20201125 - Sporting Post Sprint Ver 1.3

Wednesday 25 November 2020 v

Thril er!

MJ…

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The Oppenheimers – 51 Years Later? v

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Candiese Lenferna

OUR NATIONAL DISH!

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Notwithstanding the fact that she will have to overcome a wide draw while making her first appearance in open company, Horse of the Year Summer Pudding tops the boards for Saturday’s World Sports Betting Gr1 Gauteng Summer Cup at Turffontein.

That sounds like a lifetime ago.

The latest champion to emerge from the Mauritzfontein paddocks, last season’s Triple Tiara queen races for Jessica Jell, the grandaughter of the stud’s founders, the late Harry and Bridget Oppenheimer.

It resurfaced 14 years later in 2001 as the Summer Cup, since which Mauritzfontein has come closest to lifting the tropy when Irish import Cascapedia ran third two years ago.

Still unbeaten, Summer Pudding has won all eight starts in the famed Oppenheimer silks carried with distinction by the winners of virtually every major South African stakes race. That enviable record includes 16 winners of the SA Oaks, eight SA Derby winners, five Durban July winners (their 1992 winner Spanish Galliard won in the colours of part-owner Guy Nicholson) and two Met winners!

Remarkably, the 2000m Turffontein showpiece race has become an elusive prize of late, for no Oppenheimer colour bearer has graced the winner’s box since Anchorage won the then Johannesburg Summer Handicap in 1969, all of 51 years ago.

However, it must be remembered that the immensely popular race disappeared from the racing programme after the 1987 running when known as the Sun International.

Should she succeed on Saturday, Summer Pudding will continue the fine record of her sire Silvano.

The now retired Maine Chance champion already has three Summer Cup winners to his name.

Aslan was the first, winning the 2009 race in a thrilling four-way finish.

Twelve months later, Flirtation made it back-to-back wins for her sire, in an all-female finish.

Runner-up Mother Russia, racing in the silks of the Oppenheimers’ daughter Mary Slack, denied Silvano a unique trifecta, considering he also sired Rudi Rocks (third) and Aslan (fourth). Silvano broke a nine-year draught in last year’s renewal when

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he sired not just the winner Zillzaal, but also third-placed Al Mutawakel, both of which are owned and were bred by Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum’s Al Adiyaat.

Members of the fairer sex have been no strangers to Summer Cup success in recent times. Flirtation succeeded the victory of champion grey Ilha Da Vittoria, who claimed the race in 2005 in the silks of the Oppenheimers’ daughter Mary Slack after running third in 2004.

Six years later in 2011, another champion Dancewiththedevil joined Ilha Da Vittoria and Flirtation as the third female winner with a powerful last-to-first victory.

That Summer Pudding has taken trainer Paul Peter on a heady journey would be an understatement.

On Saturday, the darling of the turf faces probably her sternest test to date and there is little doubt that the whole country will be shouting her home.

Cover Image: ‘‘Gr2 World Sports Betting Dingaans raiding trainer MJ Odendaal” - Image courtesy of Candiese Lenferna

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MJ

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Hoping For A Thril er!

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A son of Elusive Fort, the lightly raced Shavout takes on the likes of Mike de Kock’s undefeated multiple stakes winner, Mount Pleasant.

MJ stresses that his team is travelling to Turffontein with every respect for the opposition.

“They are world-class trainers. I have ridden big race winners for most of them. If anybody knows how good they are, it should be me!”

The charismatic Hollywoodbets-sponsored trainer told the Sporting Post that his charge, an eyecatching runner-up in the recent Listed Model Man Mile, had

earned his chance to take on the better horses of his generation.

“Look, I’m not going to Joburg pushing my chest out bragging that we are going to take on the best and beat them. I think our horse is top class, but I realise that on the ratings and, based on what the likes of Mount Pleasant has shown to date, we have our work cut out. He is also drawn wide. But Marco van Rensburg has ridden him in work this week and he is happy with him. He will ride Shavout to run second – we will see what happens

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from there,” he smiled broadly.

He describes Shavout as an athletic youngster, who is a dead ringer for his handsome Dad, Elusive Fort.

“Find a photograph of Elusive Fort at Turffontein in the SA Derby 14 years ago. It’s that eye – that face!” he says enthusiastically.

As regards his travel plans for the weekend, MJ explains that one of the best transporters in the game will be travelling his charge to Turffontein.

Candiese Lenferna

In his first full season as a trainer, former champion jockey MJ Odendaal travels the long road into the Turffontein tiger tank on Saturday to take on some of the great conditioners he once rode big race winners for. The pony-tailed 52 year old says his maiden Gr2 runner is both a momentous and humbling occasion for him and his team as he saddles Shavout for owner Luis Cunha in the World Sports Betting Gr2 Dingaans on WSB Summer Cup day.

Candiese Lenferna

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Candiese Lenferna

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as a jockey and can feel his injuries in cold weather.

He says that his assistant, Brahm Malherbe, who is more of a ‘horse person’ than a ‘people person’, is the cornerstone of his yard.

“He is older and wiser than me. A top man. He worked for Paul Peter looking after their babies. Uncle Brahm is meticulous and is brilliant with legs. You want to try and keep the vet bills as low as possible, and he is an absolute genius with that. “

Candiese Lenferna

“Depending on the individual horse, there are various theories of travel – and most work for the particular horse. Top man John Fox will travel with my loyal Grooms Mr Rasta and Shorty. I will either be with them or following in my own vehicle. We have all the logistics planned – our own water and vacuum packed food. He will arrive at Turffontein in the early hours of Saturday morning. And then he will just be walked and we will count down to the Dingaans,” he adds excitedly, explaining further that Shavout is relaxed and is likely to have a good night’s sleep on the road.

“My horses are like me – they sleep well. And it is like travelling on a train!”

MJ currently has 35 horses in training at Summerveld and chose the world-class centre for its warmer climes as he suffered some bad falls

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It was reported recently that MJ felt goosebumps last year when shown his new stables by Summerveld manager Tony Rivalland, as he had a flashback to the day he was sent to the very same yard to meet his first boss, Brian Cherry.

Cherry’s first words to him were:”So you’re the little Dutchman are you?

Stick with me and I will make you famous.”

