IT’S CUP DAY!
04
WSB Cape Town Met Countdown to 31 January
18
Betway Summer Cup
Atticus again?
36
Cartier Stars
All the winners
83 Is Drama Good For You? That objection
92 Ka Ying Rising Champion makes it fab 15
On the cover
Chad Little on the Race Coast Gr2 Cape Punters Cup podium at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday after a superb ride on Good For You. Chase Liebenberg took the photograph.
Issue: 47/2025
HEADING FOR THE EQUATOR
Reigning SA champion jockey Gavin Lerena walks back to the weighing room after steering One Dance to victory at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday for Vaughan Marshall. Lerena will be bidding for his fourth Betway Summer Cup victory at Turffontein on Saturday when he partners the favourite, The Equator, for Tony Peter. Read more on page 18.
Chase Liebenberg took the photograph.
SNAITH BIDS FOR BIG FOUR!
Justin Snaith holds 7 aces amongst 25 first entries in his bid to win the 164th renewal of the R5 million World Sports Betting Gr1 Cape Town Met for a fourth consecutive year.
At first entries deadline on Wednesday 26 November, the Snaith attack for the 31 January showdown is headed by SA Horse Of The Year and defending champion Eight On Eighteen.
Snaith’s past three winners all carried the colours of prominent owner Nick Jonsson, and so history beckons!
Interesting sophomore inclusions in the first entry list include Dean Kannemeyer’s smart
3yo Gimmie Rules, as well as Snaith’s Happy Verse.
After failing to enter the stalls at his past two intended starts, and thus not travelling to the Highveld for the Betway Summer Cup, Michael Roberts’ See It Again, who has been at the Snaith’s Philippi yard since the middle of this month, and being coached by acclaimed behaviouralist Malan du Toit, is also a potential runner.
Eight On Eighteen will bid to defend his title on 31 January | Credit: Chase Liebenberg
The day will feature twelve competitive races, headlined by two Grade 1 contests in the Met and the prestigious Maine Chance Farms Majorca Stakes.
Race Coast has ensured that the 2026 Met is an experience for every kind of attendee.
From exclusive VIP packages and elevated hospitality offerings to grandstand seating, the range of ticketing options caters to every budget.
Tickets are officially on sale, and guests are encouraged to secure theirs early through Computicket, where the full spectrum of hospitality packages and general admission experiences is available.
First supplementary entries are due by 11h00 on Wednesday 17 December, while final entries can be made prior to 11h00 on Monday 12 January 2026. Weights will be published the same day.
Declarations are due by 11h00 on Tuesday 20 January.
A SYMPHONY OF STYLE AWAITS!
There are horse racing events, and then there is the World Sports Betting Gr1 Cape Town Met.
Returning to Hollywoodbets Kenilworth Racecourse on 31 January 2026, the World Sports Betting Cape Town Met once again claims its place as Cape Town’s premier racing and lifestyle spectacle, celebrated across South Africa and internationally for its heritage, prestige and electric atmosphere.
This year, Race Coast Western Cape builds on the public resurgence seen in recent seasons, creating an event that celebrates both the sport’s tradition and its growing accessibility.
The Met remains a hallmark of glamour, culture and world-class racing, and in 2026, it arrives
with a theme that brings a fresh dimension of creativity: Symphony of Style.
Symphony of Style – A Creative Invitation
More than a theme, Symphony of Style is a call to self-expression.
It blends the rhythm of racing with the artistry of fashion, the pulse of music and the unmistakable style of Cape Town’s lifestyle scene.
Guests are encouraged to interpret the theme in their own way – dramatic couture, bold
experimentation or elegant simplicity. All harmonies belong.
“Our goal at Race Coast is to enhance the racing experience and make it exciting, vibrant and truly accessible for all South Africans,” says Donovan Everitt, COO of Race Coast Western Cape.
“The Met represents the height of what our sport embodies – an iconic moment where racing, entertainment, community and culture converge. The energy we witnessed last year proved not only that racing is alive, but that it is thriving.”
A Racing Programme of Unmatched Quality
At its heart, the Met is about racing of the highest calibre, and the 2026 edition promises a world-class showcase.
The day will feature twelve competitive races, headlined by two Grade 1 contests: the prestigious Maine Chance Farms Majorca Stakes (1600m) and the flagship World Sports Betting Cape Town Met (2000m).
All eyes will once again be on Justin Snaith, South Africa’s leading trainer, who returns in pursuit of a remarkable fourth consecutive Met victory—having saddled Jet Dark (2023), Double Superlative (2024) and Eight on Eighteen (2025).
Each of these champions carried the colours of prominent owner Nick Jonsson, adding further weight to the narrative as the reigning titleholder Eight on Eighteen, now a four-yearold, is expected to defend his crown.
With more than 150 horses set to compete throughout the programme, racegoers can expect a full day of top-tier equine athleticism and unforgettable finishes.
Tickets On Sale Now — Something for Everyone
Race Coast has ensured that the 2026 Met is an experience for every kind of attendee. From exclusive VIP packages and elevated hospitality offerings to grandstand seating, the range of ticketing options caters to every budget.
Tickets are officially on sale, and guests are encouraged to secure theirs early through Computicket, where the full spectrum of hospitality packages and general admission experiences is available.
A Partnership Strengthening the Sport
“The World Sports Betting Cape Town Met is a defining moment in the national sporting calendar and working alongside Race Coast to elevate the event year after year is something, we are incredibly proud of,” says Ryno Du Plessis, COO of World Sports Betting.
“Our commitment extends far beyond sponsorship, it includes ongoing investment in the Grooms Initiative, which has contributed over R5 million to those who work tirelessly behind the scenes. For us, the Met is not only a spectacle; it is a celebration of the people who make this sport possible.”
The 2026 Met is poised to set a new benchmark for racing entertainment. The blend of elite racing, fashion, music, food and Cape Town culture promises an experience richer, more energetic and more immersive than ever before.
Dress up, show up and be part of the Symphony of Style.
Tickets are now available on Computicket.
ALL THE KING’S HORSES!
A high quality entry of 25 was received this morning for the 2026 R3 million L’Ormarins Gr1 King’s Plate, the 165th running of a race steeped in excellence and tradition since 1861.
The L’Ormarins Gr1 King’s Plate day will be hosted at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday 10 January 2026, and includes an undercard of the World Pool Gr1 Cape Flying Championship and the Cartier Gr1 Paddock Stakes.
The L’Ormarins Gr1 King’s Plate earns the winner a coveted invitation to the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile in the United States, and the Cape Flying Championship now also provides a ‘win and you’re in’ ticket to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint.
Legends such as Pocket Power, Jet Dark, Charles Dickens, Do It Again, and Legal
Eagle have all etched their names into the race’s storied history.
Supplementary entries are due by 11h00 on Monday 29 December 2025, with declarations deadline at 11h00 on Tuesday 30 December 2025.
This is an 18+ event, and tickets are on sale now for what promises to be the most anticipated day on the social and sporting calendar.
Book now at lormarinskingsplate.co.za.
KZN raider Gladatorian is amongst the 25-strong first entry | Credit: Chase Liebenberg
DUBAI CARNIVAL YET! STRONGEST
More than 300 horses from 19 countries have applied for the 2025-26 Dubai Racing Carnival at Meydan Racecourse.
The Carnival, which spans 16 weeks of racing and officially got underway on 7 November, has already welcomed horses from the UK, Denmark and Norway and some exciting additions arrive over the next few weeks.
Gr1-winning British trainer Jamie Osborne was among the first to arrive, his team including Gr2 UAE Derby second and Gr1 Preakness fifth Heart Of Honor , while Niels Petersen has brought 11 horses from his base in Norway, including Norsk Derby winner War Socks .
Czech-based trainer Miroslav Nieslanik, best known for the globetrotting exploits of sprinter Ponntos , has returned with that horse and five others, while Denmark’s Veronika Jandova is already installed with seven, including Hans Andersen , winner of a Listed race on his return from Dubai last season.
Newmarket-based trainer Phil Spencer and his main backer Phil Cunningham signalled their Dubai intentions early on and they have a team of ten under their Rebel Racing banner. They include Goodwood Stewards’
Gr1 winner Audience is among the Carnival nominations | Credit: DRC/Liesl King
Cup winner Two Tribes and Ayr Gold Cup hero Run Boy Run .
The Carnival continues until March, leading into the 30th Dubai World Cup on 28 March, and several trainers are targeting later meetings.
Gr1 Jebel Hatta third Holloway Boy is set to be part of a five-strong team for British trainer Karl Burke, while Gr2 Dubai Gold Cup third Epic Poet returns for David O’Meara. Witness Stand , winner of the Gr2 Lennox Stakes for Dr Richard Newland and Jamie Insole, is a likely runner at Meydan in 2026. High-class sprinter Mitbaahy is an accepted runner for Charles Hills, while Audience , winner of the Gr1 Lockinge Stakes in 2024, will visit Dubai for a second time for trainers John and Thady Gosden.
“We are delighted to have acceptors for the Carnival from so many different countries,” commented Erwan Charpy, Head Of Department, Racing Operations & International Relations for Dubai Racing Club.
“This further underlines the position of Dubai as the centre of the racing world and is a compliment to both our facilities and our racing programme, both of which continue to evolve. We are excited about welcoming so many Group 1 winners and high-class horses to Dubai over the next few weeks and wish everyone the best of luck with their planning and travel.”
Meydan Racecourse races three times in December, on Friday 5th, 12th and 19th, culminating in Festive Friday which hosts two Thoroughbred Gr2’s, the Al Maktoum Mile and the Al Rashidiya.
137 SUMMERS LATER…
Saturday’s Betway Gr1 Summer Cup is the headliner this coming weekend, and only Mother Nature is likely to disrupt what should be a terrifically entertaining day at the races.
Reflecting back, the first horseracing in Johannesburg took place in December 1886 and the inaugural Summer Cup was run the following year as the Johannesburg Handicap. The race was won by outsider Haco, a five-year-old trained by Mr Du Plessis and ridden by J Bundy.
In its heyday the Summer Cup was the highlight of the Johannesburg feature-race season and one of the city’s social events of the year.
After the Cape challenger King’s Guard’s victory in 1971, the name of the race was changed to accommodate a sponsor.
As the years rolled by further changes to the name, conditions and date diminished the event’s glitter and it eventually became the Champion Stakes, run in April.
In 1999, Phumelela reintroduced the Summer Cup to the racing calendar in its traditional
format and the event is now firmly established as one of the ‘Big 4’ on the country’s racing calendar.
Many famous horses have won down the years and they include Pamphlet (1917), Lenin (1940), Cuff Link (1963), Caradoc (1966) and Home Guard (1970).
