two years this race meeting has been classified as a World Pool Event which has generated significant revenue for Gold Circle and this has coincided with HKJC World Pool becoming the sponsors of the Grade 1 Champions Cup. We can now confirm HKJC as the title sponsors of the day and we are excited to launch the first HKJC World Pool sponsored race day worldwide” said Michel Nairac, CEO of Gold Circle.

The Gold Cup race meeting represents one of the highest quality race days in South Africa. The 10-feature race card (the last 9 races being part of World Pool) boasts the premier race for stayers as the title event along with four Grade 1 races, three Grade 2 races and two listed races. Added to this, the race meeting falls on the last weekend of the South African racing calendar and with R6million in stakes on offer it is often a significant opportunity for Horses, Trainers and Owners to secure their respective status as EQUUS Champions of the year.

This year the Gold Cup will be run on Sunday 30^th July and will be part of a double header World Pool weekend, with racing from Ascot on Saturday.

“There has always been a strong connection between the Hong Kong and South African racing industries, particularly when it comes to participants, so it is exciting to collaborate with them. Gold Circle have been wonderful supporters of World Pool and they recognise the benefits of a having a robust pari-mutuel offering. And Hong Kong customers are quite fond of the product as well. In fact, the 2022 Gold Cup meeting produced record turnover in Hong Kong for a simulcast meeting of HKD 394.7M,” said Michael Fitzsimons, Executive Director, Wagering Products of the HKJC.

The stakes on HKJC World Pool Gold Cup Day have been increased by more than 25% and features the R1m World Pool Gold Cup and the R1,25m HKJC Champions Cup. Former South African Jockey, Douglas Whyte, who went on to secure 13 consecutive Hong Kong Jockey Titles and is now a successful trainer, will be recognised by having the Grade 1 Douglas Whyte Stakes (formerly the Thekwini Stakes) named in his honour.

Douglas Whyte said “I feel privileged to have this race named in my honour and want to thank Gold Circle and the Hong Kong Jockey Club for the recognition. It is a great race meeting and Durban has always held a special place in my heart. World Pool has been a great initiative and a much needed boost for the South African industry.

The race program is listed below:

R1: Tabgold Darley Arabian (Listed)

R2: World Pool with Gold Circle Stakes (Gr2) formerly Debutante Stakes

R3: @WorldPool Twitter Stakes (Gr2) formerly Umkhomazi Stakes

R4: Douglas Whyte Stakes (Gr1) formerly Thekwini Stakes

R5: World Pool Moment of the Day Champion Stakes (Gr1) formerly Premiers Champion Stakes

R6: Mercury Sprint (Gr1)

R7: World Pool Gold Cup (Gr3)

R8: The HKJC Champions Cup (Gr1)

R9: Riding High Together Gold Bracelet (Gr2)

R10: HKIR in December Handicap (Listed) formerly Umgeni Handicap