David Thiselton

The BSA National Yearling Sale is uppermost in everybody’s minds in South African racing at present and one of the questions is will the South African record price of R9 million be approached or be beaten on April 10 or April 11 of the two day Sale at the TBA Complex in Germiston?

There have been two horses who have gone for R9 million in SA history, the first being a Wilgerbosdrift and Mauritzfontein Silvano colt called Masaki, who was out of Gr 3-winning Fort Wood mare Quickwood, which made him a full-brother to the Gr 1 Majorca Stakes winner Nightingale. Masaki was bought by Shadwell South Africa at National in 2019, but was destined to never race. 

The second horse to reach that figure was at the Cape Racing Sales Premier Yearling Sale last month and was a Drakenstein Stud-bred Vercingetorix colt who was out of the dual Gr 1-winning Captain Al mare Snowdance. Greg Bortz bought this half-brother to the Lancaster Bomber colt Snow Pilot, the Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas winner.

The very first lot on the BSA National Yearling Sale will attract a lot of attention.

This Hemel ‘N Aarde Stud-bred filly by Vercingetorix is out of Gr 1 Garden Province Stakes winner Zarina. Vercingetorix, who is by six-times national champion sire Silvano, is the most successful Sales stallion in South African history and reached new heights at the Cape Racing Sales Premier Yearling Sale, averaging R1,661,364 for 22 lots. This is the first foal of Zarina, who is by Jet Master stallion Master Of My Fate out of a mare by Kitalpha. Kitalpha is by Mr Prospector out of Miesque, meaning he is a full brother to top stallion Kingmambo and a half-brother to Judpot. So Lot 1’s pedigree runs deep.

However, that one is unlikely to threaten the record price.

The most eagerly anticipated lot on the sale will be Lot 49, a Klawervlei Stud-bred Vercingetorix filly who is a half-sister to the Equus Horse Of The Year, Captain’s Ransom. 

However, this is just one of the Vercingetorix’s who will fetch a big price, because it seems just about every one of his lots is out of a top quality mare.

To mention just one other one that has the potential to fetch a massive price is lot 28, a Varsfontein Stud-bred colt by Vercingetorix out of Bela-Bela, a three times Gr 1-winning champion by Dynasty out of the celebrated Equus Champion Broodmare Mystic Spring. To date Bela-Bela has had three runners and three winners, including the Gr 2-winning Gimmethegreenlight filly Ciao Bella.

Lot 33 is going to get a lot of attention as this is a full brother to Gr 1 HKJC World Pool Premier’s Champions Challenge winner Fire Attack. The Ndoro Stud-bred colt is by exciting sire Fire Away out of Bonnie Beers, a Mambo In Seattle mare.

Lot 54 will get a lot of attention as this Winterbach Stud-bred One World filly is a half-sister to Gimme The Stars, who won her first four races in the East Cape, including two Listed races.

Lot 35 from Beaumont Stud is a good looking One World filly out of a Western Winter mare who has produced Listed five-time winner Nicky Noo. 

Lot 47 is a Blue Sky Thoroughbreds colt by Legislate out of a well related Gimmethegreenlight mare who has produced two Listed winners, Tipsy Tarragon and Lady Fallon.

Lot 48 is a Wilgerbosdrift Malmoos colt out of Listed seven-time winner Chitengo, who is by Elusive Fort and is a half-sister to Gold Cup winner Shangani.

Declarationofpeace has made a fine start to his stud career and will get a lot of attention. His first lot is Lot  56, a Clifton Stud-bred colt who is a half-brother to Gr 3 winner Mount Pilatus.

Lot 197, an Avontuur Estate-bred colt by Rafeef, will also have bidders in a state of anticipation. Rafeef is having a fine season with his six-year-old son William Robertson capping it to date with a fine win in the Gr 1 Computaform Sprint and he also has a promising young son in Esteemed among many others. This colt (Lot 197) is out of the quick Gr 3-winning Var mare Miss October, who has produced two Gr 1-winning sprinters, Master Of My Fate Equus Champion two-year-old colt Tempting Fate and Trippi filly October Morn.

Lot 210 is a Cheveley Stud-bred colt by Captain Al’s triple crown winner Malmoos out of the five time-winning Western Winter mare Netsuke, which make him a half-brother to Gr 1 Majorca Stakes winner Rascova.  

The Gimmethegreenlights will be all the rage and Lot 225 is a strapping filly out of the Gr 1 SA Oaks winner Pine Princess, who has produced three stakes placed horses.

The only Trippi on the Sale is Lot 189, a Bloomhill Stud-bred colt out of a one-time winning Snitzel mare.

However, it is hard to not make a case for just about every one of the Lots on the Sale, which ends on Friday with Lot 346.

Please be advised that the race meeting scheduled for Turffontein on Tuesday, 8 April 2025 was postponed to Wednesday, 9 April 2025 has now been abandoned.

While we initially planned to proceed with gallops at around 7:30am, we have encountered surface water on the track after completing a full track inspection making it unsuitable and unsafe for galloping.

Given these conditions, and the poor forecast today, the decision has been made to abandon today’s Turffontein meeting.

David Thiselton

Craig Zackey was on fire for the whole of last week which first saw him claw back a deficit in the national jockeys championship and then saw him forge clear.

After the Champions Day meeting, at which both Richard Fourie and Gavin Lerena scored four-timers, the standings were Fourie 176, Lerena 174 and Zackey 171.

However, Zackey has since scored a double at last week’s Hollywoodbets Greyville Monday meeting, a treble at the Hollywoodbets Scottsville Wednesday meeting, he won both races at the Vaal Classic meeting last Thursday which was abandoned after the 2nd race, he rode a treble at the Fairview turf meeting on Friday and he rode a double at the Hollywoodbets Greyville meeting on Sunday.

