Domestic racing was limited this weekend to Greyville as there was nothing scheduled for Cape Town and the bulk of the Turffontein meeting got washed out by a dramatic Saturday afternoon thunderstorm.
Usually only notable speed figures are highlighted in this newsletter – but the KZN card did not yield anything out of the ordinary. Only a small percentage of the racing population perform in the upper echelons so dealing with mid- level mediocrity is something that hardened punters confront much of the time.
Whilst solid enough efforts, the turf figures of 87-88 for The Bayou, Amor Ardiente, Peacock Alley, Golden Pheasant and Bravo Bravo are usually only good enough for around four wins in a major centre. They will need to improve on those scores to have any impact in tougher contests.
Arianos Shadow, (has already run 89 + @ two years) is a talented filly however, that caught the eye as she swept past rivals in a false run KZN Fillies Guineas Trial. She has plenty of upside potential and will continue to do well under Yogas Govender’s care.
For punters following overseas racing, I thought mentioning a few websites might prove helpful. In the UK, www.sportinglife.com and www.racingpost.com are full of updated info that is slickly presented with a wide range of expert opinion. They also cover breaking news stories. www.timeform.com is also a sharp resource where Simon Rowlands provides sophisticated speed figure analysis under the “Sectionals” link. Across the pond, www.drf.com is a fine place to go for horseplayers checking out the American racing scene.
www.hkjc.com sets the standard in the Far East. They emphasize punter- friendly transparency with a surfeit of detailed data to help handicappers form well-researched opinions before placing a bet.
www.pastthewire.com is a different sort of site – it’s more of an informal blog with forcefully argued opinions from Jon Stettin, a feisty gambler based in New York. People who are totally into horseracing will love reading his regularly updated columns about the history of this great game, bios of racing legends and some helpful pieces on betting strategy. He also puts out occasional videos. Enjoy, especially when the thunderstorms are keeping you indoors!!