One horse who really grabbed the attention was Java, trained by Jack Butler. He pulled off a remarkable Summer Cup hat-trick from 1956 as a four-year-old before going on to claim the honours again the following two years.
Elevation was to repeat those exploits almost 20 years later. Trained by George Azzie, the chestnut landed his first victory in 1972, when the race was run as the Holiday Inns for the first time. He went on to score again in 1973 before completing a hat-trick under a big weight in 1974.
55 years ago Home Guard won the Summer Cup | Credit: Supplied
Equator – will he
ALL SET FOR SUMMER!
All eyes will be on Turffontein this weekend for the running of the time-honoured Betway Gr1 Summer Cup which traces its origins to the late 1800’s. The 2000m race will again be contested for a stake of R6-million and also poses some interesting questions.
Will The Equator become the latest import to win this weekend’s Gr1 Betway Summer Cup?
The Irish-bred five-year-old tops the bookmakers’ boards, notwithstanding the fact that he has yet to score at stakes level and is set to take on a full field of battle-hardened stakes performers.
A Coolmore-bred son of the late great stallion Galileo, The Equator will face the starter off
two smart local wins over 1600 and 1800m respectively. There will be no doubts about his ability to stay the testing 2000m trip, after all, he won over the distance in the UK, besides which his illustrious sire has left an indelible mark on the breed as a superb stamina influence.
For many pundits, the big question remains, will he have the class to pull off a Gr1 win?
The
become the first non-stakes winner in modern history? | Credit: JC Photos
Only Saturday’s race will tell, but should he pull it off, he will be the first non-stakes winner in modern history to claim the big race.
What counts very much in his favour is the fact that he jumps from gate three and will have the services of red-hot jockey Gavin Lerena, who will be hungry for a fourth Cup success, considering it has been all of nine years since he piloted Master Sabina to a notable double!
Speaking of doubles, can defending champion Atticus Finch also make it backto-back victories?
That is very much the intention of Alec Laird’s charge, who sprang a mild upset twelve
months ago when he came from off the place to get the better of pacesetter Purple Pitcher.
The six-year-old has enjoyed a perfect preparation, as he showed in the recent Allied Steelrode- Onamission Gr2 Charity Mile where he ran out an impressive three-length winner.
Incidentally, only two horses in South African racing history have managed to complete a Summer Cup treble, the most recent of which the high-class chestnut Elevation, who claimed the honours from 1972 to 1974 when the race was sponsored by Holiday Inns. Prior to that, one has to go way back to 1958, when Java completed the hat-trick under top weight.
Adding spice to the line-up will be the presence of a good number of visiting contenders, including Royal Victory, who became the first KZN-trained winner in 16 years when he caused a massive 50-1 upset two years ago. He will be joined by last year’s fourth Madison Valley as well as the filly Mocha Blend, a narrow loser of the Syringa in her last start. She races in the famous Oppenheimer silks, which were carried to victory by Summer Pudding five years ago.
Also making the trip from Summerveld will be last season’s Gr3 World Pool Gold Cup ace, the Champion Stayer King Pelles, who aims to complete the Gold Cup/Summer Cup double, as did Aslan and Furious before him. Currently second favourite, he has impressed in two starts at Hollywoodbets Greyville since his Gold Cup victory, a fifth in a 1200m pipeopener and a close-up second over a mile.
Western Cape challengers rarely opt to exchange the coastal breezes for the rarefied
Highveld air, so it’s particularly pleasing to see Glen Kotzen and James Crawford saddling two runners. The former saddles stakes winning four-year-old On My Honour, conqueror most recently of King Pelles at Hollywoodbets Greyville, while Crawford sends out Otto Luyken, winner of Gr3 Consolation July in his penultimate start and fifth in the recent Charity Mile.
Making the trip from Gqeberha is My Best Shot, who still has to prove himself outside of his home base. Well beaten in the Hollywoodbets Gr1 Durban July, he has since won again at home and most recently finished second in the Listed Algoa Cup. Jockey Richard Fourie has remained loyal to the Alan Greeff-trained son of Fire Away. Members of the fairer sex have been no strangers to Summer Cup success since the start of the new millennium. In 2005, Mary Slack’s champion grey Ilha Da Vittoria hacked up by an imperious five lengths, having finished third to Tyson the previous year.
Java – the original Summer Cup hero | Credit: Supplied
She was trained by maestro Mike de Kock, who returned to dominate the 2010 renewal, with Flirtation defeating stable companion Mother Russia in an all-female finish.
This year, De Kock, now training in partnership with son Matthew, sends out another Slack runner, the Vercingetorix filly Spumante Dolce. Successful in last season’s Gr2 Gauteng Fillies Guineas, she also chased home Horse of the Year Eight On Eighteen in the Gr1 Daily News 2000.
St John Gray’s champion Dancewiththedevil continued the female stranglehold when
she stormed to victory in 2011 under Gavin Lerena and nine years later, champion Summer Pudding made it nine wins on the trot with a resounding 2,50 length victory.
Whichever way you slice it, the 2025 renewal of the Betway Gr1 Summer Cup has all the makings of an absorbing contest. Adding further stature to the day is a stakes-rich undercard which features the Gr2 Jackpot City Dingaans, Gr3 New Turf Carriers Merchants, Gr3 Ducat Africa Fillies Mile and Listed Blu Voucher Carry On Alice Stakes.
THE SUMMER CUP
Summer Cup alumni – defending champion Calvin Habib, retired legend Piere Strydom and big day birthday boy Smanga Khumalo at the draw last week
| Credit: JC Photos
Only four jockeys in Saturday’s Betway Summer Cup ‘class of 2025’ boast past success in the Highveld showpiece. It looks very likely that this exclusive ‘winner’s club’ could remain closed, with the quartet holding a strong hand.
Three-time Summer Cup winner Gavin Lerena rides the favourite The Equator, two-time Cup hero Calvin Habib partners 2024 winner Atticus Finch, while Muzi Yeni (The Ultimate King) and Smanga Khumalo (King Pelles) have a win apiece.
A race 8 boxed quartet of 1,3,5,15 could be the lazy man’s play of the day!
SplashOut-sponsored Calvin Habib is the youngest of the four trophy-holders, and holds an ace in the shape of Alec Laird’s defending champion Atticus Finch, who wrapped up his title defence bid with a smooth victory under topweight in the Allied Steelrode Onamission Gr2 Charity Mile on 1 November.
The wonderful horse, named after an attorney in Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize–winning novel of 1960, To Kill a Mockingbird, made his season debut in the Betway Gr2 Joburg Spring Challenge early in October, running a cracking second behind Sean Tarry’s Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas candidate Tin Pan Alley, who went on to win the Betway Gr3 Graham Beck Stakes.
The 28 year old Calvin Habib rode his first Summer Cup winner in 2021 when the longshot Flying Carpet scored for Sean Tarry, in a weather-impacted year, with the race being run on a Tuesday at Turffontein.
The Quartet on the rain-delayed feature paid a staggering R4,1 million with Majestic Mozart, Golden Pheasant and Johnny Hero following the winner home.
The Summer Cup was Calvin’s second Grade 1 victory, as just under six months earlier he
had broken the elite level ice at Hollywoodbets Scottsville when Under Your Spell stormed to victory in the Allan Robertson Championship –also for Sean Tarry.
On reflection, 2021 was a remarkable year as, sandwiched between his two Gr1 glory moments, Calvin suffered a potential careerending injury on the first day of the new term when he came off David Nieuwenhuizen’s Fifth Of July when things got tight and they clipped the heels of another horse.
Calvin fractured three vertebrae in his back. Four months later he won the Summer Cup!
The son of former jockey Donovan is married to a highly qualified professional in Shandre, who works for 4Racing and. Like her husband, has the sport running through her veins as a daughter of legendary jockey and present day Stipe, Andre Hoffmann – who, coincidentally, was seen supervising last week’s Betway Summer Cup draw function at Katy’s Palace in Kramerville.
Calvin hasn’t had it easy. He was rejected twice by the SA Jockey Academyas they assessed him and felt he would be too big in time.
Gavin Lerena and Master Sabina – won the Summer Cup in 2015 and 2016 | Credit: Supplied
The determined young man then decided to focus on the workriders course as a possible pathway to a career as a professional jockey. He rode 9 winners from just over 50 rides under the watchful eye of the master, James Maree .
On his third attempt at trying to gain admission to the SA Jockey Academy, trainers were asked to write letters of recommendation and support. Sean Tarry was one who provided a testimonial. Calvin cracked the nod and appropriately his first winner as an apprentice jockey was for the former multiple SA champion trainer.
A young man who has grown in stature through challenges and adversity, including a stint in Singapore in 2023, Calvin is approaching his half century of winners this season and is in 6 th position on the national log as we went to print.
Reigning SA champion jockey Gavin Lerena is the winningest Summer Cup jockey in Saturday’s line-up and partners the fancied Galileo import and money horse, The Equator, for Tony Peter.
Lerena has three Summer Cup trophies in his cabinet, the first dating back to 2011 when the accomplished mare Dancewiththedevil won for St John Gray. Former jockey Tex Lerena’s good son also rode Master Sabina to a double in 2015-16 for Geoff Woodruff.
Muzi Yeni won the Summer in 2023 on Nathan Kotzen’s Royal Victory, who also lined up in 2024 when a 3 length sixth under Gavin Lerena.
Chad Little takes over on Royal Victory on Saturday as Muzi partners Tony Peter’s, dare
Smanga Khumalo wins the 2012 Summer Cup on Wagner | Credit: Hamish Niven Photography
we say, ‘second-stringer’, The Ultimate King. A lightly campaigned son of Vercingetorix, The Ultimate King stamped his authority with an emphatic victory in the Betway Gr3 Victory Moon Stakes at his last start.
The Al Adiyaat-bred galloper is a course-anddistance winner, but will need to leave his wayward pre-race manners at home. Only the calm and experienced horsemanship of the patient Rachel Venniker got him into the starting stalls at his last run. With many thousands expected to congregate at Turffontein on Saturday, we really do hope that the big occasion won’t overwhelm Suzette Viljoen’s rising star.
South Africa’s first black champion jockey and groundbreaking Durban July winner, the top-
class Smanga Khumalo partners Gareth van Zyl’s KZN raider and SA champion stayer King Pelles, on what will be his 40 th birthday.
The man we affectionately know as ‘Bling’ would love nothing more than to mark his ruby jubilee with his second Summer Cup trophy – his first dating back to Wagner in 2012 for the charismatic Joey Soma, who scored on a rainy Saturday, a day after the top jockey’s 27 th birthday.
The Betway Gr1 Summer Cup is off at 16h00 on Saturday. Don’t miss getting your Hollywoodbets Punters’ Challenge entry on in good time!
