This New Year long weekend offers a variety of betting opportunities for punters with competitive racing locally and internationally Friday through Sunday.
The dominant combination of Alan Greeff and Richard Fourie can start the year on a high note on the Fairview Polytrack with wins by promising North Star (Race 2), Walkonthewildside (Race 6) and Wild Fig (Race 8). Smaller stables can get into the action too. Jacques Strydom has chances with Spoil Yourself (Race 4) and Imokelly (Race 7), while Kelly Mitchley will fancy her prospects with recently acquired four-year-old From The Hip (Race 3) and Makachev (Race 5). Lots of value bets on an eight-race programme likely to produce several upsets.
The Group 2 Zabeel Mile headlines an eight-race card, which includes the Group 3 Dubawi Stakes and the UAE Guineas Trial, and Holloway Boy looks set to go one better in a race in which he ran second a year ago. Trainer Karl Burke’s charge wrapped up 2025 with a win and a second in the UK. Amori City returns after a long break during which he was gelded and will pose a big threat at best.
There are nine races at this day-night meeting on turf at Hollywoodbets Greyville, starting at 16:15. Capable Red Bomber (Race 5) hasn’t won since February 2014, when his merit rating was upped to 104. He’s now dropped to a career-low MR88 and, having signalled a return to form, should dispose of his rivals in the weakest company he has faced for some time.
In-form trainer Michael Azzie saddled a double at Turffontein on Tuesday and looks set to continue his winning run with smart sprinter Winds Of Change, who is weighted to win Race 1 over 1000m on the standside track. He lost form after a close third to William Robertson in the 2025 Grade 1 Computaform Sprint, but is on the comeback trail after being gelded in October. He will take a power of beating.
Justin Snaith’s Eric Liddell was the subject of significant betting support before going down by 0.75 lengths in an Open Maiden over 2000m at HWB Kenilworth in December. He returns to the course and distance in Race 4 and, with good improvement likely, should get Pick 6 punters off to a good start.
This is the first big meeting of 2026 and it should be a cracker with seven feature races headed by the R3-million L’Ormarins King’s Plate and a R1-million TAB Pick 6 carryover, which should generate a total pool of R4 million!