David Thiselton

Grant van Niekerk is at the centre of the controversy which saw the hot favourite One Stripe hampered on two separate occasions in the R5 million Big Cap, which was expected to be the superstar One World colt’s glorious swansong before departing for the big stage in the USA.

It is difficult to defend the jockey who has built up a reputation for causing interference and for gathering an above average amount of suspensions.

The interference was a pity on more than one count as it also detracts from the performance of the Van Niekerk-ridden winner All Out For Six, who is a Vaughan Marshall-trained stablemate of One Stripe’s, as he put in such a stirring performance he might have won the race anyway.

All Out For Six was actually weighted to beat One Stripe on the form of their meeting in the Gr 2 Cape Punters Cup over 1600m, although One Stripe put him in his place in the Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas, beating him by 8,45 lengths.

The interesting point was that the Punters Cup was a small field and All Out For Six was able to get an easy lead.

One Stripe had to pull out all the stops to fetch him that day.

Van Niekerk went into the race believing he had a chance on the evidence of the Punters Cup as this race was over 1400m on a track running fast, so if he got an easy lead here there might be a repeat of One Stripe having to work hard to fetch him.

That is likely why Van Niekerk said afterwards on Saturday he believed he would have won easier if he had got to the front.

That plan was effected by All Out For Six not being able to outdo some of the others on the jump.

He was unable to beat a few of the others for gatespeed and early pace and from draw eight of nine ended up behind Coastal Commander, who had drifted outward from draw five and was in third place behind The Grey King and Passchendaele on the inside.

Van Niekerk’s first misdemeanour was at the 1200m mark when directing an overracing Hit For Six inward instead of outward when awkwardly placed on the heels of Coastal Commander.

This caused him to bump One Stripe, who faltered as a result.

However, it was understandable he did this as he was virtually at the turn and One Stripe had been running a couple of horse widths wide of the rail down the back straight, despite no horses being on his inside.

Furthermore, switching All Out For Six outward at the turn would have seen him slungshot way wide.

In the straight All Out For Six switches around Coastal Commander and masters him comfortably.

He now has The Grey King and One Stripe, who is aiming for a gap between the inside rail and Grey King, to deal with.

He reaches the Grey King traveling on a straight line.

The Grey King is traveling straight too and just before All Out For Six reaches him he shifts outward slightly and brushes the latter.

Thereafter, All Out For Six shifts inward continuously forcing The Grey King inward and the latter’s movement shuts the door on One Stripe, forcing Gavin Lerena to snatch him up to avoid being forced over the rail.

 There will be an inquiry into this incident (which will include looking at the incident at the 1200m mark too).

The inquiry board will be looking at whether Van Niekerk made every effort to avoid hampering The Grey King.

The experts will be looking at Van Niekerk’s body and leg positions and his whip and rein actions and looking at head on and side on film to adjudge whether he is attempting to stay straight or whether he is deliberately hanging inward.

His whip remains in his right hand throughout the incident. The horse seems to be pointing outward, but is hanging inward. However, this is just from looking at YouTube replays and not hearing any evidence from jockeys.

All Out For Six, like One Stripe, is by One World and was bred by Drakenstein Stud, and he passed the line 1,75 lengths clear of the Candice Bass-Robinson-trained Pomodoro gelding La Pulga, who came from a long way back with a strong finish.

Great Plains comes from second last and has to be eased and switched halfway down the straight due to the inside rail being blocked and he then uses his big stride to fly home when finding clear space on the outside of horses. He is beaten 4,50 lengths into third.

The Grey King plugged on for a 4,70 length fourth.

Empire State stays on well for a five length fifth, a length ahead of the unfortunate One Stripe.

All Out For Six is owned by The One World Syndicate.

All Out For Six ironically carried the Big Cap slot ticket of Hollywood Racing, who part-own One Stripe, with Rikesh Sewgoolam, part-owner of One Stripe,  holding the voucher for One Stripe.

One of the spokesman for the One World Syndicate, Ken Truter, said the victory was “bitter-sweet”.