PEDIGREE POINTERS FOR DINGAANS
The Betway Summer Cup undercard is an exciting and with some of South Africa’s most exciting three-year-olds set to do battle in Saturday’s Jackpot City Gr2 Dingaans, the race looks poised to provide pointers for classic races later in the season.
A few potential pedigree-based storylines could be worth keeping an eye on.
Close relatives set to make their mark
Close relatives, and stablemates, Erik The Red and Master Of My Fate look poised to make their presence felt in the Dingaans. Master Of My Fate, whose champion dam Promisefrommyheart is a half-sister to the Gr1 winning dam of Erik The Red, will be represented in the Dingaans by both
champion Jan Van Goyen and the promising Echo Check. Erik The Red is also doubly represented with his sons Zalatoris and Tenjiku. The latter is out of a mare by Master Of My Fate. Another Dingaans entrant All Systems Go is from the same family as Erik The Red and Master Of My Fate.
Captain Al - once again?
The influence of the late Captain Al continues to be felt on the South African turf. The
Dingaans contender Jan Van Goyen carries the Master Of My Fate flag on Saturday | Credit: Candiese Lenferna
champion appears in the pedigrees of five of the 13 runners in Saturday’s contest, include graded stakes winners Tin Pan Alley and Zalatoris.
The United States’ good run to continue
From one of the hottest families in the stud book, The United States is poised to continue his good run on Saturday. His high-class son Tin Pan Alley, winner of the Betway Gr2 Joburg Spring Challenge and Betway Gr3 Graham Beck Stakes, is a leading contender for the Dingaans, while his daughters Malibu and Rodeo Drive both line up in the Blu Voucher Listed Carry On Alice Stakes. The United States is also responsible for United Offer, a starter in the Ducat Africa Gr3 Fillies Mile, while his son Navajo Nation is a runner in the Betway Gr1 Summer Cup.
Western Winter remains a force
The late Western Winter, like Captain Al, is a former champion sire who continues to make his presence felt on the South African studbook. Western Winter is broodmare sire of the aforementioned Erik The Red, and the
son of Gone West also ranks as the damsire of Dingaans contenders Chronicle King and Singleton Sam.
Frankel’s prowess as a broodmare sire to continue
Legendary racehorse and stallion Frankel looks poised to become an outstanding broodmare sire. To date, Frankel mares have produced more than 20 stakes winners, including the Gr1 winners Lead Artist, Zarigana, and Sparkling Plenty.
His South African based daughter Frankly, already responsible for 2025 4Racing Gr3 National Currency Sprint winner Truth (Heavenly Blue), is set to be represented in the Dingaans by the lightly raced Trust (Heavenly Blue).
Frankel, whose broodmare daughters are relatively young, has a long way to go, however, to match the feats of his own sire Galileo as a broodmare sire. Already damsire of more than 400 stakes winners, Galileo is also broodmare sire of 2025 Dingaans hopeful Whispering Death (Danon Platina).
NHA CALENDAR IN THE LOOP WITH THE LATEST
The Sporting Post presents this week’s National Horseracing Authority Calendar. The calendar is a summary of the past week’s penalties and registrations and is an easy-read snapshot of information.
Please click on the image below:
WIN THE PICK 6 WITH US!
The Betway Summer Cup day carryover Pick 6 pool is expected to reach R5 million and our honourable ‘professor of racing’ William Milkovitch, will again be co-ordinating a, hopefully winning, Sporting Post readers’ Pick 6 perm.
If you would like to participate, or just have a question, please send an email to williammilkovitch@yahoo.co.uk .
All communications from the co-ordinator will be relayed by group e-mail with a Bcc filter, so privacy is assured.
William will strike the bet/s @ 09h30 on Saturday morning with Hollywoodbets. He will communicate the intended permutation on Friday, no later than 21h00.
“I have asked you to select 2 horses for 3 of the legs and 3 horses for the remaining 3 legs of the bet. Kindly note that every attempt will be made to accommodate/ include all your selections. The commonality of all your selections will mainly decide the structure of both perms. I’ll construct two separate
perms with the main perm ‘going short’ to accommodate a bigger perm percentage. It then follows that the secondary permutation will be stacked at a lower percentage in anticipation of a one or two ticket payout. We dream! Lastly, I’ll obviously send proof of the Pick 6 ticket and full details of the composition of the syndicate (your individual percentages of our kitty) for each person individually by latest 10h00 on the big raceday,” said William.
• Minimum buy-in is R100.
• There are no administration fees or costs attached.
Bank details for the deposit of the stake will be provided to those sending William the ‘I’m interested’ email.
THEN OVERRULED! NERVOUS MOMENTS…
In a dramatic finish to the R500 000 Race Coast Gr2 Cape Punters Cup at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth, that ended up being finalized in the Stipes’ boardroom, Glen Kotzen’s Good For You emerged a courageous, and probably deserving, victor and now bids to give the Woodhill Racing team their first Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas victory.
A well-travelled trial over the years into the prestigious Cape classic on 13 December, the Cape Punters Cup has been won by a variety of well-performed big names.
And it was the only Grade 1-winner in the 2025 renewal who prevailed in a gutsy performance – but there will inevitably be two sides to the debate, after the Stipes, boldly, and in a commendable show of genuine independence – a perceived lack of which
they have often been castigated for in days past – overruled an objection by the trainer of the runner-up Randolph Hearst, on the grounds of interference in the final stages.
We haven’t had sight of the final Stipes’ report yet, but the men in suits had to be convinced that, but for the interference, the runner-up would have won.
And given the fact that the interference happened just over a stride from the line, that swung their decision to give the ‘batsman’ the benefit of the doubt, and turn down the lbw appeal.
Not whimsical stuff, given the R200 000 difference in cheques between winning and losing, and the prestige and the rest that goes with being number 1!
In an interview on Gallop TV after the racemeeting, NHA CEO Vee Moodley indicated that on looking at the race initially, his first impression was that the objection may be upheld.
“On watching the replay, I realized I had looked at the 50m marker on the sprint track, but that the incident actually took place within a stride and a half of the line. To show that
Drama! JP van der Merwe has Randolph Hearst in full flight down the outside as Good For You (Chad Little in centre) fights on, with third-placed Pay The Palace (Corne Orffer) keeping them honest in third | Credit: Chase Liebenberg
‘It were not best that we should all think alike; it is difference of opinion that makes horse-races’
– Mark Twain
the Stipes are being consistent, I’d suggest interested persons have a look at the similar Dame Of Trix and Demanding Dave objection, which was upheld as that ocurred four and a half strides prior to the line,” added Moodley.
He also pointed that Good For You’s rider Chad Little had signed an AOG for an interference related suspension – seemingly involving fourth placed Happy Verse – which he will take from 30 November to 10 December.
But back to the winner. After endorsing his trainer’s belief that he would stay as he tried the mile for the first time, Good For You (9-2) made all the running under Chad Little, and in a grandstand grind to the wire, drifted outwards away from the left-handed crop, but held on relentlessly to keep the fasterfinishing Randolph Hearst (10-1) at bay by a short head in a time of 99,62 secs.
One of nine Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas entries in the field, Pay The Palace (66-1) ran a cracker to stay on in third, just under a half length off the top two, with the tote favourite Happy Verse (9-2) being inconvenienced late, with the first and runner-up coming together to close the gap.
Bred by Oldlands Stud, Good For You is by Legislate (Dynasty), who won this race eleven years, out of the Indigo Magic two-time winner, Slightly Blonde.
The winner, a R300 000 National Yearling Sale purchase, has now won 3 races with 7 places from 10 starts and stakes of R1 523 163.
Race Coast Chairman Greg Bortz, a part owner of the runner-up Randolph Hearst, sportingly said “that’s racing”, after he received some compensation a half hour later when his smart filly Mai Sensation won The Bantry Bay Stakes, and was then a member of the partnership that won the last with the affectionately named, ‘Klein Pompie’. Mr Bortz also owns the eyecatching winner of the fourth race, Regulation, in partnership with his 28 December bride-to-be, Gina Goldsmith.
And a disappointed JP van der Merwe? He did nothing wrong on Randolph Hearst, but went home with four winners, two seconds, and a third cheque from his nine rides – and the upwardly mobile rider will live to fight another day.
We are reminded of Mark Twain’s quotation: ‘It were not best that we should all think alike; it is difference of opinion that makes horseraces’.
On the positive side, we look forward now to a mouth-watering return match in the Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas on 13 December!
ACTUALLY VERY GOOD! GOOD…
“What a horse! He emptied his manger on Sunday morning and ate all of his carrots!”
That was the feedback from Woodhill Racing trainer Glen Kotzen after the Legislate gelding Good For You, the second smallest horse in the race, but built like the proverbial tank, produced a massive performance to give 2kgs and a beating to eight Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas entries in the Race Coast Gr2 Cape Punters Cup at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday.
Delighted Good For You connections on the winner’s podium | Credit: Chase Liebenberg
In a victory sadly overshadowed by the raging objection debate, the only Gr1 winner in the field made all of the running, and then held the low-flying Randolph Hearst to gain a nose victory, and in the process set up a mouthwatering ‘needle’ return clash in the Hollywoodbets Gr1 Cape Guineas on Saturday 13 December.
“He is a fighter – even in his work at home he hates being passed. What a run at his first stab at a mile from a Gr1-winning sprinter! What a ride from Chad (Little), who waited for them to get to his heels until asking for more. What a race! We are dealing with flesh and blood. Nobody likes objections. But we take these things on the nose like the Springboks. We are really chuffed,” added the Paarl-based horseman, who said that the courageous gelding ‘would be back’ on 13 December, even from a wide gate.
The Sporting Post learns that the winner has been suspended in terms of rule 93.2.5 until he proves tractable running on a straight course, with two companions.
Glen Kotzen, who sorted out the issue of hanging left, is likely to present the gelding on 3 or 6 December.
After his excellent second behind Vapor Trail in the Cape Classic, it was reported that Good For You was hanging in from the 400m and proved a difficult ride. The Stipes pointed this out to Tracy Woolard and indicated that they would monitor his racing manners in future engagements.
“Yes, that’s correct. It’s not ideal and is a consideration in our prep, but we respect the Stipes decisions and let them all take us on at level weights in the Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas on 13 December,” added Glen Kotzen.
In an observation when setting up our readers’ poll on Sunday, we noted that there was another public debate, coincidentally also involving the Kotzen and Snaith stables, in the 2022 Hollywoodbets Listed Settlers Trophy, when Kotzen’s Han Solo (Calvin Habib) had held off Snaith’s Somerset Maugham (Richard Fourie), after clearly shifting across.
The Stipes reported at the time that at the 100m SOMERSET MAUGHAM (R Fourie) changed stride and became momentarily unbalanced when brushed inwards by HAN SOLO (C Habib), which was hanging in and shifted in.
