WEEKEND RACING HIGHLIGHTS: 29 November - 1 December

R7-MILLION PICK 6 AT SUMMER CUP EXTRAVAGANZA!

Saturday’s standalone Betway Summer Cup meeting at Turffontein has the mouthwatering prospect of a R7-million TAB Pick 6 pool - an unmissable shot at winning a pile of cash. As always, the structure of your perm will be the key to unlocking a potentially life-changing payout. Remember, fractional betting gives you the flexibility to win without overspending. There are seven feature races on a star-studded card with three Jackpots and two BiPots, plus a R1-million Quartet carryover on the big race with a pool of R3 million expected. This is a weekend for every horseracing fan to savour!

FRIDAY HIGHLIGHTS

FAIRVIEW: SAKURAJIMA LOOKS A CLEAR WINNER ON FORM

There are clear form pointers to the outcome of the TAB Telebet Guineas Plate over 1600m (Race 3), the topliner at the meeting. Kelly Mitchley’s improving three-year-old Sakurajima finished second to On My Honour in the recent ROA Stakes over this course and distance. He was 1.50 lengths ahead of third-placed My Best Shot and is a whopping 6kg better off. Play Act (fourth) is also well held. The form looks hard to reverse and there are no evident threats among the other four runners.

NEWBURY UK: COBDEN CONFIDENT ABOUT CAPTAIN TEAGUE

Trainer Paul Nicholls runs six-year-old Captain Teague in Race 4, the Grade 2 Coral John Francome Novices' Chase over 4000m. A multiple winner over the hurdles, he enjoyed a “walkover” to come home lonely in his first chase on 8 November. Jockey Harry Cobden said in a podcast after galloping Captain Teague this week: “I am glad he had that introductory run, although there was no competition. He has the size and scope to be a chaser. He seems fit and well.”

SATURDAY HIGHLIGHTS

TURFFONTEIN: HERE’S A 20-1 GOOD-VALUE BET IN THE CUP

Winning TAB’s mega Pick 6 is all about picking where to load up and where to go light or banker. Fractional betting gives you a variety of options. On paper Lucky Lad (Race 5), VJ’s Angel (Race 6) and Greaterix (Race 7) have banker potential. One way to play is three bankers and three fields. An alternative is three small perms with a different banker in each and a few runners in the other legs. A third option is to cover the three bankers with a single back-up and put as many runners as you can afford elsewhere.

Here’s a brief look at the Pick 6 legs:

* Race 4: Classy Chasing Happiness comes in fresh after a two-month rest. This is her toughest task to date, but she’s risen through the divisions with a minimum of fuss so far. She could well be equal to a further rise in class. Winter Greeting has won five of 13 starts and holds a clear chance on her course-and-distance run to Lucky Lad in the Senor Santa Stakes. Muzi Yeni noted in his Pick 6 preview in Computaform that 20-1 chance Poblano is a “massive runner”. Having ridden several of her rivals, his advice is worth following.

* Race 5: Lucky Lad’s big weight stands between him and an eighth career success, but he’s powerful, packed with class and will run hard at them late. According to his trainer, Sheldon was fancied to win the recent Golden Loom sprint in which stablemate Chyavana popped up, and is obviously close to a peak. He’s the best cover if you’re looking beyond the favourite.

* Race 6: VJ’s Angel is from the top drawer and proven over the course and distance. Well-performed rivals, Fiery Pegasus, World Of Alice and Olivia’s Way come into the reckoning, but remember that VJ’s Angel has won a Grade 1 contest against colts. She’ll be hard to beat.

* Race 7: Greaterix is rated a strong Cape Guineas prospect and this race is his stepping stone, but champion filly Quid Pro Quo won’t go down without a fight. She is considered good enough to take on the colts here instead of the arguably easier Fillies Mile.
* Race 8: Only two SA Derby winners have won the Summer Cup in the last 50 years, namely Pedometer (rated 117) and Louis The King (rated 120). Purple Pitcher can become the third. Rated 123 and handily weighted, this dual Grade 1 winner comes in off a progressive preparation and looks good value at around 20-1.

* Race 9: Meridius, suspect beyond 1800m, faces strong opposition from well-weighted Thunee Playa and Marauding Horde.

SUGGESTED R302,40 (10%) PICK 6 PERM (Leg 1 Race 4 @ 13:08):

Leg 1: 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 15

Leg 2: 1, 6, 10, 11

Leg 3:  1, 3, 4

Leg 4: 3, 13

Leg 5: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 13

Leg 6: 5, 8, 10

SUGGESTED R201.60 (10%) QUARTET PERM BETWAY SUMMER CUP (Race 8 @ 16:00): FLOATING BANKER 5 WITH 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12, 13 and 19.

TURFFONTEIN: WHAT RACHEL TOLD RACING POST ABOUT CUP DAY
 
The Front Runner in Racing Post is bringing you something a bit different to end your week on as we pivot away from the Coral Gold Cup, Fighting Fifth Hurdle and Hatton’s Grace Hurdle for the next two mornings to focus on South Africa, where the country’s richest race, the £260,000 (€312,000) Summer Cup, is taking place on Saturday.

Oisin Murphy is flying in to ride the Team Valor-owned Frances Ethel, in doing so making history by becoming the first reigning champion jockey in Britain to ride in Saturday’s Betway-sponsored Grade 1 in Johannesburg, in which pioneering female jockey Rachel Venniker will also be competing.
 
In 2022, Venniker, 23, became the first female jockey to ride in the Summer Cup at Turffontein racecourse and was also the first woman to ride in the Grade 1 Durban July this summer. She is the only female jockey to ride 100 winners in a season in South Africa and came within a whisker of winning the Alistair Haggis Silver Saddle for leading rider at the Shergar Cup at Ascot in August.
 
