Top jockey event could lift crowd at Scottsville

The Ryder Cup golf event is still 15 months away, but racing will stage its own version at Scottsville on Sunday with the running of the New Turf Carriers Interprovincial Challenge.

Paris in September is the venue for the 2018 Ryder Cup and that could be a great time to be in the capital as the Qatar Prix de l’Arc De Triomphe is run on the first Sunday in October.

There should be a decent crowd at Scottsville, with many top jockeys in action. Teams of riders from KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and the Western Cape compete for top honours in a series of races with their mounts being allocated by ballot.

The top three riders in each province at the end of May — based on the national jockeys’ log — are automatically included in each team. The fourth rider — similar to the Ryder Cup format — is the captain’s pick.

The Highveld Hawks are the defending champions having won this event 12 months ago and Gavin Lerena will hope to captain his side to victory once again. His automatic teammates are S’manga Khumalo and Craig Zackey and Lerena has chosen Marco van Rensburg as his wild card to complete the side.

KZN Falcons won the first running of this event in 2015 and champion-elect Anthony Delpech will captain the home side with Anton Marcus and Warren Kennedy. Delpech has chosen Alec Forbes as the fourth member of the team.

Greg Cheyne has enjoyed another successful season and he will captain the Cape Eagles with his two automatic team members being Richard Fourie and Corne Orffer. Cheyne has chosen in-form M J Byleveld as his wild card.

The Cape Eagles have finished runner-up in both run challenges, so will be aiming to go one better this time.

Meanwhile, Turffontein will host a nine-race card at the city track on Saturday, and Sean Tarry will be expecting Zerodarkthirty to take the winner’s cheque in the second race. His

runner has finished runner-up on three occasions. Trainer Candice Dawson will be hoping that Lerena can get her runner Jameson Girl home in the seventh race. The filly is likely to be sent off favourite, but she could be fully extended by Coenie de Beer’s speedy Lady Starlett.

De Beer is the trainer of 2015-16 Equus Champion Sprinter Tellit to the stars so he knows what is required to win races over the minimum trip.

Alec Laird’s juvenile Skiminac takes on the year-older Matthew Lips in the first leg of the jackpot and they look likely to contest the finish. Laird’s runner gets his 4kg weight-for-age allowance, which could tip the scales in his favour.

Pills are something Gary Player has never needed in his illustrious career, but a horse he bred, Happy Pills, makes most appeal in the eighth race in which both Daffiq and Amsterdam will have their supporters.

Trainer Geoff Woodruff looks likely to finish in sixth place in this season’s national log and he could capture the final race with Miss Bulsara. She will be ridden by Van Rensburg, who represents the Highveld Hawks.

The first race at Turffontein looks to be a match between Wheel Of Time and Battle Front and the first-named gets a narrow verdict for victory.