The month of September is when the better Gauteng based horses start prepping for the Highveld Spring season. MK’s Pride and Under Your Spell had competed with distinction at the top-level last term and they duly resumed with assured victories at Turffontein. The early pace is Mk Pride’s 1450m race was very slow, so
Both Stakes races over the weekend at Turffontein produced strong performances measured against the clock. An in-form Vaseem (speed score 100) won the Spring Spree for Roy Magner, with three-year-old Elusive Fort filly, Big Burn achieving a top figure of 104 in a close finish to the Ladies Stakes. She has done well previously
There are myriads of ways for arriving at a selection in a horse race. For some, it may be as simple as choosing the best weighted runner, following the top jockey, or picking a course and distance specialist with good recent form. Others may utilize very detailed decision models, aided by computer power and
The Equus Award winners for 2021 were announced during the past week to celebrate the current peak level of thoroughbred performances in South Africa. As usual, some divisions were straight-forward with predictable winners selected unanimously, whilst others must have generated plenty of debate amongst the panelists and caused subsequent controversy/public argument. Regular readers of
A game as multi- facetted and with such a long history as horse racing, is rich in quotes. Entire books could be compiled based on the quirky, wise and significant words spoken by a cross section of personalities that have contributed to the sport’s legacy. Below are a few to enlighten us - or
Knicks Go won the Grade 1 Whitney Stakes at storied Saratoga racetrack on Saturday with a dominant front-running tour-de force. Challengers moved up to him and he looked briefly under siege only to rebreak and draw clear. World class dirt horses with such a running style are very difficult to beat – they make
Jet Dark (speed score 110+) confirmed the merit of his Queen’s Plate victory over high class older horse, Rainbow Bridge, when winning the G1 Champions Cup at Greyville on Saturday at a distance of 1800m. He produced a big finish in the centre of the track to defeat a consistent and gallant contemporary in
There was a slight lull in South African racing this weekend before the important season ending card at Greyville next Saturday where some of SA’s divisional champions get a final chance to confirm their status. Thus, the meeting at Turffontein, Kenilworth and Scottsville featured only bread-and-butter type racing. Punters with an international focus were
The best quality racing was at Kenilworth this weekend where a couple of Grade 3 events were staged for fillies and mares, catering for sprinters and middle-distance horses. Phil’s Dancer (speed figure of 102, finishing ratio 102%) won the Champagne Stakes over 1200m, whilst Pretty Betty (s/s 97, finishing section 103%) took out the
We don’t usually touch on breeding in this betting-orientated newsletter, but the passing of one of the greatest stallions of all time, Galileo is a sad, significant occasion to be marked. Coolmore made this announcement on Saturday, “Regretfully our world-renowned Champion Sire Galileo was put to sleep earlier today on humane grounds owing to