7/10 favourite, One Stripe (s/s 99+) was widely expected to win the Cape Guineas and duly did so from Eight On Eighteen (s/s 98) and Great Plains. The race went off fast early, then slowed in the middling sections, before the closers launched their stretch runs. One Stripe has fantastic acceleration and that proved
The Cape Summer season is getting into full swing and there were some fine performances clocked at Kenilworth on Saturday. Visiting Highveld trainer Clinton Binda won the Bantry Bay Stakes with Ziyasha (s/s 106) under an opportunistic ride by “Sting-Ray” Danielson. He took the free-striding sprinter to the lead, opened a decisive break on
Mon Petit Cherie (s/s 100) received an inspired ride from Richard Fourie to sneak through down the inner and pip Beware the Bomb in the G2 Western Cape Fillies Championships. In a blanket finish, Symphony in White ran third with Gimmie’s Countess another neck back in fourth. The early pace seemed honest enough and
This is an exciting time of the year in SA horse racing as the better horses get underway with their summer campaigns on the Highveld and in the Cape. These horses are apt to run improved numbers which portend strong showings as the season progresses. It can pay to make note of notable early
King Regent took out the three-legged Poly Challenge in the Eastern Cape on Friday, as the 4/10, odds- on favourite. Glen Kotzen’s entry again predictably proved much too strong for the locals having run 106’s on a couple of occasions. It was a strategic piece of race planning by Kotzen to select the Poly Challenge
Gimmie’s Countess (s/s 97 +++) stole the show at Durbanville on Saturday, winning the Diana Stakes (G3) with a performance of rare quality. Trainer Dean Kannemeyer rates her highly on her aptitude at work; did not have much to fear from the older fillies, so expected her to run well despite not being fully
Though the racing was postponed due to extreme weather in KZN, meetings went ahead elsewhere around the country with some good performances noted on the clock in Joburg, Cape Town and EP. Chasing Happiness (s/s 99) hit the top number at Turffontein in winning a sprint from Hierkommiebokkie (s/s 94). But Barbaresco (s/s 98
Whilst there were no Stakes races over the weekend, that did not preclude some Graded quality performances on the speed numbers. Unzen was backed into odds on favourite to win a Pinnacle Stakes at Turffontein on Saturday and went pretty much all the way to score an easy victory. Robbie Sage’s charge is deadly
King Regent (speed score 106) dominated a Poly sprint at Fairview on Friday. It’s rare for such a high number to be recorded in the Eastern Cape but Glen Kotzen (who has his string in great form) extracted a career best out of the five-year-old Dynasty gelding. He will be extremely hard to beat
The winners in various categories of the 2023/24 Equus Awards were announced in Cape Town on Thursday evening. It’s a forum to take stock of what constitutes thoroughbred excellence in South Africa. The panel uses various criteria to distinguish between the nominees and preserve for posterity the achievements of the elite. As regular readers