MJ was crowned South African champion jockey in the 2004/5 season and later made a remarkable comeback. Modesty stops him from dwelling on his falls, injuries and the miraculous comeback, which saw him add two more Gr1 SA Derby’s to his CV with Wylie Hall and Seal.

A former amateur bush rider, the youngster who grew up in Amsterdam in Mpumalanga, arrived at the South African Jockey Academy in the early 1980’s hardly able to speak a word of English. But he was full of confidence, having booted home five winners in his last bush meeting before joining the Academy.

Today he is a Hollywoodbets sponsored trainer and is proud of his association with the purple team.

On the subject of glitz and glamour, what will he be wearing when he comes up against the likes of fashion giants like Paul Peter and Mike de Kock in the Turffontein parading ring on Saturday?

“Is there a fashion theme? Surely not,

Candiese Lenferna

“A perfectionist and true professional, their Racing Ambassador Anthony Delpech is my good friend. But I’d like to believe that I cracked the nod as a Hollywoodbets sponsored trainer for more than the fact that I was his best man at his wedding! We need to bring colour and fun back into racing and I want to do my bit to contribute the reincarnation of this great game.”

during these times? But my suit is a cross between suburban and a pirate look! I’d like to think that I will be looking more like Johnny Depp than an

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Englishman in New York. But hey, this is all about Shavout!”

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2020 CTS Ready To Run and Mixed Sale

WHY NOT TAKE A

A powerful sire index will again be the pillar of strength at this coming Sunday’s 2020 CTS Ready To Run and Mixed Sale, which went live on the gavelhouse.com website on Monday.

Two Dynasty colts are on offer, and the likes of Gimmethegreenlight, Captain Of All, Duke Of Marmalade, Futura, Master Of My Fate, Pomodoro, Querari, Vercingetorix, VAR, What A Winter, Trippi and Twice Over are well represented.

The sale will be staged for the first time online, in conjunction with gavelhouse.com, who displayed their efficiency and technical know-how in clear terms, with their handling of the

Klawervlei Farm Sale earlier this year.

Haylie Martin, General Manager of gavelhouse.com, commented:

“After the staggering success of the Klawervlei auction back in July, we are looking forward to partnering with the Cape Thoroughbred Sales team and their vendors. We have been running online auctions for over four-and-ahalf-years now, and pride ourselves on the user-friendly system we have developed.Just last month we broke the online auction record price with the sale of Spanish Whisper for AUD$1,202,500, showing just how widely accepted this method of trading is these days.”

Grant Knowles, Marketing and Blood-

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stock Director of CTS, said: “After showing what online thoroughbred auctions can achieve with its ease of access, to-the-second bidding, and a new dimension of spirited online rivalry, we have vendors and buyers behind us for this year’s renewal of the sale.”

Knowles noted:

“The vendors’ levy of R3,000 and the buyers’ levy of R5,000 – for all horses sold – will be going towards the stake money for the 2021 Ready To Run Stakes, for which we ultimately expect a prize of in excess of R1-million.”

The long, illustrious list of CTS R2R graduates includes the likes of Gr1 winners Captain America, Red Ray,

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LOT

Rabada, Brave Mary, Hero’s Honour, Takingthepeace, Always In Charge, Brutal Force, Liege, French Navy, and the recent Gr1 Kennedy Cantala winner at Flemington, Surcharge (Yulong Prince).

Big names among the list of graded stakes winners include Fort Ember, High Seas Beauty, Crowd Pleaser, Africa Rising, The Thinker, Majestic Mambo, Search Party, Ten Gun Salute and Champagne Haze.

Amanda Carey, Sales Director of CTS, commented: “Buyers card applications have opened and we encourage buyers not to delay in sending applications

through to us, to ensure that they receive their login details timeously.”

She asked that prospective buyers please register through Cape Thoroughbred Sales directly.

Forms are available on the website; or contact Amanda Carey on 082 465 4020 or amanda@cthbs.com.

Bidding opens today – but please click

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on the Gavelhouse website here to see the videos and pics

Read a lot by lot snapshot: please click on www.sportingpost.co.za

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Lot 163 c. Gimmethegreenlight ex Miss Mischief

RIDGEMONT

ARE READY TO RUN

“Our Ready To Run entries are neat and strong,” says Craig Carey of Ridgemont Highlands.

many of the Twice Overs, but she has a touch of class, one worth waiting for if you want to win bigger races.”

“We have seven consigned, they’re all nice and that’s important to us,” he added.

• Lot 100 f. Flower Alley – Vol De Nuit

In Lot order, Craig’s comments are below: • Lot 84 f. Duke Of Marmalade – Royal Trip “A scopy type of filly by Duke Of Marmalade from Royal Trip, a Listed winner. This is her second foal.”

• Lot 86 f. Twice Over – Sassy Sal “Lot 86 is a first foal we named Over Two You, sired by Twice Over from Sassy Sal, by High Chapparal. She has a good international pedigree. She’s a scopy sort, may take some time like

“A nice Flower Alley filly from Vol De Nuit, by Silvano. We’ve seen the Flower Alley’s starting to perform well around the country, some of them take time but this one looks like she’ll come quick.

We like her.”

• Lot 111 f. Duke Of Marmalade – Avilda “A neat and strong filly called By Royal Command. She’s from Avilda (Jallad), the multiple Listed winner. She moves well.”

• Lot 112 f. Jackson – Baltia “A Jackson filly, big and string with plenty of scope. She’s from Baltia, by VAR, from the close family of Mother Russia

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and Winter Solstice. The first foal of a mare we’re expecting a lot from.”

• Lot 153 c. Coup De Grace – Lavish Girl “Equerry is a grey colt by Coup De Grace from multiple winner Lavish Girl. The Coup De Grace offspring have shown that they are middle distance horses, not sprinters and it may just be a question of time before he proves himself. This is a good mover, expected to come to hand over middle distances.”

• Lot 163 c. Gimmethegreenlight – Miss Mischief “A very strong colt by Gimmethegreenlight from Miss Mischief,

by Qui Danzig, who has produced several multiple winners. He has good looks and should come to hand early.”

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SOETENDAL Simply Seeking Stars!