After being straightened HAN SOLO (C Habib) continued to shift in slightly and brushed SOMERSET MAUGHAM (R Fourie) shortly before the finish.
Trainer SJ Snaith called a race review regarding this incident, which was followed by an Objection being lodged by Jockey R Fourie, the rider of the 2nd placed horse SOMERSET MAUGHAM against the winner HAN SOLO (C Habib) on the grounds of interference in the latter stages.
The Objection Board, after giving due regard to the evidence put forward, reviewing the patrol films and giving consideration to the margin of 0,05 of a length between the two horses concerned, was of the opinion that but for the interference SOMERSET MAUGHAM would have finished ahead of HAN SOLO had this incident not occurred and therefore upheld the Objection. Jockey Fourie’s deposit was refunded.
Jockey R Fourie was charged with a contravention of Rule 58.10.2 (read with Guideline M on the use of the crop) in that he misused his crop by striking SOMERSET MAUGHAM more than 12 times in the entire
race. Jockey R Fourie signed an admission of guilt and was fined R2500,00. In determining penalty, the Board took into account the distance over and manner in which Jockey R Fourie used his crop, Jockey R Fourie’s recent record, the number of strikes (14) over the permissible level and the value of the race.
Somerset Maugham was promoted, despite his rider contravening the crop rule.
“Some days it goes your way. Other days it doesn’t. That’s racing,” concluded Glen Kotzen.
Winner Good For You stayed on a 110, runner-up Randolph Hearst went from 100
to 106, while third-placed Pay The Palace jumped from a 102 to 105.
• Supplementary entries for the Hollywoodbets Gr1 Cape Guineas are due by 11h00 on Friday 5 December, with declarations due by 11h00 on Tuesday 9 December.
TO THE STARS! GATEWAY
Dean Kannemeyer’s Green Gateway stamped himself a force to be reckoned with when he flew from near last to beat a quality field of contemporaries in the R250 000 Listed Sophomore Sprint at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday.
The preferred Zackey-Kannemeyer late arrival style of racing is now well documented, and this was a classic demonstration as Green Gateway sauntered along, while Military Command and Three Tigers showed the way out front.
At the 350m marker, Green Gateway started making up ground and with JP van der Merwe grabbing what looked to be a match-winning advantage at the 200m on Roland Garros, a thriller was on the cards.
But Zackey wasn’t panicking and Green Gateway (5-1) drew level at the 50m marker to bear Roland Garros (25-2) by 0,20 lengths in a time of 72,25 secs for the 1200m.
The highly vaunted 9-10 favourite All The Rage was well beaten a further 0,90 lengths back in third, with the pacy Three Tigers (40-1) staying on to boost the quartet.
“Green Gateway hails from a top-class female line and has plenty of ability. He
Craig Zackey has Green Gateway in charge as Roland Garros (JP van der Merwe) tries hard | Credit: Chase Liebenberg
has a mind of his own, but this was a good performance,” added Dean Kannemeyer, who said that a decision would be made on future plans on Monday.
Craig Zackey said that he felt that the winner, a Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas entry, will go a mile.
Raced by Bryan Airey, Mukund Gujadhur, George Ragunan, Noelene P Malherbe,
Fieldspring Racing & Marsh Shirtliff’s Greenacres Trust, the winner was a bred by Varsfontein Stud and is a son of Gimmethegreenlight (More Than Ready) out of the top-notch Jallad mare, My Guiding Star.
A R2 million National Yearling Sale purchase by Jehan Malherbe’s Form Bloodstock, Green Gateway has now won 2 of his 4 starts with 1 place and stakes of R268 257.
RAFEEF FILLY
COULD BE A FACTOR IN MERCHANTS!
Lucky Fish-sponsored Lucinda Woodruff maintained her good form when Rafeef’s daughter Mai Sensation took on seven accomplished speed males at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday, to win the R225 000 Non Black-Type Nomads Andrew Mentis Bantry Bay Stakes.
Raced by Greg Bortz and Gina Goldsmith, the 2025 Dennis Drier Gr3 Poinsettia Stakes winner was tucked up in midfield early on, before being driven to the lead at the 300m marker by Winx’s in-form rider JP van der Merwe.
Starting at 7-1, Mai Sensation beat the luckless Raven Black (9-2) by 0,40 lengths in a time of 65,60 secs for the 1100m.
The tote favourite Tenango (17-10) proved to be in need of the run after an 18 week break and finished 2,35 lengths off the winner and didn’t make the quartet.
Trainer Lucinda Woodruff said that she was following an ‘unconventional’ prep into the
Gr2 Cape Merchants which will be run on the Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas undercard over 1200m at the same venue.
Raced by Greg Bortz and Gina Goldsmith, the now 4yo Mai Sensation cost R500 000 off the National Yearling Sale and has now won 5 races with 3 places from 13 starts for stakes of R656 120.
Bred by Terry Young at Clifton Stud, the winner was another feature strike for Ridgemont’s Redoute’s Choice kingpin, Rafeef and is out of twice-winning Vercingetorix daughter Mai Tai.
Mai Sensation cost R500 000 off the National Yearling Sale and has now won 4 races with 2 places from 9 starts for stakes of R427 526.
Mai Sensation (JP van der Merwe) holds on well as Raven Black (Sean Veale) overcomes a tardy start Credit: Chase Liebenberg
TOPS SNAITH 1-2-3 A SMART DANCER
SA champion trainer Justin Snaith made it a year-on-year double, and saddled the trifecta, as the Clifton Stud-bred Querari Dancer opened the 2025/26 season South African juvenile programme to win the R250 000 Hollywoodbets Kenilworth Welcomes You Non Black-Type Futurity Plate at a sun-drenched Southern Suburbs track on Saturday.
Snaith won the same feature last year with the talented Black Cheetah, and this time it was JP van der Merwe who won the race out of the gates and showed too much pace as Querari Dancer (15-2) galloped relentlessly to beat stablemate Marseilles (4-1), who got a pre-race fright courtesy of his sectional timing equipment, by 1,50 lengths in a time of 49,33 secs for the 800m.
The tote favourite Champagne Castle (33-20) found her feet late and ran into third, a further 0,40 lengths back.
Gqeberha trainer Kelly Mitchley took the plunge and raided down the Garden Route with Fyfield Legend, who raced keenly on the outside, throwing his legs out in good style.
JP van der Merwe steers Querari Dancer to victory | Credit: Chase Liebenberg
He was beaten 2,65 lengths into fourth, but picked up a cheque of R11 875, so more than covered his petrol and accommodation expenses.
“She is mentally forward, and I probably expected her to win next time,” added Winxsponsored JP van der Merwe of the winner.
Justin Snaith said he had done little with his trio and preferred to let them come on with racing.
“If we were taking on Chris Waller in Australia, we’d be running 200m back, such is the difference between their prep and our prep,” he added.
Raced by Nic Jonsson, Querari Dancer is a daughter of Maine Chance’s Oasis Dream resident Querari out of the six-time winning Mambo In Seattle mare, Dancing Queen.
A R280 000 BSA KZN Yearling Sale graduate, the winner took her stakes tally to R148 438.
Saturday hosted the first feature raceday in the Summer Festival of Racing – a celebration of world-class horses, social energy and the best of Cape Town’s summer lifestyle.
The festival highlights include:
• 6 December: World Sports Betting Gr1 Cape Fillies Guineas
• 13 December: Hollywoodbets Gr1 Cape Guineas
• 10 January: L’Ormarins Gr1 King’s Plate
• 31 January: World Sports Betting Gr1 Cape Town Met
• 28 February: Lucky Fish Gr1 Cape Derby
SLAMS THEM CANDYMAN
Legendary South African sporting ambassador Gary Player was at a sun-drenched Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday to enjoy his champion Double Grand Slam make a winning seasonal debut under Andrew Fortune in the R180 0000 Join The Race Coast Turf Club Non Black-Type Summer Bowl.
“Andrew Fortune is top-class and he’s ‘cocky’ too. He’s so good for racing,” said the multiple champion golfer who celebrated his 90th birthday earlier this month.
Coming in fresh, albeit a little ‘chunky’, after her 20-week break, following a scintillating victory in the R1,5 million Ridgemont Gr1 Garden Province Stakes on Hollywoodbets Durban July day, Andrew Fortune took the ride again in the five-horse field, in a
race devoid of pace, but demonstrated his rare genius from the saddle with beautiful judgement.
Double Grand Slam (5-4) cruised to the front under a motionless Fortune, with Richard Fourie in hot and animated pursuit on stablemate Swiatek (18-10), a neck separating the pair at the line in a pedestrian 101, 04 secs for the mile.
Andrew Fortune and Double Grand Slam take the lead as Swiatek (Richard Fourie) stays on for second Credit: Chase Liebenberg
“I am surprised Richard (Fourie) got so close. I don’t think the two are in the same league,” said the casual Fortune, who added that at age 58 he should be ‘on the shelf’ – “but I’m not sure anybody would want to buy me!”
It was an encouraging showing from the class galloper, who looks to add to her stakes haul this summer.
A R1 million National Yearling Sale purchase, Double Grand Slam is raced by Dave
Maclean, Drakenstein Stud and Gary Player, and was bred by Varsfontein.
Double Grand Slam is by Vercingetorix (Silvano) out of the two-time winning Captain Al mare Princess Peach. The mare has two Grade 1 successes in her nine victories with 7 places from 19 starts for stakes of R3 080 588.
Gary Player celebrates after the win | Credit: Chase Liebenberg
GREEN GATEWAY IMPRESSES
As might have been expected, the Listed Sophomore Sprint (3yo’s) proved to be the fastest of the afternoon’s three 1200m events at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday
The easy to back Military Command flew out of the pens and set a brisk pace. Indeed, he was over a second and a half quicker to the 1000m marker than the leaders in the other two races over the distance. Peter Muscutt’s charge was soon found wanting when the pack closed in 350m from home though and faded out to finish last.
Roland Garros was running on strongly at that point and on striking the front 200m later, he looked to have done everything right. Finishing best of all from the back of the field though, was the lightly raced Gimmethegreenlight colt GREEN GATEWAY (slow into stride), and in another classic finish Dean Kannemeyer’s charge got up in the dying strides.
Going: Good (both tracks)
Penetrometer: 23 (straight) – 22 (bend)
Rain: Last 7 days Nil
Irrigation: Last 24 hours 15mm –Last 7 days 45mm
False Rail: Original position on back straight with 1,5m spur at 600m
Wind: 26-39kn/h South Easterly cross wind
Course Variant: 0,15s slow (straight) –0,31s slow (bend)
For the first time this season racing took place on the summer course. The Gr2 Race Coast Cape Punters Cup over 1600m topped the bill and in what proved to be a real thriller, last season’s Gr1 Gold Medallion winner GOOD FOR YOU registered his third career victory. Having his third run of this season here, the son of Legislate took full advantage of his gate two draw and was soon at the head of affairs.