“I have been a huge fan of One Stripe and I had kind of hoped …”, he said before becoming quite emotional and asking for the mic to be redirected to the next syndicate member.

It was indeed one of those eerie occasions on the racecourse when the winner is greeted with little fanfare, as most around the country had hoped to see the equine hero One Stripe going out with a bang and arriving overseas without a blemish.

However, nothing should be taken away from All Out For Six, who certainly proved himself a top class racehorse.

Nor from Vaughan Marshall, who has had a fine season and when his chief stable star suffered one of those inevitable racing incidents that will happen in any horse’s career, it was his stablemate that was there to pick up the pieces.

David Thiselton

Sean Tarry is in flying form and bagged a treble at Turffontein Standside on Saturday including winning the feature, the Gr 3 4Racing Sycamore Sprint over 1160m for fillies and mares, with Mia Moo who was ridden by Piere Strydom.

Mia Moo carried 59.5kg off a 103 merit rating and beat the 80-rated Komati River by half a length to give the amazing Vercingetorix a double.

Vercingetorix lots averaged a record-breaking R1,707,143 on the select day 1 of the Cape Racing Sales March Yearling Sale such is the demand for this superstar stallion’s progeny.

Chrome Tourmaline and Elegant Ice were third and fourth respectively behind Mia Moo and Komati River on Saturday and the favourite Almond Sea could only manage fifth after another tardy start.

Komati River is in for a big merit rating raise because she was 6,5kg under sufferance.

Mia Moo provided further evidence that the Cape form is strongest because in her three runs in Cape Town she had finished 16th in the Gr 2 De Grendel Cape Merchants over 1200m, beaten 14,40 lengths, and followed that with a 1,45 length fourth in a Listed handicap over 1200m, running off a 103, and then ran an excellent 0,90 length fourth in the Gr 3 Splashout Prix du Cap, a conditions race over 1400m.

She remained off a 103 on Saturday so was surprisingly easy to back, shortening from 7/1 into 6/1.

Mia Moo jumped well from draw five and Strydom managed to slot her in behind Komatii River, who set the pace down the centre after jumping well from draw six. 

Mia Moo travelled within herself and Strydom merely had to switch her outward for a run to get the job done because she passed Komati River with just a shake of the reins and passed the post while just being shown the stick.

She was bred by Klawervlei Stud and is out of a Captain Al mare.

Both of the highest priced lots at the aforementioned Sale last Thursday were by Vercingetorix out of Captain Al mares, one them, a Drakenstein Stud-bred half-brother to Gr 1 WSB Cape Guineas winner Snow Pilot, going for a SA record-equalling R9 million purchased by Greg Bortz, and the other, a filly vendored by Klawervlei Stud as agent, going for R4.1 million to Darryl Yutar.

Tarry won the first two races on Saturday with respective odds on favourites One Fine Winter (What A Winter) and Tina Lovelace (Danon Platina), who were both ridden by Ryan Munger.

Gavin Lerena rode a double for Brett and James Crawford, while Kabelo  Matsunyane also rode a double.

The leader of the national jockeys log, Craig Zackey, is on suspension from March 9 to March 26, excluding the Royal Raceday at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth yesterday (Sunday), so Lerena has had an opportunity to close the gap.

By close of play on Saturday the situation was Zackey on 167 wins, Richard Fourie on 163 and Lerena on 158.

It has been an intriguing championship, but Fourie could probably win it at will. He had already had 19 wins in March by the end of Friday racing at Fairview and is closing rapidly on Zackey, so if he decides to ride regularly in more than two centres (Cape Town and East Cape) then he should forge clear.

Allan Greeff is in flying form in the East Cape and has had 110 wins for the season, just four behind the national log leader Snaith, although the national championship goes on stakes and Snaith is more than R10 million clear of Greeff, who is in second place.

New race times below: Race 1 – 12h40 Race 2 – 13h15 Race 3 – 13h50 Race 4 – 14h25 Race 5 – 15h00 Race 6 – 15h35 Race 7 – 16h10 Race 8 – 16h45

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.