Soetendal’s Julia Pilbeam enjoyed a busy weekend with the second of the gallops sessions on Friday for the CTS Ready To Run horses, a massive win for the farm on Saturday, and her birthday on Sunday!

The weekend of celebration began when the R1,25 million De Grendel CTS Ready To Run Stakes was won by the Vaughan Marshall-trained Seeking The Stars, a Vercingetorix colt pretrained and sold by Soetendal Estate off the 2019 CTS Ready To Run Sale.

“We were so excited for Rikesh Sewgoolam, Klawervlei Stud and the Vaughan Marshall team winning the De Grendel CTS RTR Sales Race on Saturday. The magnificent colt was prepared by Soetendal on behalf of

Klawervlei Stud for last year’s CTS Ready to Run sale. We believe you can find the winner of next year’s race on our draft the Gavelhouse website is online now,” enthused Julia.

She has 27 horses on the 2020 CTS Ready To Run, Unbroken 2 Year Old & Mixed Sale under the Soetendal Estate banner, including a trio that were prepped on behalf of Lammerskraal (Lots 16, 17 & 52) Some past Soetendal Estate graduates: • One World (10 wins in 14 starts including Gr1 Sun Met, now standing at Stud at Drakenstein) • Belgarion (Gr1 Vodacom Durban July winner, Gr2 WSB 1900 winner and voted ‘Horse Of The Season’)

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• Rainbow Bridge (8 time winner - including Gr1 Sun Met, Gr1 Gold Cup Challenge, Gr1 Champions Cup) • Erik The Red (6 time winner incl.

Gr2 Cape Merchants, Gr2 Umkhomazi Stakes and Cape Champion Juvenile Male Award) • Southern Charm (2 time winner from 5 starts) • Due Diligence (Gr3 Starling Stakes winner) • Drama Queen (3 time winner) • Invisible (2 time winner) • Cornish Pomodoro (Summer Cup runner – 2 wins from 6 starts)

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What a Cherry (What a Winter - Cherry Orchard)- Half sister to 2019 Sales topper Track Commander.

Her comments on the Soetendal consignment are: • Lot 7 c. Whatever Next (What A Winter - Petala): Out of the Gr3 winning (at 2) daughter of Captain Al, Petala, this What A Winter colt is built to sprint, with an incredible hindquarter and gaskin.

He has an economical, daisy-cutting action to go with it.

• Lot 14 f. Unnamed (Gimmethegreenlight - Rubicat): This filly has good rein, girth and hindquarter, together with an excellent action; out of a Storm Cat mare, she comes from a very strong female line.

• Lot 15 f. Unnamed (Captain Of All - Rubybay): Out of a half-sister to top racehorse and sire, Seventh Rock, this strong, well-grown filly just oozes class. She looks early and has shown good work.

• Lot 23 f. Alula’s Star (Red Ray Solar Voyager): This filly is a lovely type. Very precocious and exceptionally quick, she has

thrived through her preparation.

• Lot 26 f. Masters Queen (Master Of My Fate - Tamora): Half-sister to recent Sophomore Sprint (Listed) winner, Speed Machine, by the sire of recent Grade 1 winner Sentbydestiny, this filly is very racy and quick.

• Lot 28 c. Unnamed (Captain Of All Tresco): A well-grown colt with tremendous scope, and a beautiful mover.

• Lot 29 c. Konindoda (What A Winter - Upon A Dream): Classy colt with a plenty of scope who works well, he will keep on improving as he matures.

• Lot 33 c. Global Vista (Global View Alexis): First foal of multiple Gr 2 winner, Alexis, this colt is athletic and has a lot of class.

• Lot 35 c. Unnamed (Trippi - All for U): Out of a full sister to top racehorse Lizarre, this is an impressive colt who will continue to improve.

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• Lot 38 c. The Futurist (Futura Black Mischief): A real classic prospect with a ground-covering stride that reminds you of his sire – this is a November foal and will only improve from here on.

• Lot 39 f. Unnamed (Var - Butterfly Kisses): A compact sprinting machine, this filly is very precocious and quick, with a host of black type horses in her pedigree. She has substance and a deep girth and has just flourished through her prep.

• Lot 41 c. Unnamed (Coup De Grace - Consequentially): Out of a half-sister to Just Sensual, and from a very strong damline which includes Consensual, Dance Along, Give Me Five and Myfunnyvalentine, this colt has looked like a racehorse from day one. He’s tough and very racy.

• Lot 43 c. Unnamed (Pomodoro Dayla):

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From the family of Hinterland, this colt has a good action and is exceptionally athletic.

• Lot 48 c. Unnamed (Coup De Grace - Estimation): This colt’s dam is a black type Distorted Humor mare from a family packed with top class black type performers. This beautifully topped colt has improved hand over fist during his preparation and shown us excellent work.

• Lot 51 f. Unnamed (Trippi Fearbuster): From a family with plenty of speed, this strong, deep-girthed filly moves effortlessly and has come on beautifully through her preparation.

• Lot 56 c. Unnamed ( Captain Of All - Glorious Moment): A scopy son of Captain of All with excellent rein; he walks very well, has a good hindquarter, and is an equally good mover on the track.

• Lot 58 c. Unnamed (Dynasty Hadarama): Exciting opportunity to purchase a Dynasty colt. This colt has good rein and topline; he’s a strong colt, very honest and straightforward and could be anything.

• Lot 60 f. Bellevarde (Master Of My Fate - High Season): Out of a half-sister to My Lord Duke,

from the family of London Season and Crown Estate, this filly shows a very good action and has an excellent temperament.

• Lot 63 c. Incredibill (William Longsword - I Lived): This impeccably bred son of William Longsword is out of a half-sister to Vercingetorix, and looks the part, he’s a strong, muscular yet racy colt.

• Lot 68 c. Power of Will (William Longsword - Margaret Court): A tall, leggy colt with a big action; out a half sister to Silicone Valley, and the half-brother to three winners.

• Lot 71 f. Mounia (Rafeef - Modern Muse): Out of a winning Encosta de Lago mare, this is a classy filly and she’s caught the eye with her work so far.

• Lot 73 f. Demelza (Rafeef - My Claire): Beautifully put-together filly from the first crop of talking horse Rafeef, she floats down the track and looks as though she has the scope to be more than a pure sprinter.

