Blockbuster racing weekend starts today
LOVERS of horse racing are in for a blockbuster weekend of top-notch racing with no less than eight feature races set to be contested today and tomorrow.
While Classic Day tomorrow at Turffontein is undoubtedly the main attraction, today’s Listed Breeders Guineas at Fairview for three-year-old fillies over 1 600m is a highlyregarded supporting act.
Alan Greeff’s Luna Halo has been priced up at 13-20 to win this Class B event which is unsurprising as she is already a six-time winner from 10 outings. She has also contested Grade 1 and Grade 2 events in Cape Town, notably running just 5.6-lengths behind Beach Bomb in the Grade 1 Cape Fillies Guineas.
Close on her heels is Justin Snaith’s raider Siddeley at 2-1, who will be trying the distance for the first time.
On paper it seems that the Breeders Guineas is destined to be a two-horse race, however, 12-1 long shot Passchendaele must not be ignored.
This daughter of Querari will be making her debut for Kelly Mitchley having moved from the yard of Glen Kotzen in Cape Town.
It took her six runs before the penny dropped, but judged on her last three outings, all over 1 800m, she could still evolve into a very fine runner, especially when given ground.
With seven feature races on tomorrow’s Turffontein card, including three Grade 1s, a day of binge-watching is a given.
To make matters even more interesting, TAB has boosted the Pick 6 with a R1 million carryover, with the pool expected to reach R5 million.
Both Gimme A Nother and Sandringham Summit are expected to dominate the day’s main events, the Grade 1 Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Classic and the Grade 1 TAB Gauteng Classic respectively.
Gimme A Nother, trained by Mike de Kock, has won all five her starts with consummate ease. With a Grade 3 and two Grade 2 victories to her credit, she is hard to oppose in this field. She can win flashing up from the back or go pillar to post. This race does look to be hers for the taking, with jockey JP v’d Merwe again in the saddle.
Sandringham Summit, trained by David Nieuwenhuizen, is unquestionably one of the best three-year-olds in the country.
A runaway winner of the TAB Gauteng Guineas, he looks impossible to oppose at the weights.
He beat seven of the rivals he faces tomorrow in the Guineas and none of them seem to have any chance of reversing the form.
Gavin Lerena will be riding this son of Gimmethegreenlight for a fourth time.
The two Classic races are the third and fourth leg of the Pick 6.
In the last leg, the Grade 3 JJ The Jet Plane Stakes over 1 000m, Dyce could also be considered a potential banker.
The hottest sprinter in the country after claiming the Grade 1 Cape Flying Championship last time out, Lucky Houdalakis’ charge has the added benefit of Craig Zackey in the irons. This jockey has steered him to five of his seven career wins.
With three potential bankers, bettors will have the luxury of going very wide in the other three legs of the Pick 6. Those races, a Maiden Plate over 1 160m (Race 4), the Listed Wilgerbosdrift Acacia Stakes over 1 600m (Race 5), and the Grade 1 Wilgerbosdrift H F Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes (Race 8), seem to be a lot more competitive.