Early betting for Scottsville G1 Sprints

Jack Milner

Four Grade 1 sprint races over 1200m making up Jackpot One, a carryover of R1 million, a likely pool of R3 million – let the games begin!

Bettors are in for an amazing day’s racing at Hollywoodbets Scottsville on Saturday and with the carryover encompassing a Jackpot rather than a Pick 6, it all looks a lot more catchable.

The other advantage is that with just four legs, one’s money goes further and will allow one to get a bigger share of the pie should you get it right.

The Jackpot runs over Races 5 to 8, and the first three – the Allan Robertson Championship for two-year-old fillies, the Gold Medallion for two-year-olds and the South African Fillies Sprint – are all run at weight-for-age terms.

However, the Golden Horse Sprint is a handicap for all horses and a full field of 16 runners is carded to go to post. There are also two reserve runners should any of the others come out of this R850,000 race.

Being a handicap, it makes the race far more open as in theory all runners are weighted to have a winning chance.

Bookmakers appear to be making Race 5, the Allan Robertson Championship a race in two between Winter Cloud and unbeaten Mrs Geriatrix.

Trained by Candice Bass Robinson, Winter Cloud was unplaced on debut but has since reeled off three wins. With the course known to be a graveyard for many who run on it for the first time, Bass-Robinson brought her early to KwaZulu-Natal and ran her in the Grade 3 Strelitzia Stakes over 1100m, which she won with ease. She is priced up at 11-10 but Sean Tarry, a trainer who has had much success on this race day, brings Mrs Geriatrix who has won three from three.

Both are drawn towards the outside which is considered to be unfavourable and if that is the case, it could open the door for others.

Tarry has unbeaten Lucky Lad in the Gold Medallion and he is the 2-1 favourite but there will be plenty support for Outlaw King, who despite going down 0.50-lengths to Cliff Hanger in the Grade 3 Godolphin Barb Stakes over 1100m, has had a warm-up at the course.

The SA Fillies Sprint is seen by the bookmakers as a two-horse affair between Princess Calla (1-1) and Desert Miracle (3-1) and this is reflected in the betting with 10-1 on offer about third favourite Golden Hostess.

Despite Gimme A Prince (22-10) and Rio Querari (9-2) dominating the betting in the Golden Horse Sprint, there are many other with chances at the weight turnarounds.

CURRENT BETTING

ALLAN ROBERTSON FILLIES CHAMPIONSHIP

11-10 WINTER CLOUD

15-4 MRS GERIATRIX              

7-1 GOLDEN TATJANA            

14-1 CULLINAN BLUE, ELEGANT ICE  

16-1 HOT PEARL, MOVING IN

18-1 RED HOT ROSE

22-1 RASCOVA

28-1 CAPTAINS CHRISTY

30-1 GLOBAL THUNDER         

33-1 TROPPO VELOCE

GOLD MEDALLION

2-1 LUCKY LAD

29-10 OUTLAW KING             

15-2 RED BOMBER     

17-2 CLIFF HANGER               

14-1 WARRIOR OF ROYALTY, EGYPTIAN MAU, ICY BLAST

16-1 THE AFRICA HOUSE, GUY GIBSON

20-1 LET THE FLAG FLY, THE ABDICATOR       

SA FILLIES SPRINT

1-1 PRINCESS CALLA

3-1 DESERT MIRACLE

10-1 GOLDEN HOSTESS

12-1 GIMME A SHOT, COLD FACT

14-1 WHOA WHOA WHOA, STIPTELIK           

16-1 IPHIKO

18-1 AMEENA

66-1 AUNTY LIZZY

GOLDEN HORSE SPRINT

22-10 GIMME A PRINCE

9-2 RIO QUERARI       

8-1 WILLIAM ROBERTSON, WE'RE JAMMING

9-1 BARTHOLDI

10-1 SUPREME WARRIOR

18-1 UNDER YOUR SPELL

20-1 SURJAY

28-1 THUNDERSTRUCK, GLADATORIAN        

33-1 COUNTDOWN, SEEKING THE STARS, AFTER THE RAIN

40-1 TAIKONAUT, FULL VELOCITY, GOOD TRAVELLER