TAB online customers can enjoy 30 riveting hours of high-quality racing action locally and abroad this weekend. To top it all, there is a R1-million TAB Pick 6 carryover set to boost the pool at the Allied Steelrode Onamission Charity Mile meeting at Turffontein to nearly R5 million. Beyond our shores there’s the famous two-day Breeders’ Cup meeting at Del Mar in the USA, where two SA stars will clash with the world’s best, and the first of four meetings that make up the annual Melbourne Cup Carnival. Horseracing doesn’t get any better than this and mega tote pools give the chance of cracking a huge win!
Trainers at Fairview have been unable to work their runners every day due to rain and weren’t able to give punters much confidence in www.racingtoday.co.za pre-race interviews. Alan Greeff, Sharon Kotzen and Juan Nel did identify a few they believe will be in the money and Greeff reckons Fantasy Girl (Race 2) is probably his best. She has blinkers fitted for the first time. Karoo Bokkie (Race 3) will be fitted with cheek pieces and has a top-three chance, and later Whatever Next (Race 7) has a chance racing off his lowest career rating. Kotzen said Be Real (Race 5) will benefit from a light weight and a good draw and also gives Flower Festival (Race 8) a lively chance. Nel’s best of the day is White Hills in Race 9. She showed up well in her only previous run on the Polytrack.
Here’s a day-into-night meeting on the turf and Polytrack to add spice to a fabulous Friday. There’s a TAB All-To-Come Win bet that could deliver good loot into your TAB account ahead of the big-gun action. Flying Hafla (Race 1) has made steady progress, meets a weak field and the form of her last run has been franked. Twilight Bay (Race 5) comes from the same form line and with blinkers fitted, could keep going this time.
Magic Mild can end her campaign on a winning note in the Listed Irish Stallion Farms EBF Bosra Sham Fillies' Stakes at Newmarket. Trained by Clive Cox, this daughter of Havana Grey has been on the go since April, but it is to her credit she has only once finished out of the frame in her five starts.
Day one of the 2024 Breeders’ Cup World Championships, the biggest racing event in the USA and the Olympics of horseracing with horses from five continents clashing in 14 championship blockbusters. The five championship races for two-year-olds will be run at this meeting, which starts at 20:35. Trainer Aidan O’Brien’s Irish raider Victoria Lake looks the best bet in the 1600m Juvenile Fillies’ Turf. TAB bets on Breeders’ Cup will be commingled into the host tote and betting units will be as listed below because of the ZAR-US$ exchange rate.
* Win, Place, Eachway = R40 minimum; R40 unit.
* Exacta, Pick 6 = R20 minimum; R20 unit.
* Pick 3, Pick 4 (Jackpot) = R10 minimum; R10 unit.
This is the best raceday of the year in Australia in terms of quality. The card is topped by the $2-million Victoria Derby over 2500m for three-year-olds and comprises three Grade 1 events plus six Grade 2s and 3s. El Castello should win the big one in spite of the worst draw and Sydney raider Schwarz looks the top bet in Race 3 (04:40). TAB customers will be betting into huge pools, so there will be chances to win a mountain of cash. All TAB bets will be commingled into Tabcorp pools in Australia. Win, Place, Quinella and Swinger bets will be onwards commingled into the Hong Kong Jockey Club World Pool tote, while Exacta, Quartet, Rolling Double and Jackpot bets will be hosted by Tabcorp. No Trifecta bets will be offered.
Unbeaten five-year-old Good Chilli is thriving for trainer Tan Eng Peow and is set to continue his rich vein of form by securing a hat trick in Race 7 at Kuala Lumpur. He has notched two wins over the course and distance since arriving from Singapore as a 27-start maiden and the decisive style of his most recent win promised more to come. The first race is off at 07:45.
Vaughan Marshall-trained All Out For A Six held the lead near the line and was unlucky not to have won the Grade 3 Langerman over 1500m in June, after spreading a shoe in running. He returns to the track in Race 7, the Grade 3 Cape Classic over 1400m, and Marshall noted in Computaform that the son of One World is “fit and well”.
Charity Mile Day has drawn many top-quality entries, including Horse Of The Year Dave the King in the topliner. His many fans will consider banking him in the carryover Pick 6, but he’s coming off a rest and has 62kg to shoulder. This brings his well-weighted stablemates Safe Passage and Silver Sanctuary, and several others, into the contest with chances. Safe Passage, in particular, looks good value at 14-1. He finished third in this race under 59.5kg in 2022 and has only 53.5kg this time. KZN raider Quasiforsure has a good turn of foot and is another to consider alongside well-performed Barbaresco and SA Oaks winner Frances Ethel.
There are no standout bets in the other Pick 6 legs which will provide thrilling and competitive racing. Tony Peter’s promising three-year-old sprinter Taxi To The Moon takes on useful older rivals in Race 4. Smart filly Fatal Flaw was narrowly beaten in her comeback run recently and looks the one to beat in Race 5, but there are other hot contenders including Paul Matchett’s Vulcanite, who has made rapid progress through the divisions.
Sean Tarry has a strong hand with classic hopefuls The Specialist and Legend of Arthur in Race 6 and Alec Laird’s lightly raced Suhkumvit makes plenty of appeal at the bottom end of the handicap in Race 8. Zeus, like Dave the King, has his big weight to beat in Race 9 and Marauding Horde and Poets Warrior should play significant roles in receipt of 8kg and 10kg respectively.
Leg 1: 1, 4, 5, 9
Leg 2: 2, 3, 4, 5
Leg 3: 1, 2, 3
Leg 4: 1, 3, 5, 8, 9, 13, 15
Leg 5: 2, 5, 6, 10, 12
Leg 6: 1, 5, 10, 11
Nine championship blockbusters on the second day of Breeders’ Cup with the extravaganza topped by the $7-million Breeders’ Cup Classic, the USA’s richest race. Aidan O’Brien says City Of Troy is the best he’s trained, but he’s chucking this turf superstar in at the deep end in the Breeders’ Cup topliner over 2000m on dirt. O’Brien is a master trainer, but it’s a huge transition for City Of Troy and a runner like Sierra Leone looks better value.
The meeting starts at 19:05 in the evening with the Breeders’ Cup Classic at 23:41. South African sprinter Isivunguvungu has drawn 10 out of 12 in Race 5, the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint 1000m. Another SA-bred Beach Bomb, even smaller than her amazing mom Beach Beauty, has drawn 11 out of 13 in Race 9, the Breeders’ Cup Filly And Mare Turf over 2200m. She’s going to find it hard to beat Cinderella’s Dream, but you never do know.
Massive Sovereign, last season's Derby winner, has been underwhelming in two starts since that victory but put up an impressive trial for Race 7 on Sunday. He could bounce back to best, but faces a powerful rival in Casper Fownes-trained Karma. This one also caught the eye in his preparation and despite this being his toughest test yet, looks ready to rise to the occasion under handicap conditions that favour him. The meeting starts at 07:00.
Big guns See It Again and Royal Victory have their prep runs for the Grade 1 Betway Summer Cup this month in Race 3, a Pinnacle Stakes over 1600m. They’re better over further, but both have good course-and-distance form and should dominate on sheer class. This will be See It Again’s first run following gelding and could well see him come right back to best. He is top of the boards at 4-1 in Betway’s Summer Cup ante-post market with Royal Victory, who won the big race last year, at 9-1.