Graeme Hawkins

Less than half-a-length covered the first four past the post in a thrilling renewal of the R350 000 Cape Mile (Gr3) at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday with the evergreen 7yo Rascallion coming out on top over Zapatillas, Gimme A Prince and Montien. Rascallion was returning from an injury-enforced layoff after finishing third in the Legal Eagle Stakes back in May and his victory on Saturday represented a fantastic training feat by Vaughan Marshall.

Ridden by Gavin Lerena and taking the shortest way home, Rascallion quickened nicely from a handy position turning for home and kept going strongly to hold out Zapatillas by a neck. Attempting the distance for the first time, Gimme A Prince was dropped out to the rear of the field from his wide draw but was gaining strongly at the line and Dean Kannemeyer confirmed post-race that the L’Ormarins Kings Plate (Gr1) on 4 January will be his target. “We will probably give next month’s Green Point Stakes (Gr2) a miss and go directly into the LKP” added Kannemeyer.

Brett Crawford will no doubt be equally thrilled with the progress Zapatillas has made since being gelded. The former WSB KZN Guineas (Gr2) winner has endured an injury interrupted career, but Saturday’s Cape Mile was his third run back and he has improved with each outing. He is a classy and impressive-looking son of Master Of My Fate, but Crawford has to nurse him along and is keeping his options open as to when Zapatillas will next appear.

Back to Saturday’s winner Rascallion, who earlier this year finished runner-up to Double Superlative in the WSB Cape Town Met. In the post-race interview following his nail-biting victory in the Cape Mile, part-owner Marsh Shirtliffe expressed his desire to see Rascallion have another crack at the R5-million WSB Cape Town Met on 25 January and if he maintains his form, and Marshall can keep him sound, there is no doubt that Rascallion will have a realistic chance of going one better on the Cape’s biggest race day.

Montien ran his heart out but came up just a little short on Saturday. He will be no pushover in the forthcoming Feature races and, although no doubt disappointed with getting scant reward for such a valiant effort on Saturday, trainer Piet Botha will be cautiously optimistic his big-striding son of Louis The King will nevertheless have a major part to be play during the Cape Summer Season. Royal Aussie attracted solid support on course but failed to go through with his effort and finished a rather one-paced fifth, close on three lengths behind the leading quartet.

But while the Cape Mile was a humdinger, it was the performance of Snow Pilot earlier in the day that got the Kenilworth tongues wagging. Last season’s Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas (Gr1) winner was sent out a short-priced favourite to win the third race, a Progress Plate over 1400m, but it was the manner of victory that created a buzz around the racetrack. Snow Pilot hopped out in front, setting brisk fractions from the jump, and then pulling further and further clear of the opposition to win gearing down by six lengths. He appears to have matured into an exciting four-year-old and the Drakenstein owned and bred son of Lancaster Bomber could well be on track for a second career Grade 1 victory.

Richard Fourie and Craig Zackey shared the riding honours with a double apiece while Justin Snaith’s mustard form continued with a treble for the Philippi-based yard.

David Thiselton

Craig Zackey has burst into the national jockeys championship picture and this was highlighted by a four-timer at the Turffontein Standside twilight meeting on Friday, where he picked up a Listed feature race too on the Lucky Houdalakis-trained Lady Fallon.
Zackey is the only top jockey who is riding in all four centres, which gives him a chance of the title.
By close of play on Saturday he was on 68 wins for the season, just two behind the leader Gavin Lerena and equal with the sidelined Muzi Yeni.
Richard Fourie was nine behind the lead at that stage, but could step it up at will as he is generally only riding in Cape Town and Gqeberha at present.
In the Listed Betway Summer Pudding Handicap over 1600m the Blue Sky Thoroughbreds-bred Act Of War four-year-old filly Lady Fallon had been dropped by the handicapper down to an attractive mark of 95, down from a high of 99. She is ultra consistent and was course and distance suited and jumping from draw two, so was not surprisingly backed into 5/2 favourite.
Andi’s Girl was the choice of most pundits and went off at 7/2.
Zackey got Lady Fallon on to the rail in midfield in the ten horse field, while Lady Fallon was one wide with cover about two or three lengths behind her.
Sukhumvit was setting a fair pace out in front. 
Zackey made his move early in the straight and it was a winning move, especially considering JP van der Merwe on Andi’s Girl had initially switched in slightly and then had to check slightly to switch outward.
Van der Merwe showed little urgency on the outside until the 300m mark, despite Lady Fallon having moved into the lead down the inside with Soldier’s Eye chasing.
Andi’s Girl does possess a good burst so her jockey’s tactics were perhaps understandable, but on this occasion he left it too late and she was 0,75 lengths shy at the line.
Lady Fallon held on by a short-head from a lunging Soldier’s Eye, who was perhaps a touch unlucky as she was initially baulked for a run before having to be switched to the inside rail and going for a narrow gap.
Lady Fallon is owned by Dave Shawe, who has also got to a lot to look forward to this season with the best sprinter in the country at present, the Houdalakis-trained Dyce.
Houdalakis is having an amazing season and his 23 wins have come at a phenomenal strike rate of 25.27%, which puts him in tenth place on the national log.
Houdalakis and Zackey combined to win the next race too with the Elusive Fort gelding Hawkbill.
On Saturday Zackey clinched a double for Dean Kannemeyer at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth and went close in the Gr 3 Cape Mile as the dual Gr 1 winner over sprint distances, Gimme A Prince, produced a powerful finish from a wide draw but failed by just 0,35 lengths to fetch the Vaughan Marshall-trained stalwart Rascallion with Zapatillas second.
Gimme A Prince likely did enough to convince the connections that he is effective over a mile and the L’Ormarins King’s Plate now beckons,where he will hopefully land a better draw.
Zackey had a full card at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Sunday, but scored only one win to Gavin Lerena’s two, so he is now three behind.
However, it is going to be a particularly intriguing race for the title this season.