Allowed to dictate at his own pace, Glen Kotzen’s charge led by a length and a half for most of the journey and the rest were relatively tightly grouped. Indeed the eventual runner up Randolph Hearst raced at the back of the eleven and he had six lengths to find turning for home. Randolph Hearst was flying at the finish and 50m from home it looked as if he would get up. Good For You found extra at that point though, but shifting ground away from the crop he made contact with the runner up very late, before holding on by the narrowest of margins. An objection was lodged by the trainer of the runner up Justin Snaith, but this was overruled.
The n on-black type Nomads Andrew Mentis Fund Bantry Bay Stakes over 1100m was by far the quickest of all of the races between the 1000m and 600m markers
and here the only female in the event, MAI SENSATION registered her fifth win from just thirteen outings. Arctic Wizard made the running whilst the Rafeef filly sat just two lengths away in third.
She was ridden to lead going through the 200m and kept on strongly in the closing stages of the race to beat the running on Raven Black by just under a half. The runner up jumped awkwardly and after unbalancing jockey Sean Veale he lost two lengths. He was again disadvantaged when clipping the heels of Arctic Wizard and taking an awkward stride 300m out. He ran strongly after regaining momentum and steadily gaining at the finish, did well to get as close as he did.
The first juvenile race of the season, the non-black type Hollywoodbets Kenilworth Welcomes You Futurity Plate over 800m, had gotten proceedings underway and here we saw a smart performance from the Justin Snaith trained QUERARI DANCER. The lesser fancied of the stables’ three runners, the daughter of Querari broke well and raced up with the speed throughout.
She drew clear nicely after getting a couple of taps 200m out, and won going away by a length and a half. Justin’s runners finished 1st, 2nd & 3rd in this race. The Snaith stable
also saddled the first three home in the Lucky Fish Mystic Dash Conditions Plate over 1400m, and had four winners in total on the day, and five second placings.
The cheekiest victory on the card was undoubtedly that of the talented DOUBLE GRAND SLAM in the non-black type Join The Race Coast Turf Club Summer Bowl over 1600m. Just five went to post and in what proved to be a very false paced affair, the Vercingetorix mare raced third with just 3 lengths covering all coming off the bend.
She put her head in front without Andrew Fortune having to move a muscle passing the 400m marker. From there onwards the Gr1 Garden Province winner was asked to do no more than was absolutely necessary and with her jockey living on the edge as he likes to do, she beat her hard ridden stable companion Swiatek (4/1 into 18/10) by a short head.
Fastest Times:
1200m (3) Green Gateway 72,25 1400m (2) Great Plains 85,66 1600m (2) Good For You 99,62
REMAINS ON 110 GOOD FOR YOU
Good For You has retained his official merit rating of 110 after overcoming an objection and securing victory in the Race Coast Cape Gr2 Punters Cup for three-year-olds over 1600m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday.
The Handicappers concluded that, despite the incident which prompted the objection, Good For You delivered a performance consistent with the highest level he has demonstrated in his career to date.
He was accordingly used as the line horse for the race assessment.
Randolph Hearst’s merit rating has been raised to 106 (from 100) following his strong performance in finishing alongside the eventual winner. Importantly, he carried 2kg less than his rival, which was considered in the assessment.
To preserve the integrity of the handicap system and ensure accurate future race evaluations, several horses from the contest have had their ratings adjusted upwards.
These adjustments will also help support fair final field selections in future races.
• Pay The Palace: adjusted to 105 (from 102)
• Star Major: raised to 101 (from 88)
• Better Man: moved up to 100 (from 95)
• Fox On The Run: lifted to 95 (from 90)
In addition, three horses had their ratings reduced following the race:
• Aristocratic: lowered to 103 (from 107)
• Chapbook: reduced to 95 (from 97)
• Count Of Rouen: reassessed to 102 (from 106)
Listed
Sophomore Sprint
Green Gateway’s official merit rating was increased from 91 to 105 following his victory in the Listed Sophomore Sprint over 1200m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday.
The Handicappers identified All The Rage , who finished third, as the most appropriate line horse for this race, leaving his rating unchanged at 105.
Roland Garros had his merit rating adjusted to 106. He carried 1kg less than the eventual line horse, rated at 105, and finished one length ahead of that rival - a performance that justified the upward revision.
Other upward merit rating adjustments:
• Three Tigers: raised to 98 (from 97)
• Spirit: adjusted to 90 (from 87)
Military Command was the only runner to receive a reduction, with his rating lowered to 103 from 106.
Media release by the NHA on Tuesday, 25 November 2025.
NHA AGM
14 JANUARY 2026
The National Horseracing Authority of Southern Africa have given notice that, in terms of clause 13.2, the One Hundred and Forty Fourth Annual General Meeting of Members will be held at the offices of The National Horseracing Authority of Southern Africa, Turffontein Racecourse, Turf Club Street, Turffontein, on Wednesday, 14 January 2026, at 12h00.
In terms of clause 13.3, proposals by Members for inclusion in the Agenda for the Annual General Meeting are to please be in by 12 December 2025.
Should you have any queries, please feel free to email cindy@nhra.co.za
Please note that as per the new Constitution the National Board has approved that the Annual General Meeting be held earlier.
The NHA HQ at Turffontein | Credit: Supplied
COMES OUT ON TOP CANFORD CLIFFS SON
The evergreen Canford Cliffs gelding Cliff Top shed his maiden certificate with a victory in the Listed Summer Juvenile Stakes at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth in January 2021, and five summers later the now 6yo is still paying his way and scored a smart victory under topweight in the R175 000 Non Black-Type Glendore Sprint at Fairview on Friday.
The feature victory capped a fabulous Fairview Friday for the combination of Alan Greeff, Richard Fourie, Hollywood Racing and Ridgemont, who celebrated a treble, the champion trainer-jockey combination adding a fourth success with Peter Moor’s promising
William Longsword gelding Royal Kingdom, who made it three wins on the trot when he scored in the Guineas Plate.
The Hollywood Racing-Ridgemont-GreeffFourie winning streak started when the lightly-
Cliff Top (Richard Fourie) scores a smart victory in Fairview feature | Credit: Pauline Herman
tried Rafeef 4yo Cadenza, shed his maiden at his second start.
Then Cliff Top scored in the feature, with Rafeef’s super-consistent daughter Smashing making it 5 wins from 29 starts – with 15 place cheques – when rocketing home to win the 1200m MR 74 Handicap, the penultimate race on the card.
Cliff Top’s success was the highlight, returning as he did to the winner’s enclosure after an eighteen-month absence.
After tracking the speedy Paris Lass all the way around the 1000m circuit, Richard Fourie shook Cliff Top (7-1) up at the 300m and the unassuming gelding bounced clear to beat the 5-4 favourite Roman Agent by 1,25 lengths in a time of 57,22s.
Europe’s dominant miler at three and four, Canford Cliffs won five consecutive Gr1 races over the trip. He has produced winners in over 30 countries, including more than 40 global stakes performers.
His smart son Cliff Top has now won 8 races with 17 places from 39 starts for stakes of R1 085 830.
The winner was bred by Ridgemont Highlands out of the Western Winter one-time winner Bacqueira.
The next Fairview racemeeting is on the polytrack on Friday 28 November.
MEMORABLE WEEKEND RIDGEMONT DUO’S
In what was a winning weekend for Ridgemont stallions Rafeef and Canford Cliffs, the Robertson-based duo celebrated six smart winners, including a feature double and a Zimbabwe Horse Of The Year award.
If diversity be the spice of life, then the highriding Ridgemont stallion pair is rewriting the text-book, with good news from the Fairview all-weather, to the classic environs of the Hollywoodbets Kenilworth turf, to the Vaal battleground, and even the far reaches of North of the Limpopo.
The winning streak commenced at Fairview on Friday when the lightly-tried Rafeef 4yo Cadenza shed his maiden at his second start. The Gr1 winning son of Redoute’s Choice
super-consistent daughter Smashing brought up the double when making it 5 wins from 29 starts when rocketing home to win the 1200m MR 74 Handicap.
Sandwiched in between the Rafeef winners, the Ridgemont-bred evergreen Canford Cliffs gelding Cliff Top scored his eighth victory in the afternoon’s feature, the Glendore Sprint.
There are not too many horses around who shed a maiden certificate with a victory
in the Listed Summer Juvenile Stakes at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth in January 2021, and five summers later are still paying their way!
On Saturday at the Hollywoodbets Kenilworth, Rafeef sired a double, starting with a smooth victory against the boys by his daughter Mai Sensation in the R250 000 Bantry Bay Stakes, followed by a late ‘hot knife through butter’ flying finish by his son Ireland Forever in a Class 4 1400m contest.
It was left to ‘Mr Reliable’ Canford Cliffs to bring the curtain down a superb weekend for the Ridgemont duo, when his Ridgemont-bred son Old Fashioned won the opening race at the rescheduled Vaal racemeeting on Sunday for Clinton Binda and Hollywood Racing.
The good weekend started with Ridgemont’s five-time G1 winning stallion Canford Cliffs gaining recognition when his son Action Zone
was crowned Zimbabwe’s Horse Of The Year and Champion Older Horse for 2024-2025.
The Spey Bridge awards, honouring Zimbabwe’s champions, was held after the final race at Borrowdale Park on Friday.
Action Zone claimed his biggest win last season when victorious in the Castle Tankard over 2000m. Bred by Daytona Stud, Action Zone, who is out of the Judpot mare Private Dancer, has won 10 of his 25 starts.
Rafeef continues to be a highly in-demand sire, and is currently at third position on the National Sires log behind champions Vercingetorix and Gimmethegreenlight. With less runners than a number of the big-hitters, Canford Cliffs holds a very respectable eighth slot!
Find out more by visiting www.ridgemont.co.za
NATURE CALLS
Race Coast announced on Tuesday that Hollywoodbets Scottsville had received over 46mm of rain over the past 7 days (Avr Pen 33), and further rainfall was forecast in the coming days.
In light of these conditions, the race meeting scheduled for Sunday 30 November was switched from the KZN Capital City track to the Hollywoodbets Greyville polytrack.
Race 6 will now be run over 2000m.
Entries were extended and closed on Tuesday at 09h00.
VAAL MEETING MOVES
Thursday’s 27 November Vaal racemeeting has been moved to the Turffontein inside track.
The Vaal received nearly 100mm of rainfall on Tuesday and is waterlogged.
Racetimes remain unchanged.
JOHN DURKAN CHASE
A CLOSE AFFAIR
Leading owner, American Rich Ricci enjoyed a great weekend with his pale pink and green silks carried to victory in both Group 1’s in Ireland.
