WEEKEND RACING HIGHLIGHTS: 30 Aug - 1 Sep

MARKET SUGGESTS CARRY0VER PICK 6 IS A FIVE-LEGGED CHALLENGE

Make sure to get your Pick 6 bets at Turffontein on before 14:05 on Saturday. There is a carryover of R500,000, expected to boost the month-end Pick 6 pool to R3-million. The odds-on favourite in Race 9 has the form to justify bookmakers’ assessment of his chances – on paper this makes the Pick 6 a five-legged challenge for punters. The other legs are competitive enough to ensure a good dividend, even if the potentially popular banker wins. Don’t miss your chance of scooping a full dividend or a good share of it.

FRIDAY HIGHLIGHTS

FAIRVIEW: JOY AND PEACE TO HOLD HER OWN AGAINST RAIDERS

Alan Greeff’s ace four-year-old filly Joy And Peace seeks five wins in a row when she lines up in the Listed Jockey Club Stakes over 2000m on turf. Already a dual Listed winner, she’ll have home ground advantage over strong Western Cape visitors Gold Poker Game, Flower Of Saigon and Time For Love. Greef expressed his confidence in a Track Talk interview on Racing Today. He said: “Joy And Peace will hold her own against anything. She’s a really honest filly and I’m not scared of the outside raiders. I think she will run a cracking race.” Raiding trainer Candice Bass-Robinson said she has good winning chances in Race 1 over 1000m with Stu’s Girl and Race 2 over 1200m with Turbo Twenty.

SANDOWN: FOLLOW ROSSA RYAN AND TOM MARQUAND

Oisin Murphy, Rossa Ryan and Tom Marquand, who occupy the first three positions in the 2024 UK Flat Jockeys Championship, are in action in six races on the Southwest London track. Murphy (117 winners) is well clear of Ryan (75 winners) and Marquand (72), but the ante-post market suggests that the youngers jockeys have the better rides at this meeting. Ryan could win the opener over 1000m on Diamed Duke for trainer Stuart Williams, with the chance of a double on Golden Myrrh for Ralph Beckett in Race 4 over 1600m. Marquand is well fancied on Qetaifan (Andrew Balding) in Race 3 over 1400m and Min Huna (William Haggas) in Race 5 over 2000m.

SATURDAY HIGHLIGHTS

HWB DURBANVILLE: INNAMORARE CAN WIN IF HE JUMPS ON TERMS

There are a number of distance specialists in Race 7 over 1400m, the topliner at the meeting. They’re all closely matched on handicapping figures with any number of collateral form lines pointing to any number of possible winners and the likelihood of a proverbial blanket finish. In this challenging form puzzle, it may be best to side with Justin Snaith’s six-time winner Innamorare, who is 2kg better off at the weights with rival Solar Power for a one-length beating over this distance on 3 August when he needed the run after a layoff and suffered an awkward start. Innamorare needs to be quick off the mark at this tight track, however, and if one looks at his historic record, there is no guarantee of that.

TURFFONTEIN: BACK IN BUSINESS IS FANCIED FOR OPEN SPRING SPREE

Joe Soma’s lightly raced five-year-old, Back In Business, is weighted to be competitive in a tricky renewal of Race 7, the R175,000 Listed Betway Spring Spree Stakes over 1200m. He comes into the race in top form and on the up, and there are question marks about his main rivals Zinovi (rested, gelded), Quantum Theory (big weight), Ready To Charge (rested after striding short last time); Cliff Hanger (better over 1000m); Guy Gibson (better further), Silent War (held by Quantum Theory) and Chyavana (form of last win not franked and drawn wide). “I’ve always rated this horse,” said Soma on Thursday. “He’s a notch up in class, but his last win was very impressive and he’s come down in weight. It is a concern that he’s dropping in distance from 1450m to 1200m and this is his second run after a layoff. I respect a few others in the race, but I really fancy ours.” The potential banker for the carryover Pick 6 is fast-improving three-year-old Towers Of Gold, who is 10kg out at weight for age terms, but off his projected 85 merit rating looks a cut above his older rivals and able to nullify his disadvantage.

SUGGESTED PICK 6 (R378 for 50%):
Starts Race 4 @ 14:05

Leg 1: 1, 2, 6
Leg 2: 3, 5, 6
Leg 3: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Leg 4: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9
Leg 5: 2, 4
Leg 6: 7

SANDOWN: FIELD OF GOLD AND ROYAL PLAYWRIGHT TO FIGHT OUT SOLARIO STAKES

There was plenty to like about the way Andrew Balding’s Royal Playwright won his 1400m debut at Salisbury in July and he looks a strong contender in the Group Sky Bet Solario Stakes over the same distance at this Premier race meeting. The early betting suggests that John and Thady Gosden’s Field Of Gold will be a powerful rival. He, too, was impressive in a 1400m win at Newmarket in July. A TAB Tote Boxed Exacta could be the right bet.

SUNDAY HIGHLIGHTS

KRANJI: PINHEIRO RECKONS BIG UNION CAN WIN AGAIN

Jockey Bernardo Pinheiro’s has won four races from five rides on Jerome Tan’s gelding Big Union this season. They are set for further success in Race 9 over 1100m, in which 11 runners go to post. “Horses like Big Union makes things easier for me,” said Pinheiro, who has also ridden 34 winners in Malaysia this year. Big Union is still improving, so he can win again in my opinion.” The meeting starts at 6:30.

MALAYSIA: TOM’S LIGHTNING COULD STRIKE AGAIN

The locally unbeaten five-year-old, Tom’s Lightning, should continue his winning streak in Race 7, the 1200m Class 3 contest over 1200m at Kuala Lumpur. The former New Zealand-based racer defied the class rise when scoring in similar circumstances against Class 3 opposition here three weeks ago. He is again likely to utilise his good early pace and looks on target for posting a winning hat-trick against similar opposition. The first race starts at 7:15.

HWB SCOTTSVILLE: GOLDEN PEACE IS WEIGHTED TO RUN WELL

Golden Peace has two significant factors in his favour in the afternoon’s feature, Race 4 over 1750m. He is the only runner in a competitive eight-horse field to have won over the course and distance and he has the services of the confident Rachel Venniker. As things stand, Golden Peace looks a pound or two ahead of the handicapper and trainer Gareth van Zyl must have considered Venniker’s 1.5kg claim for this race – it could be decisive in a close finish. Watch for an improved run from Littlemarysunshine, a serious contender on the strength of her penultimate run at this track. The TAB Tote Swinger taken on the pair could yield a nice dividend.