Carryover pool for Scottsville Jackpot

Jack Milner

The possibility of staging a Grade 1 Jackpot at a local meeting only comes around once a year and bettors will be able to enjoy the added benefit of R500,000 carryover kicking it off this time.
The four 1200m Grade 1 races will be run at Hollywoodbets Scottsville on Saturday, starting at Race 5, and with the added carryover bonus the pool is likely to reach R2 million.
The first leg is the Allan Robertson Championship for two-year-old fillies and that is followed by the Gold Medallion for all juveniles.
Race 7 is the South African Fillies Sprint, and the Jackpot will culminate with the running of the Golden Horse Sprint. While the first three events are run at weight-for-age, the Golden Horse Sprint is a handicap which makes it particularly competitive.
All the races have been well supported and all the fields are large.
The problem with juvenile races is that runners can improve markedly from one race to the next but there are very strong vibes coming from the Paul Peter yard about the chances of Miss Cool in the Allan Robertson Championship. This daughter of What A Winter thrashed male opposition in the Grade 2 SA Nursery over 1160m at Turffontein last time.
She is favourite at 3-1 and has Gavin Lerena up, but she has yet to run at Scottsville and that is always a concern.
Trainer Corne Spies knows what it takes to win one of these Grade 1 races and he made sure highly regarded Prophet had an early view of the track by running him in the Grade 3 Godolphin Barb Stakes over 1100m, which he won with ease.
He has been priced up favourite at 5-2 for the Gold Medallion but will take on a lot stronger field this time, which includes Port Elizabeth-based Cliff Top, who won the Listed Summer Juvenile Stakes at Kenilworth on Cape Town Met day.
Captain’s Ransom stands out as the highest rated runner in the SA Fillies Sprint but she has not won over a straight sprint course since her second career start two years ago.
She will be taking on some top sprinting fillies in Big Burn and Under Your Spell so she could find the going tough but she will be racing fresh and that could aid her chances.
The Golden Horse Sprint is always competitive, but this year Dean Kannemeyer-trained Cosmic Highway has been priced up favourite at 19-10. However, he is drawn on the outside which is not always that helpful at Scottsville and will face plenty opposition from some well-performed older sprinters.

Opening betting

Allan Robertson Championship: 3-1 Miss Cool; 5-1 Sweet Pepper; 7-1 Ameena, Glittering Girl; 15-2 River Queraress; 10-1 Time For Glory; 12-1 Ride On; 14-1 Ekoria; 20-1 and upwards others

Gold Medallion: 5-2 Prophet; 9-2 Thunderstruck; 11-2 Karangetang; 6-1 Cliff Top; 7-1 Imposing; 10-1 Countdown; 12-1 Gladatorian; 14-1 and upwards others

SA Fillies Sprint: 17-10 Captain's Ransom; 9-2 Under Your Spell; 6-1 Big Burn; 8-1 True To Life; 10-1 Sound Of Warning; 14-1 Winter Smoke; 16-1 and upwards others

Golden Horse Sprint: 19-10 Cosmic Highway; 8-1 Smorgasbord; 9-1 Good Traveller; 10-1 Battle Force; 11-1 Alesian Chief; 12-1 Eden Roc, Al Sakeet; 14-1 Bartholdi, Real Gone Kid; 16-1 Hello Winter Hello; 20-1 and upwards others