One of the most exciting things for all participants in racing is unearthing new talent. Trainer Stuart Pettigrew is developing one such up and coming sprinter, Vars Vicky to become hot property on the Highveld. This three year- old Var gelding out of Captain Al mare, Seminole was bred by Gary Player Stud, and
Malmoos (speed figure 107) is on track to win the SA Triple Crown after producing a career best in the second leg – the SA Classic over 1800m at Turffontein. Apart from an aberration in the Cape Guineas, this son of Captain Al has won all of his six other starts, repeatedly attaining figures
If ever a horse deserved a breakthrough win, after four consecutive close seconds in feature races, it was Linebacker. And he duly got his just reward in the G1 Cape Derby when comprehensively out-finishing all rivals. Despite being by a speed sire Captain of All, Linebacker proved he loves 2000m, earning an excellent speed
Malmoos (speed figure 102) and War of Athena (s/s 100) won their respective G2 Guineas races at Turffontein to confirm excellent past performances against the best of their contemporaries. The former was well handled by Luke Ferraris in the colts’ version to race handy then, despite hanging, stave off the jinking stretch run of
One of the major developments for modern horseplayers is being able to watch and get a bet on all around the world. This past weekend there was big jump racing in the UK, lucrative prizes in Saudi and G1 fare in Hong Kong to complement the usual local meetings and Australian/Singapore/U.S.A menus. 20/1 shot
The strong Guineas meeting that we were looking forward to at Turffontein was postponed till next weekend due to heavy rains, leaving Kenilworth as the stand- alone card. The best two performances were saved till last – Speed Machine (speed figure 97) and Irish Morning (s/s 99) were heavily backed favourites that won Races
Rainbow Bridge (speed figure 114) added to his excellent record in the Met (won in 2019, 2nd in 2020) by coming from last and overcoming a traffic squeeze to win it again this year. Favoured, Belgarion (s/s 112) had also made a big move from the back of the field and looked a winner
Second Base came from the back of the field with a smooth run to take the Sea Cottage Stakes, a Grade 3 at Turffontein. He has run as high as 101 before and sidled in with a figure of 96 ++ this time. Other than dipping out in his second career start, behind Copper
One of the biggest gambles in racing is buying a horse. It takes a real leap of faith to spend significant sums of loot on an untried yearling based purely on pedigree and appearance/conformation. Buyers with hefty budgets try boost the chances in their favour by focusing only on the best- bred youngsters without
Running Brave (speed score 104), War of Athena (s/s 104) and Catch Twentytwo (s/s 101) make it on to our highlights reel for the past weekend, after putting up notable performances at Turffontein. Running Brave is an inexpensive Brave Tin Soldier mare trained now by Frank Bronkhorst. She is a very game pace- forcer