Turf Talk Newsletter – 02 June, 2026

Picture: The Hollywood Racing and Rikesh Sewgoolam-owned One Stripe comes off two Gr 1 seconds and will make another attempt to win a North American Gr 1 (Picture: Gulfstream Park)

One Stripe will run in the Gr 1 Manhattan Stakes on Saturday at the Belmont Stakes meeting, which this year takes place at Saratoga racecourse due to ongoing renovations at Belmont Park.

Gavin Lerena flies out to ride the Drakenstein Stud-bred One World colt.

The Belmont Stakes is the last leg of the Triple Crown and the meeting is a massive one, although there are no horses chasing Triple Crown glory this year.

The Manhattan Stakes is one of ten Gr 1 races staged at the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, which takes place from June 3 to June 7.

The Manhattan Stakes has been won by such horses as Preakness (1873 renewal), after whom the second leg of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes, is named, while gigantic sprinting legend Roseben won it twice (1905, 1906) at which point it was a six furlong race.

More recent winners include the Team Valor-owned Star Of Cozzene (1993).

The race is run on turf over one-and-a-quarter miles (about 2000m) these days.

Blood Horse wrote the following article on the line up of nine horses that will face the starter on Saturday, with One Stripe drawn wide in 8:

Saratoga Race Course stages the $1 million Gr 1 Manhattan Stakes on Saturday and the race will offer some international flavor.

Hollywood Racing and Rikesh Sewgoolam’s multiple group 1 winner One Stripe  has had a longer time to get accustomed to the United States, moving to Graham Motion’s barn from South Africa last year. His two most recent starts have resulted in runner-up finishes from off the pace at the grade 1 level.

Wathnan Racing’s Make Me King  makes his second consecutive United States start for trainer Hamad Al Jehani after finishing a closing runner-up to Rhetorical in the Turf Classic.

Wertheimer and Frere’s multiple group stakes-winning Bright Picture  arrives from France for his U.S. debut. The Andre Fabre-trained son of Intello  started his season with two wins in group company before finishing second in the April 26 Prix Ganay (G1) to Daryz , who is one of three horses tied for second place on the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings.

Also in the field is Amerman Racing’s dual grade 1-winning Test Score , who aims to get back on track after finishing eighth to Rhetorical in the Turf Classic.

Bred in New York by Mallory and Karen Mort, Rhetorical  is set for a grand homecoming June 6 as he returns to Saratoga Race Course for the Manhattan Stakes.

The Not This Time gelding made four of his first five career starts at the Spa, and was last seen there acing his stakes debut with a 2 1/4-length win in the West Point Stakes for New York-breds in late August. A lot has changed since then, as trainer Will Walden now ships Rhetorical back to Saratoga as a two-time grade 1 winner.

“I joke all the time our barn is the house Rhetorical built,” Walden said while reflecting on the months since Rhetorical was last at Saratoga. “We owe everything to him, and we don’t forget it. He’s such a cool horse, just wildly talented. I was talking to my wife about him the other night; he’s got this animalistic, feral side to him still. He’s half wild horse. We’re just blessed to be around him. We try to keep him happy and he does the rest.”

His results have been an indication that he has been kept happy. After leaving Saratoga, Rhetorical won the Turf Mile Stakes (G1T) at Keeneland before running a solid fourth at Del Mar in a contentious Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1T). Instead of being turned out in the wintery Kentucky weather, Walden brought Rhetorical with him to Florida where his winter break consisted of doing dressage work. That change of pace appeared to make a difference once the 5-year-old returned to the work tab in early February.

“He always trains in draw reins, but we decided to slow everything down and really work on building up his back muscles and his overall top line, just see if we could strengthen him up,” Walden said. “He’s just a bigger, stronger version of himself. As he got to working and started to get fit, you could see as he leaned out just how much more muscle was there than the year before. It’s something we’ll definitely use in the future going forward with other horses and, hopefully, him as well.”

“He’s been good. He’s sharp right now,” Walden said of how Rhetorical has been in the weeks since. “The first race of the year I think got him tip top, and he’s just continued forward on that momentum since the last.”

Preparing to run the longest race of his career, Rhetorical again finds Irad Ortiz Jr. in the saddle for owners Gary Barber, Cheyenne Stable, and Wachtel Stable. Rhetorical will need to be at his best to secure a homecoming triumph as he faces eight superb challengers.

