This weekend offers an alluring mix of good racing action and opportunities to cash in on both local and international events. From the competitive fields at Fairview, Turffontein and Durbanville to famous Group 1 races at Doncaster in England and Leopardstown and the Curragh in Ireland, there’s plenty of excitement ahead for TAB customers. Plus fractional Quartet bets are once again available on selected UK meetings daily.
There’s little to choose among the seven runners carded for the topliner, Race 5 over 1600m on the Polytrack, but the safest option is to side with champion trainer Alan Greeff’s pair of Tirpitz and Central City. Greeff didn’t give much away in his pre-race interview on Racing Today’s Track Talk (www.racingtoday.co.za), but Tirpitz raced against significantly stronger opposition when based in Gauteng.
Tirpitz has been slow out of the gates in recent runs, but seems better suited to 1600m than Richard Fourie’s mount Central City, who will be equipped with blinkers after two indifferent runs. Gavin Smith-trained Destiny’s Angel was beaten in a weaker field last time, but this front-runner could pose a danger from an inside draw.
There are two Group 2 races and a Listed event on this eight-race programme, which is headlined by Race 4, the Betfred Howard Wright Doncaster Cup Stakes over 3600m. John and Thady Gosden’s Sweet William had regular rivals Gregory (0.25 lengths), Trueshan (4.50 lengths) and Coltrane (33 lengths) behind him when they were beaten by Kyprios in the Group 1 Goodwood Cup over 3200m at the end of July. In the absence of Kyprios and best suited of the four to this extra 400m, Sweet William looks hard to beat.
There are two good bets on the 10-race card. Trainer Jason Ong’s New Zealand-bred four-year-old October bids for four wins in a row in Race 6 over 1400m. Ong has kept him at a peak since July, evidenced by his barnstorming success from a wide draw just 10 days ago. Jerome Tan’s six-year-old Energy Baby had to settle for second behind Pacific Vampire in a 1200m race last time, but clocked the best sectionals that day and looks the part in Race 10 over his favourite 1400m distance. The grey posted a good Class 4 Handicap win in February and looks back to that level of form. The meeting starts at 06:30.
Tough Terrain has not been the most reliable of runners, but he’s weighted with a big chance in Race 6 over 1000m in which six other useful sprinters will face the starter. In his two previous encounters with ante-post favourite The Abdicator, Tough Terrain was narrowly beaten over this course and distance last November but turned the tables at Kenilworth in March. He is 5.5kg better off for the November defeat and 3.5kg to the good for beating The Abdicator. Races are not won on paper, but if he delivers his best there is every reason to expect Tough Terrain to come out tops.
Four-year-old We Are The Logans, whose merit rating has dropped from a high of 108 to a current 85, looks hard to oppose in Race 8 over 1450m and has the makings of a Pick 6 banker. Grade 1 placed at two, We Are The Logans lost his way at three, but has made steady progress following gelding and a change of environment. Trainer Tony Peter’s unusual booking of in-form Piere Strydom and support in the ante-post betting market shows that the stable means business, and a handy draw is good reason for more confidence.
Top sprinters Dyce and William Robertson make their seasonal debuts in Race 6 over 1000m, but Grade 1 classic winner Anfields Rocket, three times successful over this distance as a younger horse and heavily backed when beaten a neck in his last start, is the one to keep an eye on.
SUGGESTED PICK 6 (R360):
Leg 1 Race 3 @ 13:30
Leg 1: 1
Leg 2: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6
Leg 3: 2, 5, 6, 7
Leg 4: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7
Leg 5: 5, 7, 9
Leg 6: 1
Trainer Aiden O’Brien will saddle three of the seven runners and holds the aces in the Group 1 Betfred St Leger Stakes over 2900m, a race he has won seven times. His charge Jan Breughel is unbeaten in three starts and was impressive when fighting off Bellum Justum to win a Group 3 contest over 2400m at Goodwood last month. And stablemate Grosvenor Square landed a Group 3 by 20 lengths in his latest start. However, Galileo colt Illinois is the firm favourite in the ante-post market and looks the pick of the O’Brien trio. A Group 2 winner at Royal Ascot in June, he is improving with racing and was beaten a neck by Los Angeles in his preparatory run, the Group 2 Sky Bet Great Voltigeur Stakes at York.
O’Brien’s talented but erratic four-year-old Auguste Rodin has a race on his hands in the Group 1 Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes over 2000m (Race 5). He squares up to trainer William Haggas’ free-striding Economics, who comes into the race fresh off an easy Group 2 win at Deauville and will be out to make it four in a row under Tom Marquand. O’Brien will also saddle well-performed Los Angeles, Luxembourg and Hans Anderson in what promises to be an exciting race. TAB Win, Place, Exacta, Quinella, Swinger and Trifecta bets on all races at the meeting will be commingled into Hong Kong’s mega World Pool tote so you can have a full go with denting the payout!
Magic Control is a strong fancy in Race 9 over 1000m, one of three minor feature races on the card. The four-year-old had just one run late last season but arrived with solid credentials, having performed successfully at Group level in Australia. Formerly known as Archo Nacho, the son of Sioux Nation won three of his five starts pre-import, including the Group 3 Red Anchor Stakes over 1200m at Moonee Valley and the Listed Poseidon Stakes over 1100m at Flemington. Now in Cody Mo’s stable, his trial success over last week’s impressive winner Ka Ying Rising suggests he’s ready to make a winning return.
Five-year-old galloper You Think So is expected to continue his consistent spell of form when he lines up in Race 8, a Class 4 contest over 1020m on Track Two at Kuala Lumpur. He was winless in Singapore before being relocated, but has established a good local record and has found the money in every run at this track, including successive victories in April and May.
Followers of Narina Trogon might view his half-sister Beach Bomb's recent second-place finish in a Listed race in the USA as a positive sign leading up to Race 7 over 1500m. With a strong record, including three Listed victories since moving to KZN from Cape Town in March, Narina Trogon’s form supports any superstitious optimism. He could still be ahead of the handicapper after going up only six merit-rating points from his last three runs and looks to have more wins in the tank.
Four Group 1 clashes on the card including the Irish St Leger, in which O’Brien is set to saddle four of the runners. TAB Win, Place, Exacta, Quinella, Swinger and Trifecta bets on races 3 to 6 at the meeting will be commingled into Hong Kong’s World Pool tote.
Local Quartet pools with fractional betting on selected UK race meetings are back following a mixed reception from customers to the introduction of commingled Quartet pools on all UK and Irish race meetings last month. Such commingled Quartet pools have been welcomed in some quarters, but many TAB customers have complained that this has resulted in them being unable to play fractional Quartet bets on UK races. TAB has taken note of the complaints and customers can now enjoy the best of both worlds. Local Quartet pools with fractional betting are offered on two UK meetings most days with commingled Quartet pools on all other UK and Irish meetings.
Unfortunately for several reasons, including vast differences in exchange rates, it is not technically possible to offer fractional bets on pools commingled internationally. The minimum unit for commingled bets is R1 (more in the case of countries like the USA) and this is itself a fractional bet in international tote pools.
As an example, the unit of a UK Tote Quartet is one Pound and a customer playing a R1-unit Quartet with TAB on a UK race is buying about 1/24th of the bet, depending on the exchange rate on the day. And if that bet is the only winning ticket, the customer will get 1/24th of the pool and the remainder will be carried over. To get the full UK Tote payout on a commingled Quartet requires playing the bet to a R24 unit. That aside, the introduction of commingled Quartet bets has given TAB customers many more opportunities to play Quartets on UK and Irish races, and access to bigger pools and payouts.