TAB WEEKEND RACING HIGHLIGHTS: 25 - 27 July

R10-MILLION PICK 6 HEADLINES BLOCKBUSTER WEEKEND

It’s the last weekend of the 2024-25 season and horseracing fans can look forward to a blockbuster final act. Locally the highlight is Sunday’s World Pool Gold Cup meeting in Durban comprising four Grade 1 contests and six other graded and listed features, plus a carryover TAB Pick 6 pool that could total R10 million. TAB Win, Place, Exacta, Quinella and Swinger bets on all 10 races will be commingled into the mega Hong Kong World Pool tote. Internationally the main attraction is Saturday’s King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot. And on the same day star jockey Piere Strydom, who has just three meetings left before he retires from the saddle, will make his final appearance at Turffontein where he has five good form rides.

FRIDAY HIGHLIGHTS

FAIRVIEW:  KING PRAWN LOOKS THE RIGHT CHOICE

This meeting has been switched to the Polytrack because of overnight rain with Race 1 now over 2200m. On exposed form trainer Alan Greeff’s colt King Prawn will take a power of beating in the topliner, the R200,000 Listed Champion Juvenile Cup over 1400m (Race 6). He ran on well to finish second to talented and unbeaten stable companion Anotherdanceforme in the Listed Dahlia Plate in May with Ready and Augusta Rosso a few lengths behind him. Anotherdanceforme franked that form when capturing a Grade 2 clash on Hollywoodbets Durban July Day. The worries with King Prawn are that this will be his first race on a synthetic surface and that he is stubborn and unruly. If he battles on the surface or plays up again, relatively unknown quantity Royal City Girl, placed in an open handicap on the Polytrack last time, could be the joker in the pack. But King Prawn has lots going for him and could be Friday’s best banker.

ASCOT: RAIN WILL CEMENT CASE FOR RECIPROCAL

There are four unbeaten runners in Race 2, the Listed Flexjet Pat Eddery Stakes over 1400m, which makes for an exciting contest. Karl Burke is hoping for some rain because he believes ante-post favourite Reciprocated will enjoy the sting out of the ground. Burke said: "He is a nice colt. He can go on good going but wants a little bit of ease in the ground." If the going is firm, watch for a strong challenge from Clive Cox’s runner A Bit Of Spirit, a facile winner over this distance recently.

SATURDAY HIGHLIGHTS

TURFFONTEIN: FOLLOW PIERE’S LAST FIVE AT CITY TRACK

Strydom (59) announced his retirement this week and in tribute to his extraordinary riding career, all eight races on the card have been named in his honour. "Striker" has been highly selective with his mounts in recent months, maintaining an impressive strike rate of over 24%. He takes five rides at the meeting, his last at Turffontein before he goes to HWB Greyville on Sunday and finally bows out at Vaal next Thursday. All his rides have genuine chances and the best could be Twentytwentyvision (Race 4), a runaway winner at the Vaal this month and likely to be able to handle a rise in class. Elembee (Race 5) will be a popular choice following a fast-finishing third from a wide draw in a 1750m handicap at HWB Scottsville a few weeks ago. Strydom has a rare ride for owner-trainer St John Gray on Free In Seattle (Race 6), which is a possible sign of stable confidence.

HOLLYWOODBETS KENILWORTH: SAN PEDRO IS WELL WEIGHTED

There are several promising three-year-olds in the topliner (Race 6 over 1400m), including Landoftherisingsun (on a hat-trick), Captain West (down in class) and Air Raid (three wins from eight runs and improving). But one older handicapper is nicely weighted and that’s distance specialist San Pedro, who has won off a higher mark than his current 93 merit rating and caught the eye when third to Sugar Mountain recently. He has leading claiming apprentice Brevan Plaatjies on board, will be fitted with blinkers and is weighted to reverse a recent beating by another useful three-year-old Please Be True.

ASCOT: JAN BRUEGHEL AND CALANDAGAN SQUARE UP AGAIN

Aidan O’Brien’s powerhouse runner Jan Brueghel and Francis-Henri Graffard’s French raider Calandagan lock horns for the second time this season in the prestigious King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes over 2400m. It is 1-0 to O’Brien’s runner after he narrowly got the better of Calandagan in the Coronation Cup at Epsom Downs. "He’s very tough and doesn’t give in," said O’Brien. But Jan Brueghel has been rested since, while Calandagan bagged a belated first Group 1 success in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud in late June, scoring by more than three lengths. Calandagan will be better suited to Ascot than Epsom and Graffard, whose Goliath upstaged a star-studded field in last year’s renewal, said: "Calandagan is a very classy horse, consistent and genuine. We're looking forward to a good race." Just five runners will face the starter and only Continuous, whose task will be to ensure a good gallop for stablemate Jan Breughel, looks without hope in a competitive field. All TAB Win, Place, Exacta, Quinella, Swinger and Trifecta bets on Races 1 to 8 at Ascot and Races 2 and 3 at York will be commingled into the World Pool tote.

SUNDAY HIGHLIGHTS

SELANGOR: LONGER TRIP SHOULDN’T STOP LATIN LEGEND

Promising galloper Latin Legend could continue his rise through the ranks in Race 9, the Stayer Stakes over 1800m at Kuala Lumpur. Since scoring over 1200m in May, the five-year-old has continued to impress with his rapid progression through the grades. Most recently, he stamped his class with a dominant win in a 1600m Supreme B, defeating Selangor Mile runner-up Good Star. The Irish-bred grey appears well equipped to handle the extra 200m here and shapes as the one to beat.