• Lot 117 f. What A Cherry (What A Winter - Cherry Orchard): A half-sister to last year’s sale topper, this powerful filly stands over ground and is very racy.

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• Lot 159 f. Unnamed (Gimmethegreenlight - Magnolia Lane): A half-sister to Irish Champion, Torcedor, from the family of Yeats (IRE) and Solskjaer (IRE), this beautifully bred filly already has tremendous paddock value. She’s correct with a lot of quality about her.

On behalf of Lammerskraal Stud: • Lot 16 f. Sister Light (Visionaire Salita): A half-sister to Tambalang, by the sire of Takingthepeace, this is a quality filly with a lot of scope, stands over ground, superb temperament.

• Lot 17 c. African Fate (Master Of My Fate - Savannah Air): The complete package, an impressive, well-grown colt with a good shoulder, deep girth and powerful hindquarter, with a fluent action. Dam’s first and only runner so far won on debut recently.

• Lot 52 f. Final Stroke (Coup De Grace - Flaming Flower): This is a big filly with plenty of substance, good rein, and an excellent, workmanlike attitude towards her work. From a strong black type family, all the dam’s runners are multiple winners.

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Chase Liebenberg

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Malmoos stoms to victory under Luke Ferraris

Malmoos

Is Flying Concorde!

Mike de Kock’s Graham Beck Stakes winner Malmoos overcame the rigours of the long road trip from Randjesfontein to Milnerton to maintain his unbeaten record in four starts record, in the process registering a good Cape Guineas prep, to win the R175 000 Avontuur Estate Gr2 Concorde Cup at a sunny Kenilworth on Saturday.

A race that was known as the Selangor Cup up to 2017, and historically dominated by the powerful local yards, the rampant Malmoos bucked the trend in the famous blue and white silks of Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoun to win well under SA Champion Apprentice, Luke Ferraris.

ture odds-on shot to score on the trot, and won more easily than his half length margin would suggest.

The son of Captain Al clocked 97,69 secs for the mile and had the Marshall Cape Classic placed duo of Linebacker (12-1) and Rascallion (11-2) in his wake.

Dean Kannemeyer’s Silvano’s Timer (rated 88 and priced at 16-1) ran a decent fourth and 2,25 lengths off the winner after staying on up the straight.

The Merits Malmoos had his rating raised from 110 to 114 following his success in the Gr2 Avontuur Estate Concorde Cup.

Ferraris would have gained dual enjoyment from the victory as he is sponsored by Avontuur, who have made a welcome, albeit low-key, return to Cape feature race sponsorship.

The Handicappers took the unanimous view that third placed Rascallion made for the best line horse which leaves his rating unchanged on 109, however, runner-up Linebacker was raised from 109 to 112.

A colt described as ‘the real deal’ by his trainer, Malmoos was the second fea-

There were also increases for several other horses. Fourth placed Silvano’s

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Bred on the same Captain Al/Fort Wood cross as Gr1 winners Captain America and William Longsword, the Varsfontein-bred Malmoos is by Captain Al (Al Mufti) out of the Spook Express Handicap winner Justthewayyouare, a half-sister to Varsfontein’s boom sire Master Of My Fate.

The second top lot at R4,4 million off the 2019 Emperors Palace National Yearling Sale, Malmoos has now earned R272 100.

Timer is up from 88 to 108, Hoedspruit goes from 95 to 107, Noir’s Boy was raised from 90 to 101, and My Bestie is up from 90 to 96.

The only ratings drop was for Ashford Castle, who is down from 94 to 91.

Incidentally, it is worth noting that the three highest rated horses in this line-up occupied the first three places.

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Chase Liebenberg

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Richard Fourie steers Erik The Red to a scintillating win

Red Light Spells

DANGER

On another memorable day for the Varsfontein team, Justin Snaith and Richard Fourie placed the cherry on the cake with a scintillating win by the 3yo Erik The Red, who demonstrated the vintage of the current sophomore crop when he powered to an impressive victory in the Cape Thoroughbred Sales Gr2 Cape Merchants at Kenilworth on Saturday.

After Malmoos’ scintillating Guineas prep in the Gr2 Concorde Cup a half hour earlier, it was another Varsfontein bred 3yo son of our late stakes centurion Captain Al, who set the turf alight in dazzling style.

Starting a 2-1 favourite under his handy 52kgs, but still technically a kilo and a half kilo under sufferance, the award-winning Erik The Red, who looks to have some exciting stuff in store this summer, came from off the pace under an oozing with confidence Richard Fourie, and underscored his liking for the Kenilworth 1200m with a dashing three quarter length victory in a time of 71,35 secs.

Snaith and Fourie won this race in 2018 with subsequent Equus Champion Kasimir – dare we says, another son of the great Captain!

It was a win full of merit and character after Erik The Red’s 12 week break

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following his Gr2 Umkhomazi Stakes success at Hollywoodbets Greyville.

In a notable race for the Snaith’s, the winner’s stablemate Rio Querari (3-1) ran second, while the third of the champion yard’s trio, Captain Tatters (13-2) was a commendable 1,45 length fifth.

Raced and bred by the in-form Varsfontein team, the winner is, as we have repeated in due tribute, another smart son of deceased champion Captain Al (Al Mufti) out of the 2011 Gr1 Majorca Stakes victress and seven-time winner Covenant (Western Winter) – a half-sister to the Gr1 placed dam of Vinery Stud’s

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Breeders’ Cup-winning sire Pluck as well as to the champion dam of Varsfontein’s very promising Jet Master stallion Master Of My Fate.

Erik The Red has won 6 races with 2 places from 9 starts for stakes of R551 625.

The Stipes reported: In a tightly bunched field, Rio Querari

(G van Niekerk) and Third Runway (M Winnaar) brushed leaving the 450m.

At the 250m Rio Querari (G van Niekerk) shifted in slightly and brushed the hindquarters of Point Of Sale (G Cheyne) which was momentarily unbalanced.

At the 250m Elusive Trader (A Andrews) was tightened for galloping room between Fabian (A Domeyer) and World Your Oyster (S Mbhele) and as a

consequence Fabian (A Domeyer) and Elusive Trader (A Andrews) brushed on two occasions.