Entries: Resorts World Casino Manhattan S. (G1T)

Gladatorian ended last season by winning the Gr 1 HKJC Champions Cup (Picture: Candiese Lenferna)

Summerveld trainer Stuart Ferrie only has one runner on Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge day and that is his stable star Gladatorian who was a somewhat unlucky 0,35 length third in the Gold Challenge last year and comes into the race off an equally good preparation this year.

The six-year-old Vercingetorix gelding had a most disappointing campaign in Cape Town, but Stuart pointed out he just did not enjoy it over there and it had been the same when he went there as a three-year-old. On that occasion he had won his pipe opener over 1000m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth when well weighted in a Progress Plate, but had then finished ten lengths back for his main target, the Gr 2 Khaya Stables Diadem Stakes over 1200m.

Stuart surmised that when the tracks are different the horses have to lift their feet differently and it impacts on their race preparation.

The tracks at Milnerton are heavier than the ones at Summerveld.

Some horses actually enjoy being prepared in heavy conditions, with Gladatorian’s stable companion I Am Giant being an example.

Stuart likened Gladatorian’s dislike of the heavy conditions to a human being who believed he or she was fit before going for a run on the beach and finding out otherwise.

Gladatorian’s lack of his usual devastating turn of foot in his opening race at Holywoodbets Kenilworth, the Gr 2 Ridgemont Green Point Stakes over 1600m, was blamed on him being green around the turn in his first experience of a left-handed course, but nothing changed in his next two starts in the Gr 1 L’Ormarins King’s Plate and the Gr 1 WSB Cape Town Met.

He put in decent performances in all three races, finishing a 3,25 length eleventh, a 3,95 length seventh and a 4,85 length seventh respectively, but he never put himself in with a chance of winning like he normally did. He usually creeps up before delivering a devastating kick halfway down the straight, although the kick does admittedly often come too late.

Wind forward to the Gr 2 IOS Drill Hall Stakes on May 3 over 1400m at Hollywoodbets Greyville and he put in a much better performance and it should bring him back to his best.

He won last year’s Drill Hall, but his performance this year was almost as good because he was carrying a Gr 1 penalty as the winner of last year’s Gr 1 HKJC World Pool Champions Cup over 1800m at Hollywoodbets Greyville, where for once his kick did not come too late and was in fact perfectly timed.

In comparison to the Drill Hall winner Questioning, he beat him by 2,15 lengths in last year’s Drill Hall at level weights and this year lost to him by 1,60 lengths giving him 1,5kg.

Stuart said he would come on from the run and added he had been doing well.

Gladatorian enjoys coming from off the pace and from draw 8 out of 12 will have little choice but to adopt the same tactics as last year when Sean Veale dropped him out to the back of the field.

Last year he steadily made up the ground in the straight before giving his customary late kick at the 200m mark and was a fast finishing 0,35 length third to Dave The King and Oriental Charm.

He could give a repeat performance this year.

However, on the other hand he is now a six-year-old and without doubt faces a stronger field.

The Real Prince avoided the race last year in order to protect his Hollywoodbets Durban July weight and went on to win the Gr 1 L’Ormarins King’s Plate, which like the Gold Challenge is a weight for age mile. His presence alone makes it a stronger field this year as many viewed him as having a great chance last year if he was going to take part.

This year another Gr 1 wfa mile winner is also involved, Tin Pan Alley, who put in the performance of the season when winning the Gr 1 Wilgerbosdrift HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes by 3,75 lengths, beating six Gr 1 winners in the process, they being Fire Attack, See It Again, Main Defender, Cosmic Speed, Atticus Finch and The Real Prince.

Other horses Gladatorian faces this year that were not in the race last year are the like of Questioning, who is in the form of his life and finished a shorthead second in the King’s Plate to prove his effectiveness over a mile, the reigning Equus Horse Of The Year Eight On Eighteen and the versatile Gr 1 winner Fire Attack.

Legal Counsel is also capable, while Main Defender is top class on his day and Jet Force is no slouch.

They are another trio who were not in last year’s race.

It will be an intriguing race as always and many KZN supporters will be behind the only KZN-trained runner in the field, Gladatorian.

The Tienie Prinsloo-trained Quickstepgal is pictured winning the Gr 1 WSB Cape Fillies Guineas (Picture: Wayne Marks)

The Gr 2 HKJC World Pool Tibouchina Stakes over 1400m is a traditional pointer race to the Gr 1 Ridgemont Garden Province Stakes over 1600m and is contested this year by a runner who will be one of the favourites for the latter race, Quickstepgal.