David Thiselton

The Betway Summer Cup’s final pointer race, the Gr 3 Betway Victory Moon Stakes, has been run and the next step in the R6 million saga is to see whether there are any supplementaries on or before the final entry stage of November 18.

The final field announcement will be on Wednesday November 20. 

The most obvious horse for a late supplementary entry is the Victory Moon winner Greeting My Master.

However, that is unlikely to happen as he will face an impossible task with the Victory Moon  runner up Main Defender and also with the fifth-placed Purple Pitcher.

Greeting My Master beat Main Defender by half-a-length, but would face him on 6kg worse terms in the Summer Cup.

Greeting My Master beat Purple Pitcher by four lengths, but would face him on 11kg worse terms in the Summer Cup.

Purple Pitcher was used as the line horse in the Victory Moon and that allowed Main Defender to escape with a one point merit rated raise, which takes the latter to 130.

Purple Pitcher was 3kg under sufferance with Main Defender and was only 3,50 lengths behind him.

Greeting My Master was raised three points to 110, so as things stand would be 5kg under sufferance if entered in the Summer Cup.

Nothing has happened over the weekend to cause a major shake up of the final log.

However, Thunee Playa, who was one of the outside looking in horses on the log, did run fourth in the Victory Moon, which might warrant him for consideration despite his lowly merit rating of 93, which went up four points to 97.

Rule By Force also won a MR 106 Handicap over 1800m in good style on Monday.

Future Pearl finished last in the Victory Moon and Pure Predator was third last so their positions in the final field might be questioned, despite them both having been in the top 20 on the final log.

Furthermore, the number one on the final log, Dave The King, was said by Mike de Kock to not be running in the Summer Cup. He had him running in a Pinnacle event in December in preparation for the L’Ormarins King’s Plate.

So the certainties in the final field could be See It Again, Royal Victory, Winchester Mansion, Main Defender, Purple Pitcher, Barbaresco, Frances Ethel, Silver Sanctuary, Beating Wings, Hotarubi, Atticus Finch, Puerto Manzano, My Soul Mate, Madison Valley and Safe Passage and also Greeting My Master if he is supplemented.

Those fighting for the last four or five places will be , Pure Predator, Future Pearl, Rule By Force, Thunee Player, Zeus, Litigation, Son Of Raj, Meridius, Aragosta, Shoemaker, Cape Eagle, Red Maple, Nebraas, Indian Ocean, The Futurist, East Coast, Marauding Horde, River Romeo, Atarime and Pomodoro’s Jet.  

Johannesburg, 15 October 2024 – 4Racing in conjunction with the Handicappers have published the first log for the 2024 R6 million Gr1 Betway Summer Cup to be run at Turffontein on Saturday 30 November.

Second entries close at 11am on Tuesday 05 November, and final entries at 9am on Monday, 18 November 2024, after which weights will be announced. Declarations must be in by 11am on Wednesday, 20 November 2024 and barrier draws will be conducted at a Betway event on 20 November 2024. The final log will be published on Tuesday 05 November 2024.

TABGOLD have added a Pick 6 to their daily menu of QuickMix bets, which are popular with many customers because they combine races from different local and international meetings, and are completed much quicker than multi-race bets on single meetings.

The addition of the Pick 6 brings the number of QuickMix pools offered most days to six – three Jackpot QuickMixes and a QuickMix BiPot, Place Accumulator and Pick 6. Until further notice, the QuickMix Pick 6 will always be the last six legs of the Place Accumulator QuickMix.

To play the Pick 6 QuickMix, TABGOLD retail customers must mark VENUE SPM and RACE 2 on the betting form.

It must be noted that the Pick 6 first-timer rule will apply to South African races in the bet if these races form part of a South African Pick 6. The first-timer rule will not apply to all other races, including South African races that are not part of a local Pick 6.