Worlds Your Oyster was found not striding out right hind.

Ready Steady Go was reported to have made an abnormal respiratory noise.

The Merits

The winner had his rating raised from 107 to 114 after he captured the Gr2 sprint feature over 1200m at Kenilworth on Saturday. The solitary three-year-old in a field of 12, Erik The Red was 3 pounds or 1,5 kgs under sufferance at the weights, which is partly the reason for the seven pound hike in his rating.

Fourth placed Cartel Captain and

fifth finisher Captain Tatters were both used as line horses here, which leaves their ratings unchanged on 109 and 107, respectively.

Runner-up Rio Querari was raised from 107 to 108, while third placed Constable (who, like the winner, was 3 pounds or 1.5 kgs under sufferance, was raised from 97 to 101.

There were no other increases from this event, however, four horses were given a ratings’ drop. Elusive Trader is down from 102 to 100, Cabo Da Cruz drops from 103 to 101, Fabian is down to 113 from 116, and lastly Worlds Your Oyster was trimmed from 91 to 90.

PURE PRIDE! Here’s an inspirational story about a lifelong dream that has become a reality for owner Koos Nkale.

The new owner struck gold with the first horse he has ever owned when the Paul Peter-trained MK’s Gold won a thriller of a finish to the Bloodstock South Africa R900 000 Peermont Emperors Palace Ready To Run Cup at Turffontein on 31 October.

Click here to watch a great story

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Chase Liebenberg

Stars In Our Eyes!

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Louis Mxothwa and Seeking The Stars bank the big money Vaughan Marshall’s smashing Vercingetorix colt Seeking The Stars confirmed his status as one of the Cape’s most progressive 3yo’s when he toyed with his hapless opposition to celebrate his biggest payday at Kenilworth on Saturday, storming clear to win the R1,25 million De Grendel CTS Ready To Run Stakes in good style.

The 1400m non black-type contest was restricted to eligible graduates of the 2018 CTS Ready To Run Sales, and at level weights – the girls get 2,5kgs off – the race looked a benefit, on paper anyway, for the Marshall Gr3 Cape Classic winner.

And after a disrupted start – Bowie and Northern Song were sprung from the outside bank of stalls while the field were still loading – Louis Mxothwa and Seeking The Stars (9-10) never looked back as they strode clear in the home straight to beat the only horse really staying on in the Flower Alley filly Lemon Delight (12-1) by 5,50 lengths in a time 84,54 secs.

Sean Tarry’s grey Willow Express (101) was there for a long way but faded to 6,25 lengths in third, with Blingking

(30-1) a further 1,50 lengths back in fourth.

The winner’s stablemate Spiritual Wind (22-1) was the last of the finishers to bank a cheque – the son of Zoffany received R24 000 for his eighth place.

Seeking The Stars, who races in the Ricky Sewgoolam orange and dark blue flag, was bred by Klawervlei Stud and is by Vercingetorix (Silvano) out of the three-time winning Count Dubois mare Schism, who won up to 2200m.

Yearling Sale and has now earned R747 000 with his third win and two places from six starts.

While this was a restricted race, he looks bound to go on and take his place in the Cape Guineas next month.

It could be a big week for winning jockey Louis Mxothwa. He rides Atyaab for Zietsman Oosthuizen and the Viljoens in the WSB Gr1 Gauteng Summer Cup at Turffontein next Saturday.

He cost R1 million on the 2019 Cape

The Merits

Seeking The Stars had his rating raised from 112 to 117 after he ran away with the De Grendel CTS Ready To Run Stakes for three-year-olds over 1400m at Kenilworth on Saturday.

It was runner-up Lemon Delight who was used as the line horse, which leaves her rating unchanged on 101, but 3rd placed Willow Express was raised from 95 to 104, a mark he had already achieved twice previously, first in the Gr2 Golden Horseshoe in July and then again behind ultra-promising Forever Mine in a graduation plate in October (where his

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rating could not be increased because placed horses in plate races cannot be adjusted upwards.)

There were also increases for 4th placed Blingking, who goes from 84 to 94, 5th finisher La Luvia, who is up from 87 to 94, and for Spriritual Wind, who is up from 89 to 91. The only drop was for Ballroom Bliss who is down from 96 to 94.

JC Photos

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S’manga Khumalo steers Gee For Go to victory ahead of Miss Elegance (Piere Strydom)

GO BLING GO

Former SA Champion jockey S’manga ‘Bling’ Khumalo had to wait through a long and frustrating day, punctuated with light rain, at Turffontein on Saturday. But his patience was rewarded when he bagged the feature with the consistent Paul Matchett filly Gee For Go proving too strong in the R100 000 Gr3 Fillies Mile.

A small field faced the starter, with recent Starling Stakes winner Due Diligence starting a weak 3-1 second favourite, ahead of the 11-10 Caralluma.

running and it wasn’t her days as she was also found to be not striding out left fore.

The pacesetter Cloth Of Ice suffered a bilateral epistaxis and was suspended for 120 days, Bred by Nadeson Park, the winner is by Gimmethegreenlight (More Than Ready) out of the one-time winning Fort Wood mare, Nunavik.

Gee For Go was sold under the name Green Harmony and purchased for R120 000 at the BSA 2019 KZN Yearling Sale by Roy Wentzel.

A winner of 2 races with 6 places from 8 starts, Gee For Go has now earned R171 500.

She looks likely to go further than the mile.

The Merits

Gee For Go had her rating raised from 104 to 106 after she won the Gr3 Fillies Mile.

in a short space of time, it was felt that it would be entirely appropriate to give them identical ratings.

This race was run in steady rain.

The Handicappers were faced with a very awkward race to assess here and opted to use the winner to rate the event, but raised her to 106 to make her the equal of 3rd placed Due Diligence, who had Gee For Go behind her when winning the Gr3 Starling Stakes on the same course three weeks earlier.

Runner-up Miss Elegance was raised from 91 to 102, 4th finisher Castle Durrow is up from 88 to 90, while Paton’s Tears is up from 85 to 88 to keep her in line with Castle Durrow, who beat her by one length (or two pounds.) There were no ratings drops for any runner in this event.