This Gr 1 WSB Cape Fillies Guineas winner only just failed to hold on last time in the Gr 2 WSB Filles Guineas when beaten 0,30 lengths by the dual Gr 1 winner Wish List. The latter has since franked the form by winning Saturday’s Gr 2 Woolavington 2000. Quickstepgal has her third run after a short layoff, so should be cherry ripe and is well in at the weights with all except Mocha Blend. She does have a bit of a tricky draw of seven out of 13 for one who likes to be handy.

Mocha Blend caught the eye last time with a good finish in a Conditions Plate over 1600m, returning from a layoff of five months after her Gr 1 Betway Summer Cup win over 2000m. Her class can pull through into a winning position here from a tricky draw of eight over a trip which is on the sharp side.

Mon Petit Cherie proved her class when beaten just 1,30 lengths behind the champion Double Grand Slam in the Gr 1 wfa Maine Chance Farms Majorca Stakes over 1600m on WSB Met day. She hasn’t run since and has a wide draw, but her class could tell.

Rachel Wall is interesting as she has good, consistent sprint form and ran well in her only attempt at this trip, so she might be involved from draw three.

Symphony In White has good sprint form and tries a step up in trip from a fair draw. Her mother Snowdance was a dual Gr 1 winner over a mile and her father What A Winter was a champion sprinter, but he can get them to stay.

Scarlet Macaw was the runner up in last year’s Gr 1 WSB Cape Fillies Guineas and she was beaten 2,10 lengths in a Gr 3 over this trip during the summer, so could earn here.

Care Forgot has pole position and is a capable sort who is distance suited, but she does have a tough task at the weights here.

Buttercup Baby is interesting because she has useful form against the best over 1200m and has won recently over this distance, so she could earn a cheque.

Babelicious was not disgraced in a Gr 3 over 1400m and could earn from a fair draw of six.

That’s My Baby loves Hollywoodbets Greyville and raises her game here, but she has a tough task at the weights.

One Fine Winter was not disgraced in the Gr 1 SA Fillies Sprint last time but has a speedy pedigree and this is her first try at the trip.

Lou Lou looks hopelessly outclassed in this line up on paper but must be rated because it’s her second attempt at a Graded feature.

Disting is better over sprints and has a wide draw so it will be tough for her.

The selection is Quickstepgal to beat Mocha Blend with Mon Petite Cherie, Rachel Wall and Symphony In White next best.

Wesley Marwing was out for nine months with a knee injury until coming back in March and the first winner of his was fittingly for his father Weichong in the Listed Lonsdale Stirrup Cup with Dance King (Picture: Race Coast) 

Cape Breeders

Ascot Stud’s blue blooded stallion Global View enjoyed a good pay at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Saturday.

His four-year-old son Dance King picked up the biggest win of his career to date when he landed Saturday’s Listed Lonsdale Stirrup Cup (2400m).

Under Wesley Marwing, the Weichong Marwing trained gelding made a mockery of his 16-1 starting price with a dominant performance.
Dance King raced mid field early on in the Lonsdale Stirrup Cup, before being set alight down the inside.

The son of Global View powered into the lead and went away to score by over two and a half lengths.

Bred by Ben Botha, Dance King, who has won four of 22 starts, races for the 1 More We Stay Syndicate.

Saturday’s winner, who is out of the Silvano mare Cotillion, was an R80 000 buy from the 2023 August Two Year Old Sale.

South Africa’s Leading First Season Sire of 2019-2020, Global View could enjoy more big race success next weekend. His champion son Dave The King, Horse Of The Year in 2023-2024, will bid for a third G1 Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge win should he line up in that Hollywoodbets Greyville feature next Saturday.

A son of Galileo, and from the family of recent US G1 winner Stark Contrast, among others, Global View has a single lot on offer at the KZN Yearling Sale.

United Nation has been tipped to win a B Stakes event (Candiese Lenferna Photography) 

Jack Milner (Tab4Racing)

A B Stakes over 1000m heads up the card at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Wednesday when they compete on the Polytrack.

Much of the meeting on this eight-race card is mundane but Race 6 has attracted some promising contenders and at the end of the day it could be the runner who best masters the Polytrack that could decide the outcome.

The two best weighted runners are Vanakkam and Inside Voice but neither has raced on the surface.

Another strongly fancied runner is three-year-old Pop Chart, who was trained by Dean Smith in Gqeberha but will be having his first run for Dean Kannemeyer. Smith considered this Fire Away good enough to contest the Grade 3 National Currency Sprint over 1100m at Turffontein in February in which he finished a 1.40-length third behind Miami Mountain.

He did not race on the Polytrack at Fairview so there is still no indication as to whether he will handle the surface or not.