HOLLYWOODBETS GREYVILLE: FEATURE RACES FROM START TO FINISH

Wall-to-wall feature races, including the country’s premier equine marathon in the Gold Cup over 3200m, make this meeting one of the highlights of the year and a fixture that often decides the outcome of several Equus Awards. The Gold Cup boasts a R500,000 Quartet carryover, which should deliver a total pool of some R2 million and an inflated payout. Here’s a leg-by-leg guide to the R1-million carryover Pick 6 pool.

Leg 1 (Race 4 @ 14:35) – 1600m DOUGLAS WHYTE STAKES (Grade 1)

Alan Greeff’s dream season is set to conclude with Grade 1 glory for 1 GOLDEN PALM, expertly placed to avoid facing star stablemates Direct Hit and Anotherdanceforme in the other major races for two-year-old majors this term. Aimed at this contest, Golden Palm is a hugely talented filly and already a dual stakes winner. She’s superior on exposed form to all her rivals, including her only possible threat 3 ONE FINE WINTER, hindered by a slipped saddle when third in the Grade 1 Allan Robertson. She may present a challenge of sorts if she sees out 1600m. But Golden Palm seems to have everything going for her and is banker material from a plum draw.

Leg 2 (Race 5) – 1600m WORLD POOL MOMENT OF THE DAY CHAMPION STAKES (Grade 1)

4 CHRONICLE KING enters the contest fresh off an impressive win in the Grade 2 Golden Horseshoe over 1400m on HWB Durban July day, when 1 SOLDIER BOY, 2 COUNT OF ROUEN, 7 TIN PAN ALLEY, 8 CHARMING CHEETAH, 10 MALMESBURY MISSILE and 13 PORRIDGE BOY were behind him. Chronicle King is considered to be a top miler in the making and hence even better distance suited here. But the Horseshoe was a rough race in which Count Of Rouen and Tin Pan Alley suffered traffic problems, Charming Cheetah over-raced from a wide draw and several others stayed on well enough to suggest there’s no guarantee the form will stand up. Add to the mix a promising Highveld visitor in 3 JAN VAN GOYEN and any amount of improvement to come from other contenders, and this presents a tricky puzzle. Best to go wide.

Leg 3 (Race 6) – 1200m MERCURY SPRINT (Grade 1)

The consummate ease with which No. 13 TENANGO disposed of a number of top sprinters in the Grade 2 Golden Horseshoe makes him the horse to beat. He appears to be improving and if he arrives with even more strength in the tank, this will be his race to lose. There are a few top female sprinters who will make Tenango work for it, including four-year-old 1 MIA MOO, another who has reeled off three successive graded features and held off the talented five-year-old 11 ASIYE PHAMBILI to win the Grade 1 SA Fillies Sprint last time out. The older mare has a chance of getting her revenge. She has been desperately unlucky on a few occasions and could have been a multiple graded winner by now. Keagan De Melo rides and could make a telling difference to her fortunes. 4 I AM GIANT, 6 QUESTIONING and 9 BUFFALO STORM CODY have claims on Grade 2 Post Merchants form.

Leg 4 (Race 7) – 3200m WORLD POOL GOLD CUP (Grade 3)

Hard-galloping 4 KING PELLES made light work of 1 SHOOT THE RAPIDS, 5 NEBRAAS, 7 FUTURE SWING, 8 CAPE EAGLE, 9 TAXHAVEN and 11 HOLDING THUMBS in the Gold Vase on HWB Durban July day. With further improvement likely, there is no reason he shouldn’t confirm that superiority. But it will be worth including 2 MADISON VALLEY on his eye-catching Durban July effort and that Gavin Lerena gets off his stablemate Shoot The Rapids, second in this marathon last year. 12 NAVAJO NATION shaped well in the July Consolation and could pose a threat if he sees out the distance. Add handily weighted 8 CAPE EAGLE to Quartets.

Leg 5 (Race 8) – 1800m HKJC CHAMPIONS CUP (Grade 1)

Durban July hero 1 THE REAL PRINCE is equally effective over shorter and with his powerful turn of foot presents a realistic challenge to last year’s winner 4 DAVE THE KING. Three-year-old 10 FIRE ATTACK has already won a Grade 1 on weight-for-age terms and, with an arguably less stressful build-up campaign, could run the two older stars off their feet. A proper race in which stalwart 2 GLADATORIAN also has a shout on a fast-finishing and close third to Dave The King in the Gold Challenge.

Leg 6 (Race 9) – 2000m BET WITH THE WORLD GOLD BRACELET (Grade 2)

On their recent KZN Oaks encounter, 3 MY SOUL MATE holds 2 KNOCKOUT, 4 SHE’S A BOMBER and 14 INDIAN OCEAN. But the Grade 2 Woolavington was a stronger race and on that form 7 RAINBOW LORIKEET is best weighted and poised to end her excellent season in style. She is better off with My Soul Mate, 5 MISS PLATINA, 10 MOCHA BLEND, 11 LITTLE SUZIE and Indian Ocean. It doesn’t stop there, however. 9 VJ’S ANGEL has a Grade 1 win to her credit and can beat them all if she settles down before the jump, while 12 ICE RAIN is an up-and-coming sort by the all-conquering Vercingetorix - enough reason to include her in an open race.

SUGGESTED R201.60 (10%) PICK PERM (Leg 1 Race 4 @ 14:35):

Leg 1: 1

Leg 2: 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 10

Leg 3: 1, 4, 6, 9, 11, 13

Leg 4: 2, 4

Leg 5: 1, 4, 10

Leg 6: 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

SUGGESTED R504 QUARTET PERM Race 7:

DOUBLE FLOAT 2 and 4 x 1,7,8,10,11,12,13