Lyle Hewitson reported that the fancied Caralluma choked up in the

Given that the two have beaten each other in Gr3 events for three-year-old fillies

After stalking the pacesetting Cloth Of Ice (14-1) all the way around, Gee For Go (5-1) took command halfway down the home straight and despite shifting away from the crop in the latter stages, had enough in hand to beat the pressing Miss Elegance (11-1) by a length in a time of 99,85 secs.

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Algoa Cup v

Fairview’s Finest The Algoa Cup race meeting at Fairview this Friday will be run on the Polytrack circuit following a recent inspection of the turf track by racing and track management and several trainers.

Strydom, who has Onesie representing him on Friday, in fact saddled Surfin’ USA, the last hometown winner of the race, when steered home by his brother, Piere.

It had been hoped to resume racing on the turf surface this Friday after unseasonal cold weather retarded grass growth and delayed the scheduled

resumption of turf racing last month following the track’s annual spring treatment.

The turf surface has come on in leaps and bounds since and is generally in excellent condition, but problem areas remain in spite of track staff’s best efforts to stimulate growth in these sections.

The inspection team unanimously agreed that because of these affected areas the track is not yet safe race for racing and it has been decided to only resume racing on the turf surface from 1 January next year.

Pauline Herman

Two Western Cape raiders, the Candice Bass-Robinson trained Majestic Mozart who will carry top weight in the race, and trainer Andre Nel’s Silver De Lange, will contest the R 85 000 Listed Algoa Cup to be run over 2000m on the Fairview Polytrack on Friday. The race was run last year for a stake of R350 000 – a fact that speaks volumes about state of our current stakes levels!

Eastern Cape champion trainer Alan Greeff has three runners in the race and Gavin Smith and Montana Turner two each.

Sharon Kotzen and Jacques Strydom, are the other local trainers that will be trying for the first East Cape victory since 2009.

Onesie can give the Strydom team a historic victory!

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Chase Liebenberg

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Erik The Red is led in by Team Varsfontein after his big win

The Future Is Here!

Saturday’s thoroughly impressive Cape Thoroughbred Sales Gr2 Cape Merchants winner Erik The Red will join Varsfontein’s star sires Gimmethegreenlight and Master of My Fate in the champion breeder’s stallion barn in 2021.

Impeccably-bred, with movie star looks, Captain Al’s strapping son was marked as a sire prospect from the day that he won his first start in January 2020. Just three weeks later, on Met day, he won his first black type race in the Summer Juvenile Stakes equally impressively and then went on to become Cape Champion 2yo of the year.

Leading SA stallion manager John Freeman will be syndicating the smart 3yo.

“My thanks to the team at Varsfontein for giving me the syndication. They have been wonderful to work with on two highly successful stallions in Gimmethegreenlight and Master of My Fate,” added Freeman.

In winning the Gr2 Cape Merchants last Saturday, Erik The Red became the first 3yo to beat older rivals in 22 years.

“We decided to do it differently and syndicate the remainder of his racing career along with his stud career now.

It is the way we handled the What A Winter switch from a track career to the stallion barn - and he went on to win the Gr1 Computaform Stakes a few months before retiring. Fingers crossed for a repeat!” said Freeman.

Erik The Red not only has the distinction

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of hailing from one of the foremost pedigrees in our Stud Book but he is also as well made a horse you could ever wish to see.

The enthusiastic Stallion Manager said that he stood alongside this Gr1 performer after he won the Merchants last Saturday.

“I was awestruck by his imposing stature and clean strong build: he has the look of eagles about him. Justin Snaith says that he is an absolute pleasure to work with.”

In the post-race interview Snaith added that if it hadn’t been for the Covid interrupted 2020 season, and his delayed departure for the KZN feature season, this handsome colt would already be a Gr1 winner. He

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Erik The Red’s dam Covenant is one of Western Winter’s top Gr1 winning daughters and he is one of her 4 winners (she has 100% winners/runners), including two Gr1 horses. All of her progeny are stakes performed. Covenant’s dam Secret Pact hails from the illustrious Soho Secret family; stacked with top class performers and of course this season’s leading sire Master Of My Fate is close up.

shareholders will support him very well so there will only be a small number of nominations available. His fee will only be set at the syndicate’s first AGM

mid-2021,” concluded Freeman.

Image Credit

“I know that Varsfontein and his

Chase Liebenberg

literally stepped off the float after the long-haul from the Cape in time for the Gr1 Medallion. There may still be time for him to add a Gr1 win to his CV before he takes up stud duties at Varsfontein in 2021. Justin confirms that he certainly has that class about him.

Image Caption

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Candiese Lenferna

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Assistant trainer Rocky Agrella, Lyle and his Dad Carl, celebrate the wonderful moment

Father ‘n Son Celebrate

Another happy chapter of history was written for the Hewitson family at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Monday, when former SA Champion jockey Lyle booted home a first ever winner as a trainer for his former jockey Dad, Carl.

Assistant trainer Rocky Agrella, Lyle and his Dad Carl, celebrate the wonderful moment (Pic – Candiese Lenferna) The Varsfontein Stud-bred Set The Date carried too many guns in the opener in the colours of well-known Cape owner Bryn Ressell, and stormed to victory at her fifth start,

after earning at her first four outings – including two on her original home track of Fairview.

The winning partnership includes stalwarts Hedley McGrath, Braam van Huyssteen and Mark Wright, and it was another fairytale in the Hewitson rise to prominence.

The 56 year old former assistant trainer, who left the Eastern Cape after the closure of the Yvette Bremner yard, saddled his first runner out of his brand new Summerveld base just a month ago.

And he would have been pleased to ‘get

BLACK FRIDAY SUMMER CUP

PROCESS COLOUR

PROCESS COLOUR

PROCESS COLOUR

PROCESS COLOUR

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0c 20m 100y 0k

40c 5m 100y 0k

100c 35m 100y 35k

IDENTITY:

MARSHALLS WORLD OF SPORT PROCESS COLOUR

BET ON THE ENTIRE TURFFONTEIN CARD Friday, 27 November 2020 | 2pm – 6pm

LANDSCAPE FORMAT ON WHITE

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the monkey off his back’ as suggested by his proud son, Lyle, on Monday.

