Weekend Highlights

Celebrating too soon

“Celebrating too soon” compilations can make for entertaining viewing. Any form of race lends itself to the macabre spectacle of an unsuspecting leader coasting in, convinced of victory, only to get lumbered near the finish. Horse racing has seen many such incidents. In most cases it is simply an error of judgment – even

What to make of these Durban July build up’s?

Defending champ, Dave the King got a perfect set up to win the Gr1 Gold Challenge again, but it was close run thing for the 16/10 favourite. A steady tempo, box seat position from a low draw and a clear run down the Greyville stretch, together with a tenacious finish helped secure a narrow

Individual quirks – and the Tripe Crown debate.

All horses have individual preferences and the challenge for punters is to work out, not only how good each horse is, but the circumstances that suit them best. Form students are familiar with course and distance preferences, or a need for a type of ground, whilst some thoroughbreds display seasonal preferences and might do

Big numbers on the track

Chasing Happiness (s/s 105) ran a career peak to win the Senor Santa Stakes G2. Truth (s/s 101, had run 106 last time) was backed to win but could not get in a blow as the daughter of boom sire Rafeef, blasted away on the stand-side rail. Even though she shifted in under jockey

Direct Hit dazzles!

Direct Hit ran right back to his excellent February figure recorded in the Cape when returning to base at Fairview. He obliterated rivals down the straight, scoring 96 ++ and is one of the best babies seen in SA this season. It will be interesting should trainer Alan Greeff choose to send the Canford

The World is your Oyster

Willie Mullins is a remarkable trainer. He topped multiple previous achievements when saddling 1-2-3 in the Grand National on Saturday at Aintree, with the winner Nick Rockett, ridden by his son, Patrick. Timeform are of the opinion that it was a particularly classy renewal – awarding monster ratings to the winner, runner up I

Wolfden set the betting and social mix just right

Here’s a suggestion -check out Team Wolfden on the internet. Wolfden is a group of super sharp and passionate Aussie gamblers who create You Tube content (podcasts, live stream videos, interviews with renowned bettors, tips using A.I.) with the broad aim of educating punters and forming an online community of enthusiastic horse players. Knowledgeable

“Historians are not prophets…”

“Historians are not prophets” is an apt quote. Being able to make sense of things in hindsight is nowhere near as big of a skill as forecasting or predicting what might happen in future. That said, sometimes, even doing an after-the-event, “post mortem” can be challenging. Conflicting evidence, maybe a lack of accurate data

Cape Derby Day wrap

Eight on Eighteen (s/s 108) did not let supporters down at Kenilworth in the Cape Derby, following up on his sterling victory in the Met over the same course and distance. He was made to fight for the gold gong by stable mate Sail the Seas (s/s 104), whilst Garrix (s/s 101) tired late

Winds of Change makes a strong statement

Winds of Change is a smart, up and coming sprinter. The Azzies’ know a thing or two about training speedballs – just think of their champ, National Currency who earned a speed score of 117 in his prime. Winds of Change ran in the low 90’s at two (a sign of natural talent) and

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