Mastership s/s 95 won the Grand Heritage at the Vaal on Saturday, beating off 20 rivals. Being positioned near the outside rail down the straight course seemed to be the best place to be and Diane Stenger’s entry kept on resolutely after racing prominently to stave off the late lunge of Rollo the Viking
Commentator Alistair Cohen added appropriate color to the conclusion of the 2025 Cape Guineas, calling out “Jan van Gooyen says totsiens…” as the Mike and Mathew de Kock trained 3 YO streaked away from rivals. It was quite the training feat to bring the son of Master of My Fate down from Jozi two
Quickstepgal went from start to finish under Gavin Lerena to win Saturday’s G1 Cape Fillies Guineas having been backed from 16/1 into 10/1. This was a personal triumph for affable Tienie Prinsloo, a journeyman trainer. He was “numero uno” at old Flamingo Park in Kimberley and was gutted when that track closed. He relocated
Truth (s/s 105) hit a neat number at the Vaal in a strong sprint field during the week. He kept out Karate Kid (s/s 103), Sheldon (s/s 102) and Taxi to the Moon (s/s 101) with Dreamland (s/s 99) just behind the placed horses. The Candice Dawson trained winner attained a figure of 108
Time analysis helps not only to decipher the outcome but also to uncover what happens “internally” during a race. Speed figures based on final times, placed in context with track variants of course, provide ratings based on the posted result, whilst pace ratios shed light on the sectionals within a race. Using those methods,
Elegant Ice (s/s 101) won a nice race at the Vaal on Thursday, taking advantage of a light weight to narrowly stave off Chasing Happiness (s/s 100) in a Pinnacle Sprint. The What a Winter filly is a credit to trainer Lucky Houdalakis. He is a deft and patient horseman, able to nurse horses
Some punters make it pay by compiling Horses to Follow lists and then only backing those that make it onto their “own team” according to set criteria. Maybe the horse has been “missed” by the official handicapper compared to their own private ratings; ran a snappy sectional; earned a surprisingly big speed figure for
The scratching of Melech opened the door for Argo Alley (s/s 101) to win a Pinnacle Stakes at Turffontein on Saturday, though, after making a mid-race move and looking a sure winner, he was all out staving off a determined bid from Callmegetrix (s/s 100.) The son of unheralded stallion Argonaut, has compiled a
Two top quality overseas races recently highlighted the influence of pacemakers. In the Gr 1 Sussex Stakes, Quirat caused a 150/1 boil over by going to the lead – and keeping going to win. And Bir Castle, also a massive 200/1 outsider, went 25 lengths clear in the Gr 1 Juddmonte at York and
Zinovi has done well since moving to the Eastern Cape. An accomplished performer on the Highveld, with a career top speed figure of 103 in a Pinnacle Stakes at Turffontein back in April 2024, he then lost his way somewhat towards the end of 2024. Like so many horses, relocating to the Bay’s milder