Jack Milner
Racing purest are in for a remarkable day’s racing at Turffontein on Saturday.
There is so much going on. The 12 races carded on Champions Day comprise nine features – three Grade 1s, 5 Grade 2s and a Listed event – and some of the best horses in the country will be in action.
But there is so much more happening as history could be made at this meeting in the two races exclusively for the three-year-olds – the Wilgerbosdrift Bridget Oppenheimer SA Oaks and the TAB SA Derby, both over 2450m.
In the Oaks, Corne Spies-trained Hazy Dazy will be looking to join a select group of fillies who have won the Wilgerbosdrift Triple Tiara. She claimed both the Grade 2 Wilgerbosdrift Gauteng Guineas over 1600m and last month added the Grade 1 Wilgerbosdrift SA Classic over 1800m.
It all comes down to one race on Saturday to see her earn the R1-million bonus and claim her place in the record books.
Of course, that is not all. Should she win, Trent Mayhew will become the first apprentice in the country to have ridden a winner to all three legs, in either the Triple Tiara or the Triple Crown.
It is also a filly who will be chasing a rare feat in the SA Derby. As a trainer Mike de Kock has continually raised the bar for his achievements in the sport.
He has won the Derby six times and at this meeting he will attempt to accomplish something that has not been achieved in 109 years – win the Derby with a filly.
No filly has won the race since Noble Lady in 1917 and this year De Kock, now in partnership with his son, Mathew, will be relying on Curious Girl to do just that.
Curious Girl comes into the race with excellent form, having proven herself over the distance. She won the Ormond Ferraris Oaks Trial over 2000m by 5.75 lengths in 1.63 seconds faster time than Diogenes, winner of the effective Derby Trial, the Listed Hawwaam Stakes Diogenes, on the same day.
She also has a 2.5kg sex allowance.
Sean Veale will replace injured Gavin Lerena on Curious Girl.
The main threat is likely to come from Diogenes, who is now trained by Weichong Marwing and will be ridden by Muzi Yeni.
The three Grade 1 races are the TAB Empress Club Stakes for fillies and mares over 1600m, the TAB Computaform Sprint over 1000m and the HKJC Premier’s Champions Challenge over 2000m.
There is little doubt that See It Again is the frontrunner to win the Champions Challenge. Justin Snaith’s charge is an eight-time winner, three of them Grade 1s all over 2000m.
He did contest the Grade 1 HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes over 1600m last month but was unsuited to the slow pace, and although running on at the end, he was beaten 3.75 lengths into second place.
There is no doubt he will be better suited to the additional 400m this time and will have the services of log-leading jockey Craig Zackey in the irons.
His chances have been greatly enhanced with the scratching of the two three-year-olds, Trust and Grand Empire.
Snaith could also be on the mark with five-year-old mare Double Grand Slam, who will be seeking her third Grade 1 win. She tends to come from off the pace and should be ideally suited to Turffontein.
She did just get up by 0.30 lengths from Rainbow Lorikeet over this distance at Kenilworth last time and Candice Bass has brought her filly up for this race as well.
Then we also have Alan Greeff-trained Golden Palm who will be reunited with Richard Fourie and should now be fully acclimatised having run twice already at Turffontein.
Perhaps the most interesting of the three will be the Computaform Sprint.
It is always a thrill because it is all over in less than a minute, and horses cannot afford to make any slip ups in the running.
Heading up the field is Buffalo Storm Cody, who at 132 is the highest merit-rated runner in the country. This son of Buffalo Bill Cody has been a revelation since having been gelded and has notched up eight wins in his last 10 starts. His two defeats have come in his two runs outside of Johannesburg, one in Durban and the other in Cape Town.
However, in Johannesburg he has reigned supreme and with Richard Fourie in the irons, this Tony Peter-trained four-year-old is the runner to beat.
Peter has chosen to put blinkers on his charge this time
“We put the blinkers on just to sharpen him up a bit.” explained Peter on Wednesday. “He is better over 1200m and I just feel he needs to be sharper over the 1000 now.
“We worked him with them on, and he did look a lot sharper so hopefully they can do the trick.”
William Robertson is the defending champion and he has been prepared by trainer to do the double. He runs particularly well for jockey Ryan Munger and should not be left out of any bets.
With Kingdundee scratched owing to an abscess of fore, Buffalo Storm Cody will take a power of beating and could be a banker on the carryover Pick 6.
Jack Milner’s selections
Race 1: 1 One Of Those Days, 3 Millennium Warrior, 6 Proper, 2 Sendai
Race 2: 3 Get Up, 2 Fateful Love, 4 Good Day Sunshine, 5 Griselda
Race 3: 2 Gimme A Vodka, 6 The Bronx Bull, 4 Kudikaran, 1 Better Never Ends
Race 4: 7 Enflame, 3 Daimyo, 2 Aladdin's Lamp, 1 Poets Warrior
Race 5: 2 Main Defender, 8 One Eye On Vegas, 4 Texas Red, 1 Cosmic Speed
Race 1: Double Grand Slam, 9 Rainbow Lorikeet, 3 Golden Palm, 10 Callmegetrix
Race 7: 1 Buffalo Storm Cody, 3 William Robertson, 6 Taxi To The Moon, 14 Almond Sea
Race 8: 1 See It Again, 3 Fire Attack, 5 Okavango, 6 The Equator
Race 9: 13 Curious Girl, 10 Diogenes, 9 Sword Speed, 5 Texas Missile
Race 10: Hazy Dazy, 4 Littlemissmillion, 2 Charge It, 5 Drumnadrochit
Race 11: 8 Play With The Wind, 3 African Prince, 5 Xenophon, 1 Umzingeli Wenyathi
Race 12: 5 Brave Viking, 4 Kambati, 1 Monkey Puzzle, 11 Bay Empire
BEST BET
Race 1: 1 One Of Those Days
VALUE BET
Race 11: 8 Play With The Wind
BEST SWINGER
Race 5 2x8
BIPOT ONE
R96
Leg 1:2, 3
Leg 2: 2
Leg 3: 1, 2, 3, 7
Leg 4: 2, 8
Leg 5: 1, 2, 9
Leg 6: 1, 3
BIPOT TWO
R64
Leg 1: 1, 3
Leg 2: 1
Leg 3: 10, 13
Leg 4: 1
Leg 5: 1, 3, 5, 8
Leg 6: 1, 3, 4, 5
PLACE ACCUMULATOR
R48
Leg 1: 2
Leg 2: 2, 3, 7
Leg 3: 2, 8
Leg 4: 1, 2
Leg 5: 1, 3
Leg 6: 1
Leg 7: 10, 13
PICK 6
R972
Leg 1: 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 10
Leg 2: 2, 8
Leg 3: 1, 2, 9
Leg 4: 1, 3, 5
Leg 5: 1, 3, 5
Leg 6: 9, 10, 13
JACKPOT 1
R18
Leg 1: 1
Leg 2: 2, 3, 4
Leg 3: 2
Leg 4: 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 10
JACKPOT 2
R54
Leg 1: 2, 8
Leg 2: 1, 2, 9
Leg 3: 1, 3, 5
Leg 4: 1, 3, 5
JACKPOT 3
R105
Leg 1: 9, 10, 13
Leg 2: 1
Leg 3: 1, 2, 3, 5, 8
Leg 4: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 11