Vanakkam, trained by Mano Pandaram, has three wins and five places from his 14 races but he did finish behind Pop Chart in the National Currency Sprint.

Inside Voice is trained by Vaughan Marshall and he has had some prosing performances in the Western Cape. However, he has not raced since November last year after finishing unplaced in a 1000m race at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth.

Then we do have some runners who are proven on the Polytrack and they are headed up by United Nation, trained by Darryl Moore. This four-year-old One World gelding has been a revelation since turning up on the Polytrack and has a record of six wins from eight starts on the surface. He was caught late over 1200m in his comeback run from a short break but back to 1000m could be the one to beat.

He jumps from No 5 draws and has Ant Mgudlwa in the irons.

Jack Milner’s selections

Race 1: 4 Smart Choice, 6 Sierra Foxtrot, 1 Moon Girl, 7 Winter Miracle

Race 2: 2 Hazel Green, 3 Tipperary, 1 Dancing In Demark, 9 Happy Hooves

Race 3: 4 Diamond Maker, 1 Last Ovation, 6 Skipper O’malley, 8 Quicksmart

Race 4: 7 Star Of The Future, 8 The Wolf, 3 Fast And Free, 2 Trois Trois Quatre

Race 5: 6 Basie Raakvat, 2 Mountainsofthemoon, 5 Ultra Quick, 1 Global Movement

Race 6: 5 United Nation, 2 Pop Chart, 3 Donquerari, 7 Vanakkam

Race 7: 2 Kali Bwana, 3 Gorgeous Dude, 1 Saudi Sweep, 5 Lunch Money

Race 8: 4 Preacher Man, 2 Clickbait, 1 Wedding Vow, 8 Futano

BEST BET

Race 2: 2 Hazel Green

VALUE BET

Race 6: 5 United Nation

BEST SWINGER

Race 8 2×4

BIPOT

R288

Leg 1: 4, 6

Leg 2: 2

Leg 3: 1, 4, 6

Leg 4: 2, 3, 7, 8

Leg 5: 2, 5, 6

Leg 6: 2, 3, 5, 7

PLACE ACCUMULATOR

R324

Leg 1: 2

Leg 2: 1, 4

Leg 3: 3, 7, 8

Leg 4: 2, 5, 6

Leg 5: 2, 3, 5

Leg 6: 1, 2, 3

Leg 7: 2, 4

PICK 6

R1920

Leg 1: 1, 4, 6, 8

Leg 2: 3, 7, 8

Leg 3: 1, 2, 5, 6

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

Leg 5: 1, 2, 3, 5

Leg 6: 2, 4

JACKPOT 1

R240

Leg 1: 3, 7, 8

Leg 2: 1, 2, 5, 6

Leg 3: 2, 3, 5, 6, 7

Leg 4: 1, 2, 3, 5

JACKPOT 2

R160

Leg 1: 1, 2, 5, 6

Leg 2: 2, 3, 5, 6, 7

Leg 3: 1, 2, 3, 5

Leg 4: 2, 4

Star Major is led to the winner’s enclosure after winning the Gr 1 Daily News 2000 (Picture: Race Coast) 

The Daily News 2000 meeting always has an impact on the Hollywoodbets Durban July and the reaction of the handicappers and the bookmakers to the result of the Daily News 2000 and to the Woolavington 2000 is always one of the talking points.

Owner Jonathan Bloch has only ever had one Durban July runner before and it had an interesting name, Ess Five Beaches, which was the address of a residence owned by the late great owner-breeder Graham Beck. Hower, Bloch now part-owns all three of the horses who are currently at the top of the July boards with the sponsor, Star Major, Note To Self and Wish List.

It is always interesting that the bookmakers seem to prefer winners to lightly weighted horses, because of course the handicappers job is to equalize the chances of horses in a race if they were to meet again. The handicappers used the fourth-placed Viva’s Liberte as the line horse for the Daily News 2000 and raised Star Major four points to 122 and raised Happy Verse nine points to 119.

However, the sponsor shortened Star Major to 7/2, with Note To Self and Wish List now 11/2, while Happy Verse is out at 8/1 togeher with See It Again and Regulation.

Punters might prefer to look for horses who benefit from the raise in weights of others.

Note To Self should be cherry ripe for the July and being by stamina influence Futura out of a mare by stamina influence Judpot agurs well for the step up in trip to 2200m. Note To Self didn’t have as imediate a turn of foot as Star Major or Happy Verse and another discussion point might be whether he would benefit from blinkers. This might help him gallop resolutely from a long way out and make it into a stamina test.