Coincidentally, the 23 year old Lyle rode his first ever professional winner on his third book of rides at Fairview on 18 March 2016 aboard Blizzard Belle.

The winner was saddled by Yvette Bremner and the speed demon ran in the silks of his Dad, Carl!

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Ghaiyyath lit up the summer

Dubawi Son Is

Cartier Champion

Ghaiyyath was announced as Cartier Horse of the Year in a special broadcast on Friday evening on Sky Sports Racing of the 30th annual Cartier Racing Awards.

The five-year-old Dubawi horse becomes the third Cartier Horse of the Year owned by the Maktoum family’s Godolphin operation following Daylami (1999) and Fantastic Light (2001).

A bold front runner, Ghaiyyath lit up the summer with dominant victories in three Gr1 contests – the Hurworth Bloodstock Coronation Cup, the Coral-Eclipse and the Juddmonte International. The other nominees for Cartier Horse of the Year were Addeybb, Battaash and Love.

the Cartier Three-Year-Old Colt award following a superb campaign that saw him defeat the best of his own generation in the Gr1 St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot and then successfully take on the older generation in the G1 Prix du Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard Jacques Le Marois at Deauville. The other nominees for Cartier Three-Year-Old Colt were Kameko, Pinatubo and Siskin.

There have been few more spectacular Classic successes than that of Love in this year’s Gr1 Investec Oaks and she is named the Cartier Three-Year-Old Filly in 2020.

Trained by Charlie Appleby and ridden by William Buick throughout 2020, Ghaiyyath also takes the honours in the Cartier Older Horse category ahead of Addeybb, Enable and Magical.

The daughter of Galileo, trained by Aidan O’Brien for a Coolmore syndicate, was undefeated in three starts, following up success in the QIPCO 1000 Guineas by winning the Gr1 Investec Oaks (by nine lengths) and the Gr1 Darley Yorkshire Oaks (by five lengths).

Also nominated for Cartier Three-Year-Old Filly were Alpine Star, Fancy Blue and Wonderful Tonight.

Palace Pier, owned by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum and trained by John Gosden, takes

Not many horses in training boast a following as large as Hamdan Al Maktoum’s Battaash and he takes the

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Cartier Sprinter honours this year.

Now a six-year-old, Battaash was better than ever in 2020 and won all three of his starts over five furlongs – Royal Ascot’s G1 King’s Stand Stakes, the G2 King George Qatar Stakes at Goodwood (for a fourth time) and the G1 Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes at York (for a second time).

The Charlie Hills-trained speedster takes the honours ahead of Dream Of Dreams, Glass Slippers and Glen Shiel.

For the third year in succession, Stradivarius is named Cartier Stayer.

Owned by Bjorn Nielsen and trained

by John Gosden, the six-year-old captured the Gr1 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot for a third time while at Goodwood the following month he won the Gr1 Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup for a remarkable fourth time.

Also nominated for Cartier Stayer were Galileo Chrome, Princess Zoe and Wonderful Tonight.

Click here to read the full list of winners

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Superstar mare Magical

A Magical Meeting!

Magical is among a stellar line-up of 45 horses selected for the HK$95 million LONGINES Hong Kong International Races at Sha Tin on Sunday, 13 December.

Aidan O’Brien’s superstar mare is just one of 17 Gr1 winners set to compete. The globetrotting daughter of Galileo is bidding to make history by becoming O’Brien’s most prolific Group 1 winner with eight top-level wins - the most of any O’Brien-trained flat horse – and she is the headliner among a brilliant contingent of 15 overseas raiders aiming at this year’s “Turf World Championships”.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has created uncertainty around many international racing events, the strength of the international presence in this year’s entries confirms that the Sha Tin Showpiece remains high on

the agenda of international horsemen.

The LONGINES HKIR is the sport’s global year-end spectacular and features the HK$28 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (2000m), the HK$25 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile (1600m), the HK$22 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) and the HK$20 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Vase (2400m).

The Cup, Mile and Sprint are the world’s richest G1 races on turf over their respective distances.

Magical is one of five in a powerful cohort from O’Brien, and victory in the Hong Kong Cup would set her apart from fellow O’Brien-trained seven-time G1 winning champions Rock Of Gibraltar, Minding, Yeats and Highland Reel as the Irish handler’s most prolific winner at the top-level.

Also among O’Brien’s Ballydoyle brigade

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is G1 Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Order Of Australia. Four-time G1 placegetter Lope Y Fernandez also heads for the Hong Kong Mile after a strong third in that Keeneland race, while this year’s G1 Irish 1000 Guineas (1600m) winner Peaceful takes to the Cup. G1 Grand Prix de Paris (2400m) winner Mogul eyes the Vase and victory would give O’Brien a record-setting third win in the Vase following the heroics of Highland Reel (2015 and 2017).

The exciting fields for the four Group 1 features include big-name Japanese contenders: the six-strong squad from Japan includes last year’s Hong Kong Cup winner Win Bright, unbeaten at Sha Tin having also claimed the 2019 FWD QEII Cup, while Admire Mars returns to defend his Hong Kong Mile crown.

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updated 2020-11-25

TRAINERS Name

Runs

Mr S J Snaith Mr P A Peter Mr M F de Kock Mr S G Tarry Mr P F Matche�

419 314 169 241 310

Wins Win% 59 42 33 27 29

14.1 13.4 9.4 19.5 11.2 9.4

2nd

3rd

52 33 20 26 30

45 27 18 30 23

Other Places Place %

Win Stake (R)

Total Stakes (R)

34.1 31.2 35.5 33.6 25.8

1,844,475 1,723,450 1,586,100 1,237,550 1,288,950

2,884,425 2,654,175 2,188,300 2,167,950 2,104,050

Other Places Place %

Win Stake (R)

Total Stakes (R)

3,069,150 1,599,000 2,526,600 2,293,000 1,544,700

4,751,700 2,251,900 3,783,250 3,234,425 2,265,300

46 38 22 25 27

143 98 60 81 80

JOCKEYS Name

Runs Wins Win%

2nd

3rd

Mr L Hewitson Mr G M Cheyne Mr W B Kennedy Mr S Khumalo Mr K de Melo

517 288 373 237 278

71 34 43 25 29

56 39 38 26 30

75 62 48 47 41

14.5 21.5 12.9 19.8 14.7

75 36 71 24 47

202 109 152 75 106

39.1 37.8 40.8 31.6 38.1

BREEDERS Name

B.T. B.T. Total Runrs Runs AEPR Wnrs Wins Winrs/ Places Winrs Wins Stakes (R) Rnrs %

