Weekend Highlights

Astrix could be headed for better things….

Astrix (by Vercingetorix) took out a Pinnacle Stakes over 1600m at Turffontein in impressive style, recording a fine speed figure of 103. Placed fourth behind Ikigai in the G2 Gauteng Guineas earlier this year, he is a talented miler with upside potential. Fired Up (s/s 102) ran second in receipt of 4 kg’s –

Staying perfect in the Spring-time…

Some quality performances heralded the start of spring around the country with Captain’s Ransom (speed figure 105), Eden Roc (s/s 105 +) Anything Goes (s/s 104 +) War of Athena (s/s 103) and Mount Pleasant (s/s 101) all winning smart races. Captain’s Ransom produced a swift finishing burst to nab Cloud’s Unfold in the

Big bombs dropping in Britain

UK racing journo, Ben Linfoot recently wrote an entertaining article in the Sporting Life, entitled, “The Year of the Long Shot.” Generally, between 4 and 9 horses per annum at odds over 100/1 win races in Britain but in 2020 already 15 have stunned the public. What has lead to such an unprecedented sequence

Who’s the best in the whole, wide World?

Diligently researched ranking lists are useful, albeit inevitably controversial, ways to measure racing ability around the world. The thoughtful team at excellent website thoroughbredracing.com led by super-sussed analyst James Willoughby, are constantly updating their TRC Global Horse Rankings. Their current Top Ten looks like this, (in descending order): Enable, Ghaiyyath, Maximum Security, Stradivarius, Almond

Authentic bowls them over in the Derby

Bohica (s/s 102 +) overcame an extremely wide transit to win the Spring Spree Stakes @ Turffontein on Saturday. This son of Cape Town Noir has found form, pairing good score of 104 and now 102 at his most recent starts. He was chased home by Alramz (s/s 100) who tried gamely but lacked

All that glitters on Gold Cup day

The saying “things happen in threes” had unusual relevance in the 2020 Gold Cup when the three longest shots in a full field ran 1-2-3 around the Greyville circuit and held that order right to the finish, triggering a record quartet dividend of over 700K! Paths of Victory (traded at 100/1 on Interbet) went

A biased track plays like an uneven roulette wheel

It pays to take special heed of a biased track, as conditions are affected after plenty of rain. That was the case at Kenilworth on Saturday, with the inside portion of the sprint course lengths quicker than the middle/outside, and handy types suited in races around the turns. Gainsford (s/s 83 +) set the

Double trouble for the bookies

Catch TwentyTwo achieved a neat figure of 95 when winning at Turffontein on Saturday at only his third start. Jockey Craig Zackey positioned the Elusive Fort gelding in the box seat before making an early move past game, pace- setting Red Ten (s/s 91). They went on to win fluently - with further improvement

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