David Thiselton

The Hollywoodbets Durban July is looming large already with ante-post betting out and the Mike and Mathew de Kock yard will be a player this season.

Mike de Kock has won the race five times and two of his winners have carried the familiar yellow with a royal blue chevron colours of Sheik Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Maktoum, which are these days registered as Al Adiyaat South Africa (Pty) Ltd.

On Saturday at Turffontein Standside the Shadwell Stud-bred Vercingetorix colt Immediate Edge remained unbeaten in three starts when carrying Sheik Khalifa’s colours to victory in the Listed WSB Hawwaam Stakes over 2000m and De Kock said in the winner’s enclosure, “He is the sort of horse you have to aim at the July and make sure you come in with the right weight.”

De Kock’s last winner in the July was Sparkling Water, who gave Mary Slack her first win of the big race as an owner as the Silvano filly was a Wilgerbosdrift Stud homebred.

Fittingly, Wilgerbosdrift also own a share in Immediate Edge.

Mike de Kock himself owns a share and so does a long time supporter of his yard, Chris Haynes.

Immediate Edge, who is out of the Australian-bred Commands mare Anhaar, an unraced half-sister to the three time Gr 1-winning champion Soqrat, was a R1.2 million Purchase at the BSA National Yearling Sale.

He was not actually the best performed horse in the Hawwaam Stakes on Saturday as he received 3kg from the Lucky Houdalakis-trained shorthead runner up Wild Intent. The latter is by Gimmethegreenlight out of the useful Listed-winning stayer Wild Ash and this twice winner was thought of as good enough to go down to Cape Town to run in the Gr 3 Politician Stakes over 1800m, where he finished a not disgraced 6,25 length ninth.

Wild Intent went into Saturday’s race merit rated 96 compared to Immediate Edge’s 88.

Towers Of Gold opened up a big lead at a fair pace and Immediate Edge, jumping from pole position, sat in midfield behind Wild Intent, who had jumped from draw five in the eleven horse field. 

Wild Intent set sail for home quite close to the rail and there was a difficult moment for Immediate Edge who was on his inside because Towers Of Gold had impounded and was on the rail. Immediate Edge managed to squeeze between the latter and Wild Intent.

A thrilling duel ensued between Immediate Edge and Wild Intent but Ryan Munger managed to get the former’s head in front close to home. Wild Intent fought back but Immediate Edge managed to keep him at bay by a head.

Hollywoodbets reacted by making Immediate Edge a 17/1 shot for the July and they have Wild Intent at 25/1.

Diwali Rocket was third but was beaten 8,25 lengths.

Muzi Yeni rode a feature race double on the day.

The Robbie Sage-trained filly Poplar Park, a R40,000 buy back by Met runner up Last Winter (Western Winter) out of a Judpot mare, also jumped from pole position and needed every inch of the 2000m trip in the Ormonde Ferraris Oaks Trial.

Yeni had to push her at the top of the straight from midfield to stay in touch, but the further they went the stronger she got and she ran out a 2,40 length winner from Cocomelon with the rank outsider Fetching Flyer third.

Poplar Park only ran off an 82, despite being a twice winner, and she received 1,5 kg from the runner up and third-placed horses.

She was bred  by “JJ” van der Linden and he part-owns her together with Larry Nestadt, Mark Currie and M Lieveaux.

It was a fine day for Nestadt because he had back to back Gr 1 and Listed part-owned winners in Australia earlier in the day.

In the Listed WSB Aquanaut Handicap over 2400m the Mike and Adam Azzie-trained Breeze Over dwelt and lost a couple of lengths but Yeni decided to take her round horses to the front as that is where he likes to be. Fortunately, there was no pace on and he got there without wasting any energy. The big horse dictated and kept going well in the straight to win by 1,70 lengths from Marauding Horde and Twenty Drachma’s with Raiseahallelujah and Thunee Playa next best.

Meanwhile, at Tampa Bay Downs in the USA, the former De Kock-trained Mauritzfontein homebred Gimmethegreenlight filly Gimme A Another lost her unbeaten career record but did not lose anything in defeat. It was the champion dual Gr 1-winner’s eighth career start and her first outing for eleven months. In the Gr 2 Hillsborough Stakes over a mile and an eighth she simply found the track to tight under Irad Ortiz as she was unable to fetch Saffron Moon. Gimme A Nother was toward the back of the nine horse field and showed her usual exhilarating turn of foot, but was 1,75 lengths shy at level weights to the winner, who stole a march in the straight.

Yesterday, Lyle Hewitson had a welcome double at Sha Tin in Hong Kong and two seconds, while Luke Ferraris had a winner too. Ferraris is now on 30 wins for the season and Hewitson is on 15.

