Turf Talk Newsletter – 10 June, 2025

Eight On Eighteen Tops Log But 50/50 To Run

Eight On Eighteen was spectacularly impressive in the Gr 1 Daily News 2000 and is 2kg well in at the weights (Candiese Lenferna Photography).

Eight On Eighteen remains on top of the Hollywoodbets Durban July log, although Jonathan Snaith said it had still not been decided whether he will run in the race and described the chances of him doing so as 50/50.

The second log does not contain any major surprises, although there looks to be a possibility that there will be no female runners for the second year in succession and there is a strong possibility of there being an East Cape runner for the first time in living memory.

It should be noted that the log was published at 9 a.m. this morning, two hours before the Justin Snaith-trained Underworld was supplemented for the big race, so he was consequently not considered for the log.

The scratched horses who were top 20 incumbents on the first log are Sail The Seas, Cousin Casey, Fiery Pegasus, Spumante Dolce, Wild Intent and Pacaya, while scratched horses among the group just outside the top 20 on the first log are Let’s Go Now, Marauding Horde, Olivia’s Way, Parisian Walkway and Shoot The Rapids.

Legend Of Arthur has dropped down the log after a below par run over 1400m and a poor run in the Egoli Mile on Sunday at Turffontein Standside. The Gr 1 SA Derby winner was in position eleven on the first log on May 14 and on today’s (Tuesday’s) log is in position 13, which is more than a drop of just two positions because there have been a number of scratchings.

Purple Pitcher (7 on the first log, 7 on the second log) and Atticus Finch (8, 8) have been leapfrogged by Gladatorian (9, 6) after the latter’s narrow third in the Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge.

Selukwe (14, 9) and The Real Prince (16, 10) have held their positions.

Mucho Dinero (17, 19) has been leapfrogged by fellow first log incumbent Future Swing (19, 18) after the latter’s second place finish in the Gr 3 Lonsdale Stirrup Cup.

Future Swing, Mucho Dinero and Pomodoro’s Jet (20, 20) have all been leapfrogged by all of Gr 1 Daily News 2000 placed horses Okavango and Native Ruler, Gr 3 4Racing Jubilee Sakes winner Immediate Edge, Gr 3 Hollywoodbets Dolphins Cup Trial winner Madison Valley, Cup Trial third-placed On My Honour and East Cape stalwart My Best Shot, who has won six races in a row down there.

The most important part of the log is the bottom part as well as the horses just outside of the log looking in, because they are the borderline cases for final field inclusion.

The only qualifying races left are the Gr 3 Tote Derby and Gr 3 Tote Oaks to be run at Hollywoodbets Scottsville on Saturday, both over 2400m.

Interestingly the Justin Snaith-trained Future Swing, who is in the all important 18th spot on the July log, is an entry in the Derby and so is the highly regarded Glen Kotzen-trained Holding Thumbs, who is among the horses just outside the log looking in.

Holding Thumbs will thus have an opportunity to prove himself worthy of a place by beating Future Swing, although he would likely have to win the race to convince final field panelists of his worth.

Future Swing risks demotion on the log if he runs below par.

Future Swing might effectively be number 19 on the log anyway, considering Underworld beat him in the Gr 3 WSB 1900, while Underworld also beat On My Honour in the Gr 3 Hollywoodbets Dolphins Cup Trial and the latter is number 16 on the log.

On the other hand Future Swing peformed slightly better at the weights than Underworld in the WSB 1900, considering he gave the latter 4kg and lost to him by 3,80 lengths, while On My Honour performed much better than Underworld at the weights in the Cup Trial as he faced him on 3,5kg terms worse than weight for age and only lost to him by a short-head.

The horse who could be considered unlucky to not be in the top 20 is the Candice Bass-Robinson-trained Rainbow Lorikeet as she carried 59kg in the Gr 1 Woolavington 2000, was cleaned up close to home and still managed a 1,70 length fourth. She also has decent Cape Town form, including winning the Gr 3 Tsogo Sun Summer Fling Stakes over 2000m and finishing fourth in the Gr 1 wfa Cartier Paddock Stakes behind top horses Doube Grand Slam, Red Palace and Rascova and beating subsequent Woolavington winner Little Suzie by more than five lengths on weight for age terms.

