MK’s Pride best in Breeders Mile

Jack Milner

The KwaZulu-Natal Breeders meeting is one of the highlights of the season and while it might not attract the level of popular support as the Hollywoodbets Durban July, it is an important event in the industry and it does receive the backing of owners and trainers who have a KZN-bred runner in their yards.

This meeting takes place at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Sunday and to celebrate the day there will be a R500,000 Pick 6 carryover at the meeting with a likely pool of R3 million.

Seven of the eight races will be run on the Polytrack while the R600,000 KwaZulu-Natal Breeders Mile will be run on the turf.

MK’s Pride is one of two Grade 1 winners lining up in Breeders Mile and the Robbie Sage’s charge comes into the race as the best weighted runner. He is 7.5kg better weighted over nearest rival Battle Force and even bigger margins over the rest.

Battle Force is the other Grade 1 winner and while he finished second in this race last year, his Grade 1 win was over 1200m while MK’s Pride success was in the HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes over 1600m at Turffontein and so has everything in his favour.

Muzi Yeni rode him to that victory over Puerto Manzano and he will be back in the irons for this event.

There are two youngsters who could trouble the five-year-old. Noble City, one of trainer Paul Muscutt’s highest rated three-year-olds, was scratched from the Hollywoodbets Durban July. While he is improving and has reached a merit rating of 101, it wasn’t enough, and he does give the impression he will furnish into the real deal as a four-year-old.

He won over the course and distance last time out and the manner of that victory suggests there is more to come. But he now meets a horse who took multiple Graded-race winner Trip Of Fortune to the wire and had Grade 1 SA Classic winner Anfields Rocket well and truly beaten over 1600m.

Noble City has room for improvement but with over 21 points or 11.5kg of improvement to find, the race might have come a tad too soon. Interestingly, he is a half-brother to Battle Force and has already shown more of a knack for the distance.

Captain Casey has some very good form in the bank, and he did have quite a disadvantage from the widest barriers in his last two. He, however, gives the impression the mile might be his limit and he could battle to hold form against the best in this category.

Mike de Kock sends out Platina Princess in Race 1, a Juvenile Plate for fillies over 1200m on the Polytrack and she looks to be the best bet on the card as the opposition looks slim in her heat. She is drawn slightly wide at No 7 but she shed her maiden by 6.20 lengths and then finished a two-length third behind stable companion White Pearl, who is one of the highly regarded contenders for the Grade 2 Zulu Kingdom Explorer Golden Slipper over 1400m on Hollywoodbets Durban July day.

Craig Zackey takes the ride.

Jack Milner’s selections

Race 1: 7 Platina Princess, 2 Full Of Magic, 1 Givers Grace, 3 Si Veloce

Race 2: 6 Captain's Christy, 5 Mount Pilatus, 1 Mambo's Call, 3 Teerex

Race 3: 1 Acacia's Blossom, 5 Hawker Typhoon, 7 Calulo, 3 Midnight Gem

Race 4: 1 African Skyline, 9 Beechamwood Boy, 5 Justaguything, 3 Coin Spinner

Race 5: 7 The Kop, 8 Raratonga Rose, 3 Capetown Beauty, 2 Aquae Sulis

Race 6: 4 Strawberry Bear, 1 Prince Of Taranto, 7 Pewter Sky, 5 Straight Up

Race 7: 6 MK's Pride, 9 Noble City, 3 Captain Casey, 4 Battle Force

Race 8: 4 Hugsandhighfives, 6 Magical Flight, 8 Escapologist, 9 Petit Verdot

BEST BET

Race 1 No 7 Platina Princess

VALUE BET

Race 8 No 4

BEST SWINGER

Race 6 1x4

BIPOT

R108

Leg 1: 7

Leg 2: 1, 5, 6

Leg 3: 1, 5, 7

Leg 4: 1, 9

Leg 5: 3, 7, 8

Leg 6: 1, 4

PLACE ACCUMULATOR

R324

Leg 1: 1, 5, 6

Leg 2: 1, 5, 7

Leg 3: 1, 9

Leg 4: 3, 7, 8

Leg 5: 4

Leg 6: 6, 9

Leg 7: 4, 6, 8

PICK 6

R1600

Leg 1: 1, 3, 4, 5, 7

Leg 2: 1, 3, 5, 9

Leg 3: 2, 3, 7, 8

Leg 4: 1, 4

Leg 5: 6, 9

Leg 6: 1, 4, 6, 8, 9

JACKPOT 1

R64

Leg 1: 1, 3, 5, 9

Leg 2: 2, 3, 7, 8

Leg 3: 1, 4

Leg 4: 6, 9

JACKPOT 2

R80

Leg 1: 2, 3, 7, 8

Leg 2: 1, 4

Leg 3: 6, 9

Leg 4: 1, 4, 6, 8, 9