After a few postponements due to dodgy tracks and stormy weather the Grand Series finally took place at Turffontein on Saturday. Legs 1 and 2, together with the Consolation, were all hotly contested races, going down to photo finish verdicts. Soldier On (speed score 93) Tsitsikamma Dance (s/s 97) and Big Mistake (s/s 99)
Domestic racing was limited this weekend to Greyville as there was nothing scheduled for Cape Town and the bulk of the Turffontein meeting got washed out by a dramatic Saturday afternoon thunderstorm. Usually only notable speed figures are highlighted in this newsletter – but the KZN card did not yield anything out of the
Spring is a fun time for racing fans as this is when the better thoroughbreds start coming to the fore. Only a tiny percentage of the horse population will ever be good enough to contest Stakes races and identifying those youngsters improving sharply to be capable of competing at the peak level is part
Classy filly, Rose in Bloom (s/s 93 + has run 104 @ best) made a fluent start to her Highveld Spring campaign when zipping past Rings and Things (s/s 92) in an Assessment Plate at Turffontein. The Gimmethegreenlight filly has only won twice, yet has placed behind quality opposition like Magical Wonderland and Snowdance
Africa Rising is very smart on his day and he duly won a tight Pinnacle Stakes contest (speed score 100 +) over consistent, Arctica (99) before the Turffontein meeting ended prematurely due to a burst water pipe. In the preceding handicap race, Full Of Attitude (s/s 95) romped and looks worth following at the
The most remarkable story this weekend is the winning sequence sustained by Winx. Since May 2015 she has been perfect with 26 Stakes wins in succession, including 19 Group 1’s. I found this quote in Wikipedia most revealing. “Unlike many elite racehorses, Winx does not have a particularly long stride – her stride was
We seldom cover racing from Kimberley which takes place most Monday afternoon’s on the red dirt of Flamingo Park. Having different surfaces and varying strengths of competition provides useful alternatives for horses unable to shape in the major centres on turf or Poly, so Kimberley acts as a convenient outlet. Admittedly, some very weak
Andre Nel runs a sharp training set up for Sabine Plattner and they unveiled a very promising Querari colt, Pleasedtomeetyou at Kenilworth on Saturday. He stretched clear with a good closing burst to record a monster speed figure of 100 on debut – a rare accomplishment. To put the performance in perspective, Pleasedtomeetyou’s closing
Grade 1’s galore boosted excitement at Greyville on Saturday with Return Flight (s/s 96) Soqrat (s/s 95) Will Pays (s/s 98 +) and Captain America (s/s 110) being honoured. 20K bargain Pomodoro filly Return Flight made a race-winning early move under Anton Marcus to lift the Thekwini Stakes for juvenile fillies, then Soqrat proved
Consistent Gimmethgreenlight filly Beataboutthebush (speed score 98) is a proven winner, having scored in close to half her 19 starts and she added the Listed East Cape Paddock Stakes to her resume. It was a close run thing, however as she just got the better of Smokey Affair (s/s 98). The two-time winning runner