Log as at 10 June 2025

EIGHT ON EIGHTEEN (3C) Justin Snaith 129
ORIENTAL CHARM (4C) James Crawford 127
SEE IT AGAIN (5G) Michael Roberts 127
ROYAL VICTORY (5G) Nathan Kotzen 125
CONFEDERATE (3G) Fabian Habib 118
GLADATORIAN (5G) Stuart Ferrie 127
PURPLE PITCHER (4C) Robyn Klaasen 122
ATTICUS FINCH (5G) Alec Laird 121
SELUKWE (5G) Andre Nel 111
THE REAL PRINCE (4G) Dean Kannemeyer 120
OKAVANGO (3G) Justin Snaith 120
NATIVE RULER (3G) Justin Snaith 119
LEGEND OF ARTHUR (3C) Sean Tarry 117
IMMEDIATE EDGE (3G) Mike / Mathew de Kock 108
MADISON VALLEY (4G) Frank Robinson 115
ON MY HONOUR (3G) Glen Kotzen 116
MY BEST SHOT (3G) Alan Greeff 116
FUTURE SWING (5G) Justin Snaith 117
MUCHO DINERO (5G) Justin Snaith 115
POMODORO’S JET (6G) James Crawford 118

Next 9 in Alphabetical Order

BEATING WINGS (4F) Stuart Pettigrew 113
HOLDING THUMBS (4G) Glen Kotzen 107
JOY AND PEACE (4F) Alan Greeff 110
LITIGATION (6G) Sean Tarry 113
MAGIC VERSE (4G) Justin Snaith 113
RAINBOW LORIKEET (4F) Candice Bass-Robinson 111
SON OF RAJ (5G) Tony Peter 119
THE EQUATOR (IRE) (4C) Tony Peter 110
THUNEE PLAYA (4C) Mano Pandaram 104

Final supplementary entries close on Tuesday 17 June after which the weights will be published by the National Horseracing Authority.

Final declarations fall due on Monday 23 June and the field of eighteen runners, with two reserves, will be revealed on Tuesday 24 June when the draw for barrier positions will also take place.

The traditional “July” public gallops will take place at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Thursday 26 June, commencing at 07h00 and all are welcome to attend.

What Is It Like To Own A July Winner?

Raymond Deacon living in a “dream bubble” at the 2009 Durban July (Picture: Nkosi Hlope)

The Hollywoodbets Durban July is South Afrca’s version of “the race that stops a nation” and never fails to inspire sports lovers year after year.

But what does it feel like to own a July winner?

The recollections of three winning owners, Raymond Deacon (Big City Life in 2009), Ashwin Reynolds (Kommetdieding 2020) and Greg Bortz (Oriental Charm 2024), gives an inkling of what appears to be a surreal experience.

1. Before the 2019 July one of racing’s great characters Raymond Deacon recalled the moment ten years previously he believed his Glen Kotzen-trained horse Big City Life was going to win the Durban July.

He described a feeling of being in a dream bubble as he charged like a rugby player through a shoulder-to-shoulder crowd towards the winner’s enclosure.

His wife Paula turned to daughter Lois and said, “What’s Dad doing?”

“What’s happening?!”, she exclaimed in a higher pitch.

Lois replied, “I think we’ve just won the July!”

Big City life had come into the July off the back of victories in the KRA Guineas and the Daily News 2000, having also won the Investec Cape Derby on J&B Met day.

One of the joint-owners was Raymond’s cousin Glen Mitchell. As youngsters they used to sneak on to the course at Clairwood and help Raymond’s grandfather Reg Deacon in his role as the numbers board operator. He also recalled Glen and himself riding armchairs during racing commentaries, such was their passion for the sport as kids.

Owning a July winner back then would have seemed as unattainable as flying to the moon. So when he owned the second favourite in 2009 Raymond described the build-up of “unbelievable pressure” as a seemingly unattainable dream came within grasping distance.