On Saturday, his grey mare Lossiemouth took her first step on the road to the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham when thundering 19 lengths clear in the Unibet Morgiana Hurdle.
The result was anticipated, with Paul Townend’s mount going off a 1-5 favourite to beat her three rivals over the two-mile journey.
Gaelic Warrior (Paul Townend) wins the John Durkan Chase | Credit: Coolmore
“She was very good,” said Mullins. “The race was run at an even pace on soft, heavy ground and she did what she needed to do.”
She was cut to 3-1 for the Champion Hurdle and Mullins indicated she could next head to Leopardstown over Christmas.
Sunday’s prestigious John Durkan Chase was a much closer affair. A steeplechase of rare depth which included the winners of the Gold Cup and the last two Grand Nationals in a field of ten.
By race time the market made a duel between Cheltenham hero Fact To File and Aintree Group 1 Bowl winner Gaelic Warrior.
We were promised a contest between two of Willie Mullins’ most talented runners, and they certainly delivered.
The well-backed Gaelic Warrior had clearly been in rude health at home and he demonstrated that from the start.
Paul Townend’s mount led at the first fence from Fact To File, and from there gradually built a lead that might have stretched to around 25 lengths or more after they had propelled down the descent into the back straight.
While Fact To File was his closest pursuer throughout under Mark Walsh, they were strung out from an early juncture. Heart Wood and Fastorslow raced in third and fourth, but neither got close to the action.
Six out, and Gaelic Warrior got in deep and at the next looked as if he had expended a lot of energy. You wondered if he had run his race.
When Fact To File finally came upsides as they took the second-last, the writing was on
the wall for a horse that maybe hasn’t always demonstrated an abundance of resolution.
Fact To File landed narrowly in front after the final fence, but Gaelic Warrior just refused to yield under another strong and vigorous ride by the superb Townend.
Here, on testing ground, Rich and Susannah Ricci’s seven-year-old rallied and stuck his head down to deny the sublime Ryanair Chase winner by a neck. He even had his ears pricked as they crossed the line.
“It was a proper horserace and I had a willing partner,” a beaming Townend said after winning the € 150,000 feature for a third time.
Townend added: “He was fresh and ready and wanted to go. I was only going to get in a wrestling match with him if I didn’t let him on, and, to be fair to him, he took a breather when he needed it and gave himself a chance to fill up.”
“He had a good jump at the last when it was all on the line and put his head down and rallied for me again at the back of it.”
Trainer Willie Mullins concluded: “It was a hell of a horserace. A pity someone had to lose, but both horses gave their all and it was just a bob of the head.”
MALAYSIA START KAIDAN’S MAGIC
SA Jockey Academy graduate Kaidan Brewer made a dream start to his contract with champion trainer Simon Dunderdale in Malaysia, when he booted home two winners from his two rides at the Selangor Turf Club on Saturday morning.
Kaidan partnered the 5yo Australian-bred gelding Eruption to win the seventh, a Class 3 1200m, and just three races later, he steered Typhoon to victory in the Class 5A 1500m.
The former Sporting Post-sponsored 22-year-old rounded off his final month on African soil, for what is likely to be some time, when he won the R250 000 TAB Gr3 Starling Stakes at Turffontein on the 14-1 Valentina Balducci earlier this month.
After riding two good winners for the Dunderdale yard in a lightning visit to Malaysia in September, it came as no surprise when Kaidan’s Dad,
Andrew, who also acts as his manager-agentnumber 1 fan, informed the Sporting Post that his good son had signed to take up a contract with the top trainer.
“International exposure is something most young riders aspire to as it hones their skill set and experience. Kaidan really enjoyed the first visit to Malaysia, and it wasn’t a difficult decision to make when terms were agreed,” added the proud Dad, who was on course on Saturday morning.
Kaidan opens his new contract on Eruption | Credit: STC
WORLD’S HIGHEST RATED SPRINTER
MARCHES ON
Ka Ying Rising maintained a relentless pursuit of racing history and stretched his unbeaten sequence to 15 races with a devastating display of power and speed to land the HK$5,35 million Gr2 BOCHK Private Banking Jockey Club Sprint at Sha Tin on Sunday.
Unvanquished since January 2024, Ka Ying Rising obliterated nine rivals in clocking the second-fastest time in history over 1200m at Sha Tin – 1m 07.33s, marginally outside his own track record of 1m 07.20s – despite
being eased down over the last 100m by jockey Zac Purton.
Conceding five pounds to the rest of the field, the world’s highest-rated sprinter jumped
Ka Ying Rising and Zac Purton – fab 15! | Credit: HKJC
cleanly to lead from barrier 10 before settling in second place behind Beauty Waves and, such was his superiority, Purton said the tempo was still not fast enough – despite a blistering sectional of 21.93s from the 800m to the 400m.
Purton quickly put the issue beyond doubt on straightening as Ka Ying Rising surged clear inside the last 200m before being allowed to saunter to the line. The winning margin of two-and-three-quarter lengths flattered runner-up Fast Network with Helios Express third, a further length-and-three-quarters away.
Ka Ying Rising’s 15th consecutive win leaves him third overall for the most wins in a row
by a Hong Kong, China-trained horse behind Silent Witness (17) and Golden Sixty (16).
With the HK$28 million Gr1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint at Sha Tin on 14 December seemingly at his mercy, the Shamexpress gelding continues to impress Purton with his maturity, having successfully travelled back to Sha Tin after landing the Gr1 The Everest in Sydney, Australia on 18 October.
“He just looks better all the time. He’s mentally getting better. It’s hard to say that he’s improving or that he’s going to get better, but he’s certainly enjoying what he’s doing and handling it really well,” Purton said.
“It was good to see him win like that today without having to go to the bottom of him,
so it’s a nice confidence-boosting win as he comes back. I’ve never seen him look so good. We were hoping he was going to do that, and it’s good for him to back up what we were thinking.
“Mid-race, Beauty Waves was probably just half a step too slow – I know we’ve run nearly a track record time – but Ka Ying Rising was on his tippy toes behind him wanting to go quicker. That’s the beauty with this horse, the faster they go, the better he is.
“I got to the stage where I had to let him roll into it because otherwise it was going to be detrimental to him.”
Trainer David Hayes said: “To the eye, I thought it was probably one of his best wins. That was as easy as I’ve seen him do it –maybe in this race last year, but I thought it was probably better than this one last year when Purton did the kiss cam.
“Zac agreed with me. He thought he gave him probably the best feel in the last 15 races, so that’s a great sign. He just showed us that he’s right on song. He raced at the heaviest Hong Kong weight (1,158lb) he’s ever been today, which suggests he’s getting bigger, stronger, better.
“It’s just a dream come true to have a horse like this, and I really want to thank my team that travelled him overseas and didn’t miss a beat with him and brought him back in better condition than he left.
“He’ll be set for 2026 The Everest now again and, of course, we’ve got the big international race in three weeks which is his short-term grand finale, so it’s all very exciting.”
The battle for the homegrown rider’s berth in the LONGINES International Jockeys’
Championship at Happy Valley on 10 December continues.
Ho leads Chau with 11 wins to 10 after scoring on Chris So-trained Mabubu in the Class 4 BOCHK Cross-Border Services Handicap, but Chau struck back with victory on Ricky Yiu’s promising Sky Joy in the Class 3 BOC Credit Card Handicap.
Hugh Bowman edged to within one victory of Luke Ferraris in the tussle for the final LONGINES IJC place after piloting Francis Lui’s Do Your Part to success in the Class 4 BOC Life Handicap. Bowman trailed Ferraris 14-15 with one meeting left before the final selection.
Dylan Mo continued a productive association with Lui’s Winning Wing in the Class 2 BOCHK “Banking TrendyToo” Handicap as Zac Purton teamed with Mark Newnham when Four-Year-Old Classic Series prospect Invincible Ibis scored a soft victory in the Class 3 BOCHK Wealth Management Handicap.
James McDonald combined with John Size to notch his first win of his short-term stint when Fit For Beauty landed the Class 4 BOCHK SME In One Handicap before the gun Kiwi jockey posted a Group 2 double on Galaxy Patch and Romantic Warrior.
David Eustace and Lyle Hewitson closed the meeting in style as Riding Together earned a PP Bonus of HK$1.5 million for winning the Class 3 BOCHK BOC Pay+ Handicap.
BOUNCES BACK IN STYLE SHUM’S SUPERSTAR
Romantic Warrior made a triumphant return to racing at Sha Tin on Sunday afternoon as he sauntered to an emphatic victory in the HK$5,35 million Gr2 BOCHK Jockey Club Cup for jockey James McDonald and trainer Danny Shum.
Resuming after 232 days between races after surgery to his left-fore fetlock, Romantic Warrior – Hong Kong, China’s global champion – lifted his world record earnings to HK$217,7 million as the Hong Kong International Sale graduate became the first horse to win a third BOCHK Jockey Club Cup after victories in 2022 and 2024.
“He’s so special. It takes the words out of my mouth to be fair, it’s an absolute privilege to ride him and every time he goes around there’s a huge smile on the face. He’s really touching, that horse,” McDonald said.
“Danny and his team just gloat over him, he’s a special horse – one of a kind. His training performance is incredible. To have him
looking how he did, feeling how he did and performing how he did was a real testament to his training ability.”
Stepping smoothly from barrier two as 1.4 favourite, Romantic Warrior settled fourth behind leading duo Voyage Bubble and Sword Point, while Straight Arron sat third. Turning for home, McDonald popped his mount the question, circling wide, before letting loose in the straight with an unmatched burst of speed.
The Acclamation gelding’s winning time was 2m 03.72s, while the official margin was an eased down one and a half lengths ahead of Voyage Bubble, who held second, while Ka Ying Generation rolled into third place.
James McDonald steers Romantic Warrior to an eye-catching win | Credit: HKJC
Shum said: “I’d like to take this opportunity to thank my team, especially my stable assistant and his home rider. They put a lot of effort into him and, of course, my stable vet Lawrence Chan – he’s also helped him a lot.
“Before the race I talked to James and we all understood that the pace would be slow, and then we said the most important thing is to relax the horse. He had a good turn of foot, we were not worried about the pace being slow.”
Romantic Warrior will next target a recordextending fourth consecutive HK$40 million Gr1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup success at 14 December’s HK$130 million LONGINES Hong Kong International Races.
“It’s not easy to take a horse 232 days back to a Group 2 over 2000m. He’s a superstar, he’s got talent and is smart,” Shum said. “He didn’t
look seven years old, even when he turns eight, he will think he’s still a baby.
“I will just keep him happy; he’s fit at the moment. If you really want me to put a figure on it, I will say he was 85 per cent. After this race, he will put on another 10 or 12 pounds.