Klawervlei Stud Wilgerbosdri� & Mauritzfontein Summerhill Stud (Pty) Ltd Drakenstein Stud (Nom: Mrs G A Rupert) Varsfontein Stud

293 200 169 106

834 541 478 313

14,686 20,502 16,114 25,201

62 51 42 38

72 69 48 53

21.2 25.5 24.9 35.8

268 174 108 125

2 1 2 1

2 1 2 1

4,303,000 4,100,375 2,723,288 2,671,350

84

238 28,383

24

32

28.6

77

5

8

2,384,200

SIRES Name Gimmethegreenlight (AUS) Master Of My Fate Querari (GER) Var (USA) What A Winter

Runrs Runs AEPR 130 132 142 90 111

374 393 421 254 308

21,573 20,173 16,887 24,758 17,360

B.T. Wnrs Wins Winrs/ Places Winrs Rnrs % 38 34 36 28 31

49 40 42 38 35

29.2 25.8 25.4 31.1 27.9

118 150 141 94 99

See all the detailed standings - Click here

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2 1 0 1 1

B.T. Wins

Total Stakes (R)

2 1 0 2 1

2,804,500 2,662,775 2,397,925 2,228,175 1,926,950

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LONDON CALLING!

Another Super Sunday humdinger is on the horizon as Chelsea and Tottenham do battle at Stamford Bridge in an epic London derby showdown. This clash also reignites the feud between Frank Lampard and his former boss, Jose Mourinho.

The pair had a heated argument on the touchline when Spurs knocked the Blues out of the EFL Cup on penalties earlier this season, and although Lampard and Mourinho played it down after the game, you

could slice the tension in half with a Hakim Ziyech pass.

Jesse Nagel writes that both Chelsea and Tottenham have been labelled as outside contenders for the Premier League title, and what better chance to prove their mettle and show that they’re no pretenders when they face each other at the Bridge.

To win Chelsea 23/20 Draw 5/2

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Tottenham 24/10 English Premier League | Sunday 29 November | Stamford Bridge | 18h30 Chelsea After being given the necessary resources to build a team ready to compete on all fronts, Frank Lampard will be confident he can continue his fine form with Chelsea as the Blues look to add to their seven-game unbeaten run in the Premier League.

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With a near-fully fit squad, Chelsea have looked extremely sharp. Not just in attack, where they’ve scored the most goals in the Premier League this season, but defensively, the Blues have looked solid too.

The signing of Thiago Silva really brought a different aura in the team and even in his absence this past weekend, Chelsea looked comfortable at the back. His presence in and around the dressing room is proving to be key, while the addition of Edouard Mendy has helped the Blues keep four clean sheets in his five league appearances for Lampard’s side.

In midfield, N’Golo Kante has moved back to his preferred position anchoring the Chelsea midfield, which has brought out the very best of Mason Mount. The 21-year-old England international has come under plenty of criticism with many football fanatics raising the question over Lampard’s favouritism with Mount, but his selection has now been justified for a while now.

Further forward, as previously mentioned, Chelsea have outscored every Premier League team and although Timo Werner is the club’s top scorer with four goals in the division, they’ve had to rely on one of their academy products to produce the magic when it matters most.

In all five of Tammy Abraham’s league starts for Chelsea this term, the 23-year-old marksman has either scored or assisted. With him in the number nine role, Lampard has had to stick Werner out wide.

That isn’t the worst idea considering Hakim Ziyech loves to drift inside and

look for the run of his teammates on the opposite flank. Ziyech has adjusted magnificently to the Premier League with the Moroccan being one of the brightest sparks in a star-studded Chelsea attack.

Tottenham Their opponents, Chelsea, seem to have done all the right things to challenge for top honours this season, but the exact same can be said for Tottenham. They’ve made statement after statement, starting by hiring a serial winner in Jose Mourinho last year.

The Portuguese tactician has a proven track record wherever he has gone and helped the club make another massive statement by bringing in former Spurs Player of the Year, Gareth Bale, from Real Madrid.

It didn’t stop there for Spurs who then silenced their doubters by smashing Manchester United 6-1 at Old Trafford, while Mourinho did a job over Pep Guardiola this past weekend to witness his side beat Manchester City 2-0 in London.

Tottenham now sit top of the table, and dare I say it, but this is really looking like it could be their year. They’ve proved it already.

What comes as the biggest surprise in Mourinho’s reign as Tottenham boss is how much he has improved Harry Kane. The England captain has always been known as one of the most lethal strikers in the game and looks to be on course to break the all-time goal record set by Alan Shearer, but now, Kane has dropped back deeper and is playing the quarterback role for Spurs at times, with Heung-min Son profiting through Mourinho’s new set-up.

Son has nine goals to his name already this term, and quite surprisingly, he could be an outsider for the Golden Boot award come end of the season.

But as quality as their attack has been, Spurs have the best defensive record in the league as well, shipping in just nine goals.

They’re likely to let Chelsea have all of the ball and punish the Blues on the counter, like they’ve previously done against some of the big guns already this campaign.

Probable line-ups: Chelsea: 4-3-3 Mendy; James, Zouma, Silva, Chilwell; Kante, Mount, Havertz; Ziyech, Abraham, Werner.

Tottenham: 4-2-3-1 Lloris; Aurier, Alderweireld, Dier, Reguilon; Sissoko, Hojbjerg; Bale, Ndombele, Son; Kane.

Prediction: Draw (5/2) This tie definitely has the makings to be one of the games of the season, despite it being this early in the campaign. Chelsea have looked impressive in every area of the pitch; however, Spurs have shown that they can hold their own against the best of the best. Mourinho always has a trick or two up his sleeve and seems to be rekindling some of his Chelsea form at Tottenham. I’m expecting a draw this Sunday, its just that tight, although a win for either side wouldn’t surprise me.

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