He recalled, “It suddenly all gets released, I can’t think of a better drug, it is just an amazing release of joy. It is probably why we still do our pensions on this game. I could hardly see the horses through the crowd as they went past, but after he had earlier hit the front I felt almost as if the script had already been written and there was no way he could lose. I have never had a feeling like it. It all happened in slow motion, I can’t remember any noise, it was like being in a dream where you knew the end result.”

Raymond always watched the races at Greyville from the same place on the bottom step of the grandstand opposite the finish line from where his late father Maynard used to watch.

He reckoned he reached the short distance to the winner’s enclosure almost before his horse crossed the line and was thankful Gold Circle’s media relations manager Gill Mostert was on hand to tell some irate members of the public he had not just gone mental but had rather just won the July. Their irritation turned to cheers and they helped him over the winner’s enclosure railings.

Raymond said, “I would have looked a right royal idiot if he had not won, we often joke about it, although I would also have been happy with second.”

The memory of the victory is ever present in the Deacon home through a painting and all sorts of memorabilia.

Raymond said, “The only thing I haven’t got from that day is my phone!”

He lost his cellphone during his charge for the winner’s enclosure, so was unable to field the myriad of congratulatory messages and phonecalls.

One thing which struck Raymond later was this was probably the only time he had been on course and not led his winner in.

He recalled, “I was too busy hugging Frikkie (Greyling, assistant trainer at the time to Glen Kotzen) and the groom.”

Upon receiving the winner’s sash Raymond entertained the crowd with an impromptu dance.

He said, “I don’t even remember doing it, but have seen the footage of it and hope I am capable of dancing better than that! It is hard to explain, but the emotion grabbed me and it just felt right.”

He remembers upon leaving the winner’s enclosure a punter grabbing him and throwing him in the air with excitement as he had just won the July quartet, which paid a massive amount because although 11/2 shot Big City Life was the second favourite, the second, third and fourth horses were 55/1, 100/1 and 70/1 shots respectively.

Raymond continued, “One of my best recollections of the day was when Patrick Loker and Gill took us through to the Classic Room and showed us Big City Life’s colours displayed on the wall alongside all the other famous silks which have won the race. That’s when I knew it wasn’t a dream and had really happened.”

Raymond inherited the purple and white checks colours from his father.”

The Chairman’s Dinner, a traditional function in those days on the Monday night after the July, was also special and Raymond said he definitely felt the presence of his father that night.

He said, “It was a glamorous, old fashioned occasion and that is the way my Dad used to race, in a formal suit for every meeting. They also had a band come and sing the popular hit song after which Big City Life was named which was special and so were the 400 drinks afterwards, everybody wanted to buy us a drink!”

The popular Durban singer Jae sang the song in a duet with an up-and-coming fifteen-year-old rapper called Trent Kok and delighted the audience with a newly prepared version of Big City Life, with lyrics changed to reflect on the big race.

2. Ashwin Reynolds was the owner of the Harold Crawford and Michelle Rix-trained Kommetdieding, who won the lockdown July in 2020.

Ashwin Reynolds with the horse he named “Kommetdieding”, who caused a “tremor” in the Cape Flats during the lockdown July in 2020..

He watched from home together with his wife Rene and sons Brandon and Aiden and said the neighbours must have believed “a Tsunami” had hit.

The neighbours asked politely the next day whether something had happened as they were unaware of his association with racehorses.

Ashwin saw his horse lying third last early in the race and feared the worst.

He said, “I thought I was going to have to pull my heart out of my ass”.

However, Kommetdieding steadily made up ground from then onward.

He continued, “Before he hit the straight I could see Gavin (Lerena) had made his move already. It was a wise decision to get a lead on the others.”

The ‘tremor’ in the Cape Flats and the clamour in his household then began.

“I didn’t stop shouting and my wife and sons were screaming at the top of their lungs!”

Ashwin was overcome with emotion when Kommetdieding crossed the line and candidly revealed the thoughts that went through his mind, “Everything just came back to me, I saw my late grandfather and my mother-in-law … I just couldn’t anymore so I dropped to the floor and broke down and cried.”