Graeme Hawkins

Richard Fourie’s charge in the defence of his Championship title is now in full swing, booting home another three winners at Hollywoodbets Durbanville on Saturday just a day after posting a five-timer at Fairview on Friday. Current leader Craig Zackey added a solitary winner to his tally on Saturday and his overall lead has now rapidly been reduced to single figures. Meanwhile Gavin Lerena, who does not enjoy the benefit of riding for either Alan Greeff or Gavin Smith in Gqeberha, won’t surrender easily and rode four winners at Turffontein over the weekend. At the conclusion of Saturday’s action, Craig Zackey had 167 victories to his credit with Fourie on 159 and Lerena on 155.

The first of Fourie’s three winners came in the second race, a Cape B Stakes over 1600m. Adopting very aggressive tactics on the 5/10 favourite, Let It Be Said, the pair turned for home with a significant advantage but not surprisingly Let It Be Said began to shorten his stride in the closing stages while Fatal Gem (14/1) was running on strongly from the rear. The winning post came just in time for Let It Be Said to hang on by a rapidly diminishing neck and land trainer Justin Snaith the opening double on the 9-race card.

Fourie recorded his second winner in the eighth race, a Class 3 Handicap over 1250m, riding a more patient race on the well-backed Dumbledore (33/10) for the Vaughan Marshall yard. Tracking the pace into the home stretch, Fourie made his move approaching the final 200m and the 4yo grey son of William Longsword lengthened beautifully to put the race to bed in stylish fashion. The ultra-consistent Callmegetrix finished second ahead of African Prince and a rather disappointing Miss World who drifted ominously in the market as race time approached.

Fourie closed out the meeting for in-form trainer Des McLachlan on Pilot Flame (7/2) who showed tremendous courage when taking out the ninth race, a Class 4 Handicap (F&M) over 1250m. Caught wide in the early stages Fourie was forced to make a forward move on the 4yo daughter of Master Of My Fate and she was disputing the lead as heads turned for home. Pilot Flame stuck to her task well in the stretch, but defeat was on the cards when Tanneron moved in to challenge at the 200m pole. Tanneron appeared to edge past Pilot Flame for a few strides but somehow Pilot Flame found hidden reserves over the final 50m and fought back bravely to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

Zackey’s solitary winner came in the seventh race, a Class 5 Handicap over 1250m, when scoring back-to-back victories aboard Tambourine Man for trainer Adam Marcus. Zackey made best use of pole position and took the 5yo son of Twice Over into an uncontested lead but halfway up the home straight dangerous-looking challenges were being mounted either side of Tambourine Man (28/10) by his stable companion True Horizon and the Paul Reeves-trained Mighty Mac. But Tambourine Man responded gamely under pressure and forged clear over the last 150m to score by a length with rank outsider Wing Walker (33/1) flashing up late to grab the runner-up spot. The favourite Trippi’s Silk (14/10) was never comfortable in running and failed to make an impression.

Louis Burke cemented his position at the top of the Workriders’ Series with a facile victory aboard Dawn’s Early Light (13/10) in Saturday’s opener, a Maiden Plate over 1250m. Sporting blinkers for the first time, Dawn’s Early Light made all the running and was two lengths clear of the newcomer Ocean Sky (12/1) as they reached the winning post. The biggest disappointment of the day was Victor Hugo who flopped badly in the fifth race, an Open Maiden over 1400m. Victor Hugo led the field into the home straight but was a spent force a long way out and faded away tamely as Chasingtherainbow flashed up with a strong late charge from the rear of the field to beat his lesser fancied stable companion Monkey Puzzle by a neck.

From the energy and thrill of Champion Day, to the stylish elegance of Style Wednesday, every day at Cheltenham is charged with an electric atmosphere. St Patrick’s Thursday brings the joy and spirit of the Emerald Isle to life while Gold Cup Day brings the festival to a close with unforgettable drama and glory.

From the anticipation, the roar of the crowd, the thunder of hooves, and the rush of emotion as the world’s finest horses and jockeys battle for supremacy – there truly is nothing that feels like Cheltenham.

Set in the heart of the Cotswolds, Cheltenham racecourse has hosted racing since 1815 and now showcases some of the best jump racing in Britain.

The highlight of which is the Cheltenham Festival, which runs for four days in March and is widely considered the pinnacle of the jump racing season.

There are a total of 28 incredible Cheltenham races, featuring 14 Grade 1 events contested in front of more than 65,000 racegoers each day.

Every owner, jockey and trainer dreams of a winner at the Cheltenham Festival, cementing their place in history alongside some of the legends of the sport including Denman, Kauto Star and Istabraq.

Champion Day (Tuesday, March 11): The festival kicks off with top-tier races, including the prestigious Champion Hurdle.

Style Wednesday (Wednesday, March 12): A day full of fashion and high-class racing, including the Queen Mother Champion Chase.

