WEEKEND MAILER

EXPECT A CAVALRY CHARGE IN GRAND HERITAGE

The R500,000 World Sports Betting Grand Heritage tops the nine-race bill at the Vaal on Saturday and you can count on some good payouts given the size of the field. There are 23 runners and a case can be made for any number of them, so expect the TAB Quartet pool to be big with a handsome dividend almost guaranteed.

It could pay to side with Sean Tarry-trained Pyromaniac under Piere Strydom, whose resurgence in the saddle shows no sign of abating. Pyromaniac won his only start at the Vereeniging track and should be at a peak in his third run back from a rest. His last victory came over a similar trip (1450m) to that of the Grand Heritage's unusual 1475m distance and he is 3kg better off with Silent War for a 2.50-length beating back in October. Silent War is unbeaten in three starts since joining trainer Tony Peter and is expected to be in the firing line, but Pyromaniac could face a bigger threat from stablemate Celtic Rumours to be ridden by Richard Fourie-.

Double-floating the Tarry pair in Quartet bets could pave the way to a timely Festive Season win. Others to include in the play are Sun Blushed, Val D'Orcia, Whafeef, Bon Vivant, Unzen, Paisley Park and Chayvana. Remember Leg 1 of the Jackpot ONE carryover is Race 5 at 14h35.

VAAL JACKPOT ONE

Race 5 @ 14h35

R600 perm (R150 = 25%)

Leg 1: 1, 3, 6, 7

Leg 2: 1, 2, 5, 6, 10

Leg 3: 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15

Leg 4: 3, 5, 10

Click/tap here to take Harry Ihassi Vaal - Jackpot one.

Click/tap here for the best bets and the views of five tipsters on Saturday's Vaal meeting.

CRAWFORD HAS STRONG HAND WITH SURJAY

The Grade 2 Cape Merchants (Race 7) is the headline event on Sunday's nine-race card at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth, where bragging rights on the day are likely to go the way of trainer Brett Crawford. He runs classy Surjay in the 1200m feature and this talented Vercingetorix gelding should be rewarded for his consistency with his first Graded-race success. He has had five starts since gelding and his last three have yielded a second and a third in Grade 1 races over this distance as well as a third at Grade 2 level. He finished second to Thunderstruck in the Bantry Bay Stakes a fortnight ago on his seasonal reappearance and that outing should have brought him on appreciably.

The R250,000 carryover Jackpot ONE pool closes at 15:00 with Race 5 and comprises four competitive events including the Cape Merchants, so there’s an excellent chance of a bumper payout.

KENILWORTH JACKPOT ONE

Race 5 @ 15h00

R588 perm (R147 = 25%)

Leg 1: 2, 4, 5, 9

Leg 2: 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12

Leg 3: 3, 10, 14

Leg 4: 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12

Click/tap here for the best bets and the views of five tipsters on Sunday's Hollywoodbets Kenilworth meeting.

COSTA AND WATSON SQUARE UP AT MEYDAN

The Listed Al Garhoud Sprint, the second leg of the Emirates Sprint Series, is the centrepiece of Meydan’s bumper nine-race card this Friday. Michael Costa, the season’s leading trainer, saddles useful performer Saleymm and is chasing back-to-back wins after Mouheeb landed the prize 12 months ago. Formerly trained in the UK by Simon and Ed Crisford, Saleymm was a useful performer, winning four of his 13 races and was unbeaten on the all-weather. He merits respect if he handles the dirt, despite having been off the track for 15 months.

Colour Up, trained by Doug Watson, was one of the most improved sprinters in the UAE last season, winning three times including twice at Meydan. He stepped up to Group 3 level for his final start of the campaign, posting a career-high effort when fourth behind Sound Money in Mahab Al Shimaal. A strong-travelling gelding with a sharp turn of foot, he is open to further improvement and is fancied to put up a bold show on his seasonal reappearance.

STRIKE IT RICH WITH CITY GOLD IN SINGAPORE

There’s racing in Singapore this Saturday with an 11-race fixture at Kranji, where quality sprinter City Gold Star looks primed to land a fourth local win in Race 10, a Class 3 Handicap over 1200m on the turf. He has been in great form since kicking off his local racing career in April, registering three wins and two places. This son of Written Tycoon finished a creditable sixth in the Group 1 Lion City Cup three starts ago, outperforming his rating on that occasion which he confirmed with a subsequent win in this class.

AIDAN AND RYAN TARGET ALL 4 BIG ONES

The Longines International race meeting, Hong Kong’s biggest raceday of the year, takes place at Sha Tin on Sunday and features four enthralling Grade 1 events over 1200m, 1600m, 2000m and 2400m. Irish maestro Aidan O'Brien has a runner in each of the Grade 1 races and his best chances of victory lie with Luxembourg in the Hong Kong Cup (Race 8) and Breeders Cup Fillies' and Mares' Turf runner-up Warm Heart in the Hong Kong Vase (Race 4). Ryan Moore is carded to ride all four of the Coolmore trainer’s runners.

THREE GRADE 1 CONTESTS AT SANDOWN

Friday's Grade 2 double-header at Sandown begins a bumper weekend of high-class jumps action at the Surrey circuit that also hosts three Grade 1 spectacles on Saturday, headed by the Fighting Fifth Hurdle (Race 4) in which Constitution Hill is a red-hot favourite as he puts his unbeaten record on the line against Love Envoi and his stable companion Shishkin. Jonbon represents the same Constitution Hill trainer-jockey combination of Nicky Henderson and Nico de Boinville in the Tingle Creek Chase (Race 7) and punters may want to add him to their multiples, although his odds will be prohibitive.