54 names in Grand Heritage hat

The World Sports Betting Grand Heritage has been described as somewhat of a cavalry charge, and with good reason.

Run over the unusual distance of 1475m up the Vaal straight, the race pits an oversized field of horses, of varied achievement and rating, against each other.

In total, 28 runners are scheduled to face the starter for this year's renewal on 20 December and judged by the first entries, racegoers will be in for an equine spectacle of note.

No less than 54 horses saw their names in the hat when first entries closed on Monday, and with more than a month to go before the close of supplementary entries on 10 December, it is highly likely that a full final field on 28 runners and two reserves will be declared for this iconic race come 15 December.

For punters, the WSB Grand Heritage is somewhat of a minefield due to the sheer size of the field.

Added to that are the conditions, with horses awarded additional penalties according to their highest Graded or Listed wins in the 13 months prior to the closing date of first entries. These penalties are 3kg for a Grade 1 win, 2kg for a Grade 2 win, 1kg for a Grade 3 win and 0.5kg for a Listed win. There is also no sex allowance, which means that the weights carried in the WSB Grand Heritage might not correspond exactly to a horse's official merit rating.

But this all adds to the opportunity to win big.

With a total purse of R500,000 the Non-Black Type WSB Grand Heritage slao offers trainers and owners more than just the prestige of a victory.

The first entries for the WSB Grand Heritage, in order horse and trainer, are:

ANFIELDS ROCKET (Grant Maroun)
BAKWENA (Johan Janse van Vuuren)
BEYNAC (James Crawford)
BIG UNIT (James Crawford)
BIRTHRIGHT (Alec Laird)
BLIZZARD QUEST (Sean Tarry)
BOB'S YOUR UNCLE (Lucky Houdalakis)
BRISTOL HERCULES (Mike/Mathew de Kock)
BUSSTOPINHOUNSLOW (Grant Maroun)
CALANTHA (Mike/Mathew de Kock)
CARE FORGOT (Sean Tarry)
CHAMPION WARRIOR (Sean Tarry)
CHYAVANA (Johan Janse van Vuuren)
COMING IN HOT (Fanie Bronkhorst)
COSMIC STAR (Johan Janse van Vuuren)
DESTINY OF FIRE (Mike/Mathew de Kock)
ECHO CHECK (Fabian Habib)
ELEGANTRIX (Corne Spies)
ENSUING (Johan Janse van Vuuren)
FIRE 'N FLAMES (Kobus Roux)
FRERE JACQUES (Lucky Houdalakis)
FULLY LOADED (Fabian Habib)
GERBERA (Sean Tarry)
GIMMEANOTHERCHANCE (Mike/Mathew de Kock)
GOT THE FEELING (Fanie Bronkhorst)
ICY BLAST (Mike/Mathew de Kock)
JURY'S OUT (Candice Dawson)
KISSHOTEN (Tony Peter)
MASTER CHRISTMAS (Tony Peter)
MINOGUE (Candice Dawson)
MOCHA FRAPPE (Alec Laird)
MONEY HEIST (Tony Peter)
MUSICAL SCORE (Lucky Houdalakis)
OBSIDIAN (Johan Janse van Vuuren)
OPEN HIGHWAY (Fanie Bronkhorst)
PASSAGE OF POWER (Fabian Habib)
PAUL REVERE (Corrie Lensley)
PLUS FOUR (Candice Dawson)
PRESLEY (Johan Janse van Vuuren)
PRESSONREGARDLESS (David Nieuwenhuizen)
PROPHET (Corne Spies)
RED BOMBER (Johan Janse van Vuuren)
RICHARD THE FIRST (Phillip/Jeannique Vermeulen)
ROCK OF BISMANTOVA (Corne Spies)
SILVER TUDOR (Sean Tarry)
SKITTLES SKIES (Paul Matchett)
SLINKY MAPIMPI (Phillip/Jeannique Vermeulen)
SONIC JET (Corrie Lensley)
STORM BRASCO (Sean Tarry)
TAEGAN'S CHAMP (Fabian P Habib)
TOMMY SHELBY (Fabian Habib)
TSAR BOMBA (Johan Janse van Vuuren)
VIBE SA (Tony Peter)
YIPPEE KIYAY (Mike/Mathew de Kock)