St. Patrick’s Thursday (Thursday, March 13): A day to celebrate Irish talent, featuring races like the Stayers’ Hurdle

Gold Cup Day (Friday, March 14): The pinnacle of the festival, where the legendary Cheltenham Gold Cup takes place.

Please Note: From December, Unit cost of all Soccer10 Pools closing on Wednesdays will be R3.

The R3 unit cost on Wednesdays is on a trial basis only & follows requests from many customers to increase the Soccer10 Unit.

The unit cost of Soccer10 Pools on all other days remains R2.

All systems go on 1 January 2025

Horseracing in KwaZulu-Natal took the next step to the dawn of a new era with the publication on Thursday of a revitalized racing programme and the news of the introduction of incentives and stakes adjustments that will align the province with the status quo in the Cape.

The introduction of the new-look programme and policies on the East Coast comes into play as a result of the proposed acquisition of Gold Circle by the Hollywood Sportsbook Holdings group, which now hinges on the required approval of the KZN Economic Regulatory Authority (KZNERA).

Whilst the outstanding approval of the KZNERA is critical to the transaction, and will be the final step in transferring ownership, Hollywoodbets and its appointed Chairman Designate of Gold Circle, Greg Bortz are in management and strategic decisions during the interim period, with Hollywoodbets investing funds at its own risk to ensure the continuity of horse racing in KZN, and the survival of Gold Circle.

Programme and related reading matter, click here.

Subject to the fulfillment of other outstanding conditions precedent, the deal effectively unlocks a R500 million rescue injection from Hollywoodbets, and a takeover of the sport in the holiday province, which is set to include track upgrades and other infrastructural and operational initiatives.

The new KZN programme covers the period 1 January to 28 February 2025 and introduces the stakes-boosted class racing structure to the province, while unveiling financial incentives via the RaceCoast incentive scheme with the ultimate aim of improving racehorse ownership in KZN and achieving enhanced field sizes with the knock-on vital lifeblood of increased betting turnovers.

Down South, the RaceCape incentive programme has proven a winner and has underscored the unprecedented turnaround in Cape horseracing by providing further opportunities for the local racing community and increased employment prospects for grooms and work riders, as well as raising the bar for all related and ancillary horse racing services.

“We are very excited about future plans for KZN racing,” Cape Racing Executive: Racing & Bloodstock Justin Vermaak told the Sporting Post on Thursday, as he outlined broad plans to revolutionise the appeal of the sport across the board for all stakeholders in KZN.

“We need to provide owners and trainers with an even and attractive playing field that makes them want to race. Stakes and rewards need to be meaningful. That ultimately leads to better field sizes, more exciting racing and improved betting turnovers. Punters are key to the success of the process. We are implementing a first world reform in terms of transparency when it comes to information. Items like horse weights, for example, will be published. They are, after all, a form assessment tool. Horses working at our training centres and tracks will all have easily identifiable bar-coded saddle-cloths. So, there are no secrets. If Oriental Charm or One Stripe is on track, the public will share in it,” added Vermaak, who confirmed that barrier draws after acceptance was another operational change which would be implemented on 1 January 2025.

Veteran KZN trainer Garth Puller, who attended a recent stakeholder’s meeting at Summerveld hosted by Greg Bortz, Justin Vermaak, Gold Circle and Hollywoodbets officials, enthused that he was thrilled by the news of the takeover by business-minded racing people who were brave and bold enough to step in and turn the ship around.

“This has come very late for me at my age, but it’s a lifechanger and the future is brighter than it was yesterday,” reflected a delighted Puller as he told the Sporting Post that the adjusted stakes and ‘very welcome’ incentives would boost cash-flows,  while also making it so much easier to help him and his colleagues market the basic ownership product.

“And we are getting draws after acceptances. Wonderful! I was calling for that 25 years ago at Hollywoodbets Durbanville. Bigger fields mean a faster pace, means better form, means better truer results. It’s an ecosystem of positivity. It all feeds on itself,” added the horseman who is never scared to pass an opinion.

Puller said the repair of the Polytrack at Hollywoodbets Greyville was ‘definitely quite overdue and welcome news’.

“That’s our stage. The track must be safe for horse and rider, be true and competitive, and have credibility with all role-players. That’s not a negotiable.”

On the ‘abolition’ of the committee structure to facilitate decision making and policy, Puller said that he was so pleased to hear that all reasonable suggestions will be considered by management.

“Wonderful! So there are no more long-winded committees to hide behind and to dither over. How refreshing.  I believe every stakeholder in this sport in KZN needs to doff a cap to Hollywoodbets and Mr Bortz. This investment and takeover is a brave move. But we know that with the passion for horse racing of the local population in this province, we can make it work. And by putting the structures in place they are making sure we have no excuses. Let’s look forward and get on with rebuilding KZN racing. I am absolutely thrilled. This is good news,” he concluded.