Hapy Verse has always been a horse who has oozed class and he is now beginning to fulfil it. The Daily News 2000 was his third run after gelding and he at last showed the class he had always promised. He can progress further as he had a nice smooth race in the Daily News and that should have brought him on, so he should be a big runner in the July. He is by Vercingetorix, who won the Daily News 2000 and a Gr 1 in Dubai over the same trip, out of a mare by stamina influence Giant’s Causeway, so he should also enjoy the July trip.

Star Major will also be a big runner. His part-owner Ravi Naidoo has preached this horse from a long time ago and he has proved to be spot on. The Querari colt has matured into a top class horse and can follow in the footsteps of the like of Big City Life and Legislate by winning the Guineas, the Daily News and the July, although the latter pair had also both won the Cape Derby before arriving in KZN. Big City Life carried a mere 51kg in the July in an era when topweight was 58kg, while Legislate carried a record weight for a winning three-year-old of 56kg in a race where topweight was 60kg, although he did win it via the boardroom with an upheld objection whose outcome drew plenty of criticism. Star Major will, as things stand, carry 56kg too, although the topweight this year will be 62kg.

A horse who has snuck into the July picture is the Gr1 SA Classic winner Grand Empire. He was in position 20 on the first July log, but after the scratching of both Okavango and Jan Van Goyen, he could come into the all important top 18. On the negative side for Grand Empire is, although he might end up with bottom weight, how good a preparation is he going to have had by the time of the July? His final run before the July comes on Sunday at Turffontein in a 1400m Pinnacle event, so he will not have enjoyed as good a build up into the big race as the like of Happy Verse have had.

Happy Verse was in the outside looking in horses on the first log, and will likely leapfrog Grand Empire, so the latter might stilll be under pressure for a place in the final field.

On the other hand, Hazy Dazy, who was in 14th place on the first log, might be in trouble after seemingly being outclassed in the Daily News by the males as she was beaten 11,40 lengths into 8th. She might be dropped from the log.

Wish List has the same 117 rating as Hazy Dazy, so will carry 53,5kg in the July as things stand. Her four wins on the trot include two Gr 1s and two Gr 2s. She will easily get the July trip being a daughter of Legislate out of a Silvano mare, Wind Chill, who won the SA Oaks. There are not many horses who would fetched the pacemaker the way she did on Saturday as she had to make up a lot of ground up off a slow pace. However, the question is how much the effort took out of her. It was likely not quite the race the connections had envisaged.

Meanwhile, the next big upheavel to the betting and log positions etc happens this Saturday in the Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge race meeting, which not only features the Gold Challenge itself, but also the all important Gr 3 Betgames Cup Trial over 1800m, which is always a big July pointer race.

Regulation will be under big pressure to win the Cup Trial. He is an 8/1 shot for the July with the sponsor, despite having been in the outside looking in horses on the first log. He willl likely need to win the race to definitely force his way in and on the downside he has drawn wide in barrier ten out of 11 for Saturday’s race. If he does win it there will be more pressure on the like of borderline horses like Grand Empire.

Picture: Suzette and Basie Viljoen have become well known in SA racing (Candiese Lenferna Photography)

Life has changed dramatically for Suzette and Basie Viljoen since they traded the dusty, unrelenting landscapes of the North West for the mountains and green valleys of the Western Cape in pursuit of Suzette’s dream of owning a stud farm.

Their entry into the notoriously challenging world of commercial thoroughbred breeding has brought its fair share of obstacles, but through persistence, sacrifice and plenty of hard work, Hopes And Dreams Stud is steadily growing into an operation with genuine promise and momentum.

The farm was originally named Arc-En-Ciel, a tribute to owner Shirley Pfeiffer’s Rainbow Chickens empire, and was developed as a stud enterprise by breeder Jan Mantel between 1989 and 1996.

Shirley’s runners were trained by Chris Snaith, who helped her to acquire the property, which consisted of two adjoining wine farms. In 1991, Snaith won the then Rothmans Durban July for the jubilant Pfeiffer team with Flaming Rock (Ballad Rock), who stood as a stallion at Arc En Ciel when he retired and was buried in a marked grave under one of the oaks near the stallion barn.

Ironically, Chris Snaith pointed Suzette and Basie to the very same farm almost 40 years later. By 2023, Arc-En-Ciel had undergone a few face lifts. When Mantel left, Craig and Amanda Carey occupied the farm for 17 years and housed stallions including Cordoba, Stage Call, Alado and, for a short while, Elusive Fort.

Click here to read the full Charl Pretorius article