New Predator is back for a second bid for Charity Mile
DRAWS: TARRY HAS FOUR RUNNERS IN FIELD BUT MOST HAVE LANDED WIDE BARRIER POSITIONS
Emperors Palace looking to increase charity bonus from R1 million to R1.5 million next year.
Once again there was a massive buzz at Emperors Palace yesterday where the field for this year’s R1-million Peermont Emperors Palace Charity Mile at Turffontein on Saturday 4 November was unveiled.
Joint top weights for the Grade 2 race over 1600m on the Standside track are Argentina import Hat Puntano and last year’s winner New Predator. They are both carded to carry 61kg. Grant van Niekerk has been given the ride on Hat Puntano by Michael and Adam Azzie while for the second successive year Gavin Lerena will be aboard New Predator for the Johan Janse van Vuuren stable.
Sean Tarry has accepted six runners for the race but while four of them are carded to run, Social Order and Count Tassilo are the respective first and second reserve runners.
Sadly for Tarry, the horses who did make the main field drew wide while the two reserve runners landed up with No 2 and No 3 draws.
The horse Tarry likes best of his sextet is Finchatton who carries 55kg, has Callan Murray in the irons but is drawn No 16. “For me the horse best prepped for the race is Finchatton but he is drawn in the bush,” said the champion trainer.
His other runners are Tahini, Tilbury Fort and French Navy who is being prepared specifically for the Sansui Summer Cup on 25 November. He drew best of the four runners at No 7, Tahini drew No 10 and Tilbury Fort No 17.
Other than New Predator, Johan Janse van Vuuren is also running Irish Pride, winner of last year’s WSB Grand Heritage last. He drew No 12 and will have Donavan Mansour up.
This year’s Grand Heritage winner, Forest Fox from the Paul Peter yard, is also in the line-up as is second-placed Classify who started racing in the Eastern Cape. Dorrie Sham’s runner will be 3kg better off for a head defeat and landed a decent No 8 draw.
Ryan Munger is down to ride Forest Fox and they will jump from No 11 draw.
There are still a number of jockeys to be announced and that is because many of the runners have light weights and there are not enough jockeys of substance around to ride at those weights.
Group Gaming & VIP Operations Executive for Peermont Emperors Palace Bob Yearham mentioned that it was two years ago they announced the increase to the competing charities from R550,000 to R1-million, and added that hopefully next year they will be able to increase that further to R1.5-million.
That prompted a response from Larry Wainstein, CEO of the Racing Association. “When you put the charities up to R1 million you forced me to match you and lift the stake for the race to R1 million. If you put the charity money up to R1.5 million it will force me to talk to my board and I’m sure I can pursuade them to match the stake money to R1.5 million.”