The standings are now Zackey 183, Fourie 177 and Lerena 174.

Zackey’s 12 winners in the week came at a strike rate of 37,50%, while Fourie had only eight rides in the week for one win and Lerena had a blank from seven rides.

Fourie might have to up his travel rate to beat Zackey, but probably remains the favourite due to the devastating form his East Cape guv’nor Alan Greeff is in. Greeff has had 122 wins this season, 120 of them in the East Cape, and he should pass his own East Cape record of 176 wins in season, which he set in 2019.

Fourie should also easily beat his own East Cape record of 119 wins he set last season as he is already on 103.

Lerena has been handed a 90 day suspension of which 60 are suspended for the Jason Gates whipping incident. So he will be out of the title race unless he is able to stretch out the process in order to only take the effective 30 days next season. SA jockeys seem to be able to delay the taking of a suspension through the appeal process and the slowness and lack of uniformity in setting inquiry or appeal dates. 

Fourie is leading the way this season for Gr 1 wins and black type wins.

He has had six Gr 1 victories this season already. The record is thought to be Weichong Marwing’s 13 Gr 1 wins in the 1998/1999 season.

Lerena has had four Gr 1 wins this season and Zackey has had three, so the three leading riders are also leading the Gr 1 count.   

The other Gr 1 scorers are Calvin Habib, Piere Strydom and Ryan Munger.

Fourie has had 19 stakes race (black type) successes this season, including the six Gr 1s, Lerena has had 12, Zackey had had eleven, Strydom has had seven, Rachel Venniker has had six, Sean Veale has had five, Aldo Domeyer has had five, Muzi Yeni has had four, Munger has had four, Habib has had four, Kabelo Matsunyane has had four, Raymond Danielson has had three, Serino Moodley has had three, JP van der Merwe has had two, Marco van Rensburg has had two and Grant van Niekerk has had two.

Deryl Daniels is the only other jockey with more than one stakes success, although all three of his black type successes have been in Zimbabwe.

The East Cape Jockeys championship sees Fourie on 103 wins, Zackey on 56 and Chase Maujean on 21.

The KZN Jockeys championship is being led by Rachel Venniker on 46 wins with Sean Veale next best on 45 and Zackey is on 38.

The Gauteng Championship is led by Lerena on 122, Yeni on 63 and Strydom on 56.

The Western Cape Championship is being led by Fourie on 66, Van der Merwe on 44 and Domeyer on 42.

Trent Mayhew leads the national Apprentice Championship this season with 20 wins and is followed by Nirvan Nastili and Brevan Plaaitjies who each have eleven wins.

Meanwhile, in Hong Kong SA Jockey Academy (SAJA) graduate Karis Teetan rode a treble at Sha Tin on Sunday. 

He has had a quiet time lately by his standards and the treble took him to 30 wins for the season and sixth on the Jockeys Log, one position behind ex-pat South African and SAJA graduate Luke Ferraris, who is having his best season on the island and is on 33 wins.

Lyle Hewitson and Keagan de Melo, the other two ex-pat South African SAJA graduates, are on 18 and eight wins respectively in seasons they will both be disappointed with to date. They lie 13^th and 18^th on the log respectively.

Durban, South Africa – The countdown has begun! The 129th edition of Africa’s premier horse racing and social spectacular, the Hollywoodbets Durban July (HDJ), is set to take place on Saturday, 5th July 2025, at the iconic Hollywoodbets Greyville Racecourse. As the most anticipated fixture on South Africa’s racing calendar, the event seamlessly blends world-class horse racing with high fashion, entertainment, and a memorable social experience.

Staying true to the theme of “Marvels of Mzansi,” this year’s racing extravaganza promises an iconic line-up of South African talent, featuring a diverse array of artists set to captivate all attendees throughout the day. The national anthem will be beautifully performed by one of the country’s leading songstresses – look out for the reveal in May. With these performances, the thousands of attendees expected at Hollywoodbets Greyville will have a memorable experience. Stay tuned for the full artist line-up. All ticket holders can look forward to a day filled with live entertainment that will be talked about for years to come, as this year’s HDJ celebrates Mzansi’s vibrant spirit. 

Tickets for this outstanding event are now officially on sale via Ticketpro (www.ticketpro.co.za). Priced at R230 for general admission, your ticket grants access to a day of thrilling racing action, live entertainment, fashion showcases, gourmet food experiences, and an array of engaging activations from event partners. For added convenience, onsite parking is available for R170 per vehicle.

For those seeking an elevated experience, the VIP hospitality packages provide exclusive access to luxurious enclosures, premium viewing areas, and top-tier catering. These options can be explored on the official event website (www.hollywoodbetsdurbanjuly.co.za). Please note that VIP hospitality packages do not include general admission tickets, which must be purchased separately via Ticketpro.

This year’s theme, “Marvels Of Mzansi”, was unveiled in late February, marking the official commencement of the Hollywoodbets Durban July Fashion Experience, presented by Durban Fashion Fair. The fashion programme includes the much-anticipated HDJ Young Designer Award, showcasing the best up-and-coming talents from KwaZulu-Natal. The winners will share the spotlight with the HDJ Invited Designers and DFF Rising Stars at the HDJ Fashion Preview Gala, set to take place at Gateway Theatre of Shopping in late June.

Racing enthusiasts can also look forward to the announcement of the first official entrants on Wednesday, 23 April 2025. With last year’s champion, Oriental Charm, emerging as the early ante-post favourite, excitement is already building. 

Secure your tickets today and experience Africa’s greatest horse racing and social event, the Hollywoodbets Durban July!

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.