“I’d like to thank Hugh Bowman, of course, he trials the horse a lot and teaches the horse to relax. He also helps the team and the stable a lot.”
Romantic Warrior’s final 400m time (21.73s) this afternoon was faster than what Ka Ying Rising clocked (22.02s) on his way to victory in the HK$5,35 million Gr2 BOCHK Private Banking Jockey Club Sprint (1200m) earlier on the day.
ON GALAXY! NO PATCH
James McDonald delivered a masterful ride aboard Galaxy Patch to spring a surprise and claim the HK$5,35 million Gr2 BOCHK Private Wealth Jockey Club Mile at Sha Tin on Sunday, upsetting odds-on favourite My Wish in the process.
It was a first victory in 13 months for Pierre Ngtrained Galaxy Patch as James McDonald, the soon-to-be-named 2025 LONGINES World’s Best Jockey, registered the second win of his latest short-term stint in Hong Kong.
My Wish was slow from the gates, with only eventual winner Galaxy Patch emerging slower. But he quickly recovered and adopted a customary position – on pace and one off the rail heading to the bend.
The contest unfolded quickly as they entered the home straight, and a thrilling finish seemed likely with several runners manoeuvring into position to strike.
Luke Ferraris, aboard 1.4 favourite My Wish cruised into a clear run before asking the two-time Group winner to quicken at the 250-metre mark.
However, the response from Mark Newnham’s five-year-old was limited, and he was soon swallowed up by McDonald, who had timed a searing run on Galaxy Patch up the inside rail to perfection.
Hollie Doyle rode the unheralded Sunlight Power into second place for trainer Ricky Yiu, while the Frankie Lor-trained Happy Together, ridden by Alexis Badel, grabbed third, both half-a-length behind the winner. My Wish boxed on to claim fourth, a further half-length in arrears.
The brisk pace delivered the fastest 1600m time
Galaxy Patch (James McDonald) claims his fourth victory in group races | Credit: HKJC
– 1m 32.88s – of Galaxy Patch’s career and an eighth win for the six-year-old. Ng revealed the addition of blinkers was a telling factor.
“Obviously, with the gear change, with the blinkers, he finished stronger to the line, but still a little bit of improvement has to be made,” Ng said.
“We waited for very long for this win. This preparation has gone really well. Last month’s race was a bit unlucky with the run – he ran sixth. And today, luckily, it opened up well for him,” he added.
Adding further merit to the win, McDonald reported Galaxy Patch overcame interference in running.
“He did really well. He got a bit of a check at the 800m mark, and he regathered himself and came with a good surge,” McDonald said. “A nice
confidence-boosting win heading into December and we’ll see how we go.”
The result makes the HK$36 million Gr1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile an intriguing affair with My Wish seeking to turn the tables and the prospect of some smart overseas challengers, such as The Lion In Winter and Soul Rush, adding another element.
Ng revealed that McDonald is engaged to ride Galaxy Patch in the December showpiece and said he had pursued the Kiwi to take the ride.
“We waited for long for James McDonald – he was busy last season with Voyage Bubble. So, this season we waited for him. It was the first time he rode him in a race, he won it. We’re looking forward to the next one.”
CALANDAGAN
CROWNED CARTIER HORSE OF THE YEAR 2025
Horses from France, Ireland and Australia starred on a truly international evening at the 35th Cartier Racing Awards on Wednesday, November 19, with Calandagan taking the Cartier Horse of the Year title, Coolmore picking up four awards and Asfoora winning the Cartier Sprinter accolade.
Brough Scott received a standing ovation at the event, held at the Dorchester Hotel in London, as he was presented with the Cartier/ The Daily Telegraph Award of Merit for 2025 after a career in racing that has spanned more than 60 years as a jockey, journalist, broadcaster and author.
Calandagan became the fourth horse bred by the Aga Khan Studs to be crowned Cartier Horse of the Year following Daylami (1999), Dalakhani (2003) and Zarkava (2008), and the
first since the passing of His Highness Aga Khan IV in February.
Trained by Francis-Henri Graffard, Calandagan has enjoyed a superb campaign in 2025, including defeating top-class opposition in the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes and QIPCO Champion Stakes. Brigadier Gerard (1972) is the only other horse in history to win both races in the same season.
Horse Older Horse award recipients - Princess Zahra Aga Khan, Francis-Henri Graffard and MD of Cartier UK, Laurent Feniou | Credit: Supplied
Princess Zahra Aga Khan was presented with the Cartier Horse of the Year Award and said: “It has been a very special evening in many ways, and Calandagan is a very special horse. He has been trained by a very wonderful trainer, and this is a very special moment for us because Nemone Routh, racing manager, and I have been working on this together for almost 30 years and the whole team has really contributed to this. It is wonderful. Francis has done an amazing job, as has Mickael Barzalona and all the team at the stud and the stables.”
On her personal highlights this season, she said: “That is a difficult question, I suppose I would have to say Daryz winning the Arc, just because it was so poignant for me. That
was a very special day, but they all have been – as Francis said, every winner is a winner. And to me, this makes me remember that both Clodovina and Linamix are in this horse’s pedigree, so therefore I would like to remember Jean-Luc Lagardère, who bred his great granddam, and my dad.”
Calandagan won the Cartier Older Horse award as well, with Graffard adding: “It is amazing to be here. It is my first time at the Cartier Awards. It has been an incredible season and he is an incredible horse, so I’m delighted for him.”
Asked which the horse’s standout performance was, Graffard said: “The Champion Stakes – I was dropping him back
Colt
Charlie Pearson and Sam Magnier with Laurent Feniou (centre)
in distance and the field was very strong. The ground was good, which was fantastic for the sport, and we saw a fantastic race. I was delighted to win this race. The horse was unbelievable, he’s progressing, and I was happy to see that.
“He is actually on the plane going to Japan. It is going to be a very tough challenge, but I think I have the right horse to take on that challenge and hopefully it goes well next week.”
Asked if he has favourites, Graffard said: “No I don’t, we like them all – even the small handicappers, they deserve all the credit too. We have had an amazing season for the Aga Khan family this year, it’s been fantastic, we have lived a lot of emotions, it’s been very positive, and I hope next year will be the same, and the year after.”
Brough Scott’s tireless contribution to racing was recognised with the Cartier/The Daily
Telegraph Award of Merit. The former jockey has established himself as a hugely respected journalist and acclaimed author, in addition to becoming the face of racing on TV for three decades and co-founder of the Racing Post. He has lent his considerable talents to a host of causes throughout the industry and beyond.
On receiving the award, he said: “I am a bit overwhelmed. I want to thank Cartier very much, the judging panel, and all of you. I would like to take the opportunity to pay tribute to the whole racing game, and in particular to the horses, which have lit up our lives and indeed have brought us all together tonight.
“You know my story, and in truth, I’ve been quite ridiculously – and to be frank, rather silver spoonery – lucky. I only got into TV because I was the first professional jockey to be in the media and I managed to progress with the fairly simple pretence of, ‘If you can’t be good, be different’.
Two-Year-Old Colt award recipients - Christy Grassick, Manager of Coolmore Ireland, alongside Laurent Feniou Credit: Supplied
“I even survived my first ever interview, which was with the French superstar Yves Saint-Martin, who I knew from my time in Chantilly. Yves came on, he was very sweet and chatted away. But I hadn’t done TV before and there was a lot of noise in my earpiece. Yves was trying to help me, he could see I was nervous, he was talking on – a great, great champion. And I heard this noise in my ear, which I realised was saying, ‘Get him to speak in effing English!’ It was 1971, the 1,000 Guineas, and Altesse Royale [who Yves was there to ride] won the 1,000 Guineas and they all thought I was a rather good tipster, so I survived.
“What a life I’ve had, what places I’ve been, what races I’ve seen. Mill Reef – Brigadier Gerard in 1971; I remember going to the races with Lester [Piggott] when he was riding Nijinsky; Grundy – Bustino; Easy Goer – Sunday Silence in the Breeders’ Cup, amazing. Dancing Brave’s Arc, Nashwan and Dick Hern, Cigar at Belmont and in Dubai, and naturally Frankel unbeaten all the way. And to think that I was lucky to be around for Lester Piggot’s Lazarus act in the Breeders’ Cup 1990 – and I was at Ascot for both Frankie’s magnificent seven and again for his really impossibly perfect swansong on Champions Day two years ago.
“Racing has given me a passport to all over the world and all sorts of society. The same month – I was very proud of this, well, it’s racing that should be proud of it – I was welcomed down a mine and in Buckingham Palace. I stayed with Frank Carr in Malton and with the Aga Khan in Aiglemont. I have had breakfast in lads’ canteens, and one memorable time, lunch in the Paris penthouse of filmstar Omar Sharif.
“That passport has been very special to me. In a way, you could say I’ve had the best of
times. Frankly, and I don’t want to get too serious about this, when you get to my stage in the game – you know if you’re 82 turning 83, you know the odds. I really do think every day I need to get shifting here.
“There’s no point just looking back and being pessimistic. Of course, we have huge challenges ahead. But racing is infinitely better than it was – facilities for horses, humans and racegoers are much, much better. Nonetheless, the tide is going out on racing interest, we know that. But I believe that we have a central problem, which actually if tackled properly, could be turned to an advantage. My only point really is that, to outsiders, racing seems both exclusive and mysterious. Frankly, in today’s world, modern technology and a modern attitude towards racegoers and racecourses, there’s no excuse for exclusivity. There is no excuse for that now, because we live in a technical age where everybody can get onto websites. Even with a tiny share in a racehorse, you can get gossip and gallops on your phone practically every morning.
“You don’t have to be an owner, everybody has a website now and you can get involved, follow a trainer, follow a stud. And that’s where the mystery comes in, because however detailed the data, however careful the planning, all those trainers, all those jockeys, all those breeders, they know that it is an inexact science. And that the only proof – it’s a terrible truth – is that it always makes sense afterwards. But the more we look at it, a lovely truth is I believe the closer you get to racing, the more interesting it can become. We need to try to get people closer to it, because you can give them more data. Even more than that, the closer you get to the horse, the better it feels. My thanks to them and to all of you. It is a very special evening for me and made even more special by Francis Brooke giving
me a very kind letter from The King about this evening. Thank you for this, it’s been very important to me.”
Horses trained by Aidan O’Brien for Coolmore partnerships dominated the evening’s awards for juveniles and threeyear-olds, with Coral-Eclipse and Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes winner
Delacroix taking the Cartier Three-Year-Old Colt prize.
The Sprint is interactive – click here to read the full story.
ENTISAR ON RADAR FOR OSBOURNE GELDING
Having spent the summer contesting such banner races as the Preakness and the Belmont, Heart Of Honor deserved headline billing at Meydan’s second Dubai Racing Carnival meeting of the season.