All of which makes her the perfect person for a Racing Post reporter based in Johannesburg (aka Joburg) for the next few days to catch up with about South African racing and the weekend’s big contest. However, when interview time rolls around, Venniker has gone AWOL.
 
“I’m sorry for the delay, we had to stop racing twice because of lightning storms in Durban,” Venniker explains an hour or so later. “It happens a lot in the summer, especially in Joburg, and you have to be so careful with the storms - you can’t be out riding in them.”
 
It didn’t take long after arriving in South Africa to get an understanding of what Venniker meant. Yesterday flipped between torrential rain, brilliant sunshine and an almighty thunderstorm that reminded this reporter of being at Newmarket for the 2016 Craven Stakes won by Stormy Antarctic when lightning struck the grandstand and knocked out power and commentary.
 
Provided storms do not intervene, Venniker has eight rides at Turffontein on Saturday headed by Zeus in the Summer Cup (2pm, UK time). This year is the 137th running of the ten-furlong contest, which is the highlight of 11 races, five of which are graded.
 
Venniker is energetic, enthusiastic, talkative and self-confident, but she will have her work cut out to win the Summer Cup. Zeus is drawn widest of all in stall 20, which begs the question of what connections had done to get such a lousy post?
 
“I asked myself the same question!,” Venniker says. “I couldn’t believe it. I was watching the live stream [of the draw] and I thought, ‘Oh my God’, but at least I know I won’t be interfered by anyone from the outside, eh. 
 
“Zeus is a nice horse. I’ve not ridden him before but I’ve watched a lot of his replays and he really loves Turffontein. I jumped at the chance to ride the horse and he always runs on strong at the end of his races, so I expect him to be making ground all the way up the straight.”
 
Venniker also picks out Mount Pilatus in the Grade 3 Merchants (11.45am) as a mount she is looking forward to as she and trainer Paul Matchett “always do well together”.
 
Venniker has done well enough in her riding in South Africa to sit sixth in the jockeys’ championship - she rode a double at Greyville yesterday - and to be stable jockey to Michael Roberts, best known in Europe for winning the 1992 jockeys’ title in Britain and riding the likes of Mtoto and Lyric Fantasy.
 
Roberts’ experience riding in Britain came in handy for Venniker when she was called up to take part in the Shergar Cup, one of only two times she has ridden outside of South Africa, as she only failed on countback to win the leading jockey prize.
 
“Jeez, it was unreal,” Venniker says. “I went there cap in hand hoping to get a few good rides and experience, so to win on my first ride I was over the moon. 
 
“When I walked out on to the course at Ascot it was just awe-inspiring and it’s amazing the set-up you have there for racing in the UK. I rode out for William Haggas in the build-up to the meeting as well and I absolutely loved Newmarket - wow, what a place - it really was fantastic.”
 
Given her domestic success, achievements at Ascot and association with Roberts, it makes sense to ask whether Venniker would consider an extended stay in Britain at some point?
 
She says: “The thing in South Africa is that the three jurisdictions race in three-month seasons; so at the moment Joburg is the main place, then it’s Cape Town and then back to Durban, so we don’t really have an ‘off’ season.
 
"I certainly wouldn’t be adverse to riding in the UK more, or for a longer period, and you never know what might happen.” – Peter Scargill, Racing Post 28 November

JEBAL ALI DUBAI: COSTA’S PAIR CAN DOMINATE IN RACE 3

Michael Costa, the top trainer in the Emirates this season, has dominated Jebel Ali’s first two meetings, saddling seven winners at the Dubai track. He saddles three of eight runners in Race 3 and stable jockey Ben Coen rides Nahaash. But Ray Dawson’s mount Rammayy is a serious contender too. He made a good start to his career when winning at the track two weeks ago despite looking green. He will have come on with the run and demands plenty of respect.

NEWCASTLE UK: HENDERSON HAS A GRADE 1 SUPERSUB

The Grade 1 BetMGM Fighting Fifth Hurdle over 3250m (Race 5) tops the bill at this Premier Jumps meeting. Unbeaten Sir Gino gets the chance to give trainer Nicky Henderson a record-extending ninth victory in this race. “He’s a very good horse and will fill the role of ‘supersub’ while his stablemate Constitutional Hill recovers from a setback,” said Henderson.

SUNDAY HIGHLIGHTS

SELANGOR MALAYSIA: FORMER SINGAPORE RUNNER TO STRIKE

This 11-race card is headlined by the Group 1 Piala Emas Sultan Selangor over 2000m, one of the most prestigious races on the Malaysian calendar. The choice is former Singapore galloper Dream Alliance, who makes his local debut after a commendable fourth-place finish in the Group 1 Grand Singapore Gold Cup in early October. There is some concern about his fitness, but his class could carry him through. The meeting starts at 06:15.

SHA TIN: RAGING BLIZZARD A WORRY FOR BUNDLE OF CHARM

Bundle Of Charm has every chance of bouncing back in Race 7, the 1200m Peninsula Golden Jubilee Challenge Cup, as he revisits a course and distance where he holds a perfect two-from-two record. He has one to beat in James Macdonald’s mount Raging Blizzard, who debuts on the all-weather but has consistently trialled well on the surface. Race 1 is at 07:00.

HOLLYWOODBETS SCOTTSVILLE: WILLIAM ROBERTSON HOME AND DRY

Visiting Gauteng-based sprinter William Robertson is by far the most accomplished runner in Race 6, a Pinnacle Stakes over 1200m. He is also best weighted off a 125 rating and has the additional advantage of a 2.5kg apprentice claim. He should have no trouble repeating his easy win in this race last year.