Back at the scene of his agonizing defeat in the Gr2 UAE Derby in April, Jamie Osbourne’s gelding was typically slowly away in the Nakheel Stakes – the final race on the card.
Jockey Saffie Osborne didn’t panic, however, taking a route around most of her rivals and getting a good response once in the clear. Heart Of Honor came home well, putting seven and a quarter lengths between himself and second Galactic Star on the line
Saffie Osborne and Heart Of Honor make it look easy | Credit: DRC
It was a relieved Osborne who greeted the winner afterwards. “He’s frightened us many times in races – that’s his style and there’s an element of laziness – but he conserves energy for later on,” he said. “The Listed Entisar in three weeks’ time is the plan, as he won’t have a penalty in that.”
Jim Bryce, who owns Heart Of Honor with wife Claire, added: “It’s such a relief, you know he’s got the class to do it in theory, but there’s no ‘gimmes’ on this racetrack.” It was a notable victory for Saffie Osborne, too, the jockey having returned from three months out due to injury just yesterday.
“We knew this trip (1600m) would be on the short side for him, but it was about trying to get him into the best rhythm possible and making sure he had a nice start to the season,” she said.
“He’s obviously a very special horse for all of us and I’m delighted to get his head in front after some pretty tough defeats.”
The loudest cheer of the night came for Mendelsohhn Bay, who stormed to his second Stakes success in the Listed Dubai Creek Mile (sponsored by Nakheel).
The Bhupat Seemar-trained gelding won the 2024 Gr3 UAE 2000 Guineas and looked back to his best here, taking on leader and defending champion Meshtri on the bend and powering home by six lengths under Richie Mullen.
“I only got on him mid-season last year and it’s very hard for those three-year-olds against the older horses,” said Mullen. “Before, he could be a bit lethargic in his races but not today – he pinged the gates and travelled.
“I think the obvious target would be the Al Maktoum Mile, although I believe this horse will go further in time.”
Seemar was also responsible for the most heart-warming victory of the evening, which came in the Thunder Snow Handicap, won in emphatic fashion by eight-year-old Remorse.
Sixth in the 2022 Dubai World Cup, Remorse has always been a talented horse and showed all of that here, disputing the lead and charging home by six and a half lengths from Elyabri, in the hands of Tadhg O’Shea.
“He’s a stable favourite, Bhupat’s wife Caroline rides him every day, so I never even get to gallop him – she loves him!” said O’Shea. “Credit to her, she said he was spot on.
“He’s a horse that is dear to me. He gave me my first ever ride in a Dubai World Cup and a Saudi Cup, so the back class was there. With these old horses it’s all about confidence and I was adamant to make plenty of use of him from stall one and let him be a racehorse again.
“He had a bad fall at Abu Dhabi at the end of last season and plenty of horses wouldn’t have come back from a fall like that, so credit to the whole team and his owner, Ali Haddad, who is a very patient man.”
Charlie Appleby horses aren’t usually in action this early in the Carnival, but a different strategy paid off when Devon Island took the two-year-old colts’ Palm Central Maiden over 1600m on dirt.
Ridden by James Doyle, the son of Practical Joke was much the best, powering clear in the closing stages for a five-length win
over the closing Brotherly Love. A € 650,000 purchase who was second at Kempton on debut, Devon Island now looks bound for the Gr3 UAE 2000 Guineas in January.
“It was hard to know what to expect,” said Doyle. “He did a good job on debut behind a decent horse of Andrew Balding’s (Item), but then he came here for a trial and I had to watch it several times to pick him out!
“Charlie and his team did say he’d come on from that and he’s done it well. I kept out of the kickback, forfeiting ground, and when he felt another runner come to him, he lit up, so I kept up the momentum after that.”
Ahmad bin Harmash has a strong team of two-year-olds and his Yuno ground out success in the Palm Jebel Ali Maiden.
Ridden by Connor Beasley, the daughter of Rock Your World had to work hard to overcome leader Tjareed, but she won with a little in hand, by a length.
“She traveled well, but James Doyle, on Star Mirage, dropped back a little quicker than I anticipated and when she saw daylight, she latched on underneath me,” said Beasley. “We’ve held her in high regard from day one, so to get her under the lights and get the job done is very encouraging.
“She’ll have learned plenty tonight and she just did it under hands and heels. I think she’ll get 1600m, once she strengthens up properly, as she’s a big filly.”
Beasley rode a double, partnering Musabbeh Al Mheiri’s reliable Echo Point to victory in the Dubai Islands Handicap over 1400m.
This was a third win in the UAE for the sevenyear-old, but a first on dirt, and he did it well, beating Rammayy by six lengths.
Class rose to the fore in the opening Gr2 Bani Yas (sponsored by Nakheel) for Purebred Arabians when Mubeed got the job done under Ray Dawson.
Dr Jaber Bittar’s dual Group 1 winner probably needs further than this 1400m so had to work a little around the bend but he got better the further he went, and the result was a comfortable four-and three-quarter length win over AA RX Burn.
“I was very happy after the first couple or furlongs as I was concerned about dropping back to seven furlongs, (1400m) in a competitive race,” said Dawson.
“As soon as he got a bit of kickback, he just hesitated a little, but once he got out of that he was very professional, and I probably got to the front a bit too soon.”
Arif Khan, assistant to trainer Bittar added: “we only gave him easy work coming into this. The next race for him will be the Gr1 Maktoum Challenge Round 1 on Festive Friday, 19 December.”
Meydan racing continues on Friday 5 December.
QUID PRO QUO IS BREATHING FIRE!
Team Valor International reports that Jerome Reynier brought Grade 1-winning South African Champion Quid Pro Quo up the road to Vivaux Racecourse in Marseille on Monday morning for a team drill he hoped would enlighten him as to the mare’s readiness for a 13 December European debut at Deauville in the Listed Prix Miss Satamix.
She went 1500m on the all-weather track at the seaside racecourse.
Said the Darley Flying Start graduate, “Everyone was complimentary on how summer-like her coat looked. They were surprised at her well-being. Antonio (Orani) could not have been happier in how she acted and went through her gears in the workout.”
The blaze-faced mare followed a workmate around the oval in the South of France. She was kept a bit wide and outside of her teammate Moving under light restraint but very much in the hands or Orani, the bay mare was situated about a length behind the other Reynier resident and had her ears pricked to the stretch curve.
Quid Quo Pro with Antonio Orani in the saddle | Credit: TVI
Looking like a coiled spring ready to jump, the mare ranged up outside of the other horse once settled into the lane, went to her all on her own and was totally relaxed.
The mare started with a 14-second furlong, then rattled off a succession of 13-plus furlongs until entering the lane.
Squeezed ever so slightly by Orani as a signal it was time to move, Quid Pro Quo lengthened her impressive stride and rattled off 200m in an astounding :10.90. She cruised to the finishing post in :12.50 to complete her final quarter in :23.40. Her final three-eighths was done in :36.40.
“For me it was a very good move,” Reynier said.
“She did blow a bit afterwards, but that was the point of this work, wasn’t it? She recovered quickly. She is all set now for the Deauville race, which we have designed as her prep for the Gr2 Cape Verdi at Meydan in January. Antonio will ride her in the Deauville prep. We can chat about a rider for Dubai after that. I am very happy with what I saw today.”
Quid Pro Quo went in splits of :14.00, :27.40, :41.10, :56.00, 1:09.20 and 1:21.90 before hitting the line after 7 furlongs in :132.90.
Says Barry Irwin “These times will sound quite pedestrian by American standards, but the only part that really counts is the last 3 furlongs. She gave us a glimpse of what she really can accomplish in that penultimate furlong. Not too many America horses toss in a sub-11-second furlong at the top of the lane in a work going this far. It was impressive.”
The Prix Miss Satamix is contested over a
Polytrack surface that Reynier says is quite similar to the all-weather track over which the mare breezed in Marseille. Following the French Listed prep, the mare will be flown directly from Paris to Dubai.
An Equus Award-winning daughter of the Heuningsfontein-based Jet Master stallion Lance, Quid Pro Quo was bred by Gerald Kalil and is out of the five-time winning daughter of The Sheik, Delightful Diva.
Gerald has not been in the best of health and celebrated a birthday last week. This update will be a tonic.
Quid Quo Pro is led by her handler | Credit: TVI
LAWRENCE PILLAY
A PASSIONATE RACING MAN
A longstanding owner and supporter of South African horseracing, Sathanadha ‘Lawrence’ Pillay passed away in the Millpark Hospital in Johannesburg on Saturday morning. He was 72 years old.
The Managing Director of Active Power Projects, Lawrence Pillay was passionate about his family and his horses, which he raced on the Highveld and in KZN.
Some of the bigger names he raced include Fantastic Mr Fox, Beza, Act Of Power, Mini Black, Queen Eliza, Royal Kailani, Mission Rocks and Global Thunder, to mention a few.
His daughter-in-law Mona Pillay told the Sporting Post that the family was shattered by the loss of a widely respected and muchloved patriarch.
“He was a popular man who loved speaking about his horses and knew many people in horseracing. The walls of his home are proudly adorned with framed photographs of his winners. His energy and passion will be missed by many,” she added.
Trainer Corrie Lensley said that Mr Pillay had been with their yard for some three years. “A staunch supporter of the industry, he was a quiet man, a low-profile personality who enjoyed a punt and was very involved in his horses’ progress and wellbeing. He never missed a Hollywoodbets Durban July or WSB Cape Town Met. He was also very popular, in particular in the Elevation Room at Turffontein, where the staff enjoyed his generosity. We have lost a good man and an excellent owner,” added Corrie Lensley.
Mr Pillay was a member of the partnership that races Sonic Jet, who runs for the Lensley yard in the fourth race at the Vaal on Thursday.
In the Tamil faith, 16 days after a person has reached the ‘Abode of Siva’, a special ceremony called a Kariyam is performed. That will be on 7 December.
Mr Pillay will lie in state at his home at 3 Jeffrey Avenue, Morehill, Benoni from 18h00 to 20h00 on Wednesday 26 November.
A funeral service will be held at St Joseph’s Catholic Church Hall, Birmingham Rd, Actonville on Thursday 27 November from 10h00 to 12h30, and thereafter to the Brakpan Crematorium.
Laurence Pillay’s wife Raj passed away seven years ago. He is survived by seven children, 25 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren.
MHDSRIP.
S I RE S T R A I NER S Name
3,853,031 3,352,313 2,321,563 2,481,875 2,057,344 6,079,819 4,529,244 3,452,063 3,344,713 3,115,563
3,895,288 3,376,663 3,298,044 9,563,861 6,618,220 6,019,944 5,793,796 4,999,643 J
7,502,454 6,982,562 5,037,638 3,592,978 3,521,853
8,685,161 6,615,253 4,670,948 4,647,015 4,412,959