Ashwin’s father passed away when he was eight-years-old and he was brought up by his grandfather Titus Reynolds.

Titus in fact introduced him to horseracing.

He recalled, “He used to allow me to write down the results of the quinpot.”
His interest in the sport continued when he married into the Barnes family, who own Jamestown United football club and also love horseracing.

Ashwin made it one of his goals to own a racehorse by the age of 40.

For a couple of days after the July victory Ashwin found himself sitting quietly for an hour at a time trying to absorb what he had just achieved.

He is the first person of colour to own a July winner and his racing colours will now forever be displayed on the wall of honour in Hollywoodbets Greyville’s Classic Room alongside many of South African history’s most famous racing silks.

He said, “I was saying to myself ‘Do you really know what you did?’ It is breathtaking. I can’t explain it. You can buy a horse for R10 million or R55,000 (Kommetdieding’s prce), it doesn’t matter, because this is what it is all about. I am really chuffed to be part of South African history.”

3. Greg Bortz grew up in Lambert Road off Florida Road, a stone’s throw from Hollywoodbets Greyville racecourse, and became hooked on the July in 1977 when his mother told him and his siblings about the big race and allowed them to all choose a horse. He chose Lightning Shot because he liked the name and the horse not only won it but today has a bar on the course named after him. Greg’s passion for the July grew exponentially year after year from then onward and he describes his many memories of the great event as “a series of electric moments.”

He went into last year’s race without expectation.

He said, “Based on the Pomp and Power experience, I was just grateful to be in the race and had no expectations (for his Brett and James Crawford-trained runner, Oriental Charm). Pomp and Power, was the one time I thought I could win the July and after he ran so poorly I didn’t know if I’d ever get that opportunity again.”

He recalled his thoughts and emotions from the time Oriental Charm led the field into the straight until the finish.

He said, “I think everybody thought he was going to be caught, because if you listen to both commentaries he is the only horse who isn’t really mentioned in the straight.”

Flag Man was Flying at Oriental Charm on his outside and probably headed him, Royal Victory was just behind them and Cousin Casey and See It Again were flying down the inside.

Greg said, “But he’s such a brave horse. And one of the reasons he won that race is he hangs to the right, so the right-handed Hollywoodbets Greyville actually suits him down to the ground. But it was just a question of how good were the others? We kept hearing that Flag Man was flying at home and I expected him to come flying past us. But I certainly knew he (Oriental Charm) would not quit.”

However, the further the race went the more it looked like Oriental Charm could win and Greg describes the pandemonium around him in the closing stages.

He said, “That last 50 metres, I swear I’ll never forget in my entire life. I was in the Durban view room. I was just crying from 50 metres out, screaming and crying at the same time because I could just see it … he was going to win. I was making a spectacle of myself. But a lot of the owners were there, the Flag Man table and the Cousin Casey table were right there and it was actually great because everyone was screaming home their own horses. What an experience!”

Greg decribed the moment of victory, “It was face in the hands stuff, crying. I couldn’t believe it, just couldn’t believe it. And it sounds cliched, but my mind went back to all of the Julys I’ve been to, all the memories, the great winners all of those horses that I have imprinted on my brain.”

An “overwhelmed” Greg Bortz and Gina Goldsmith after victory last year. (Candiese Lenferna Photography).

He added, “In South Africa there’s no other race that has that same impact on you, regardless of it being a handicap versus weight for age, there’s just something about that race and that race course. When you think about Durban, the thing that makes it most iconic from a sports perspective is not the Sharks or any other sporting team, it has always been the Durban July. In Cape Town it has been Western Province or the Stormers, Jo’Burg it was “the mean machine”, and Pretoria it is the Bulls … it is not a horse race in any of those cities.”

Greg had experienced the hope and heartbreak of having a July contender many years previously through a school friend of his who was the son of Martin Sternberg, who owned the like of the top class Spanish Pool. He remembered Mr Sternberg’s joy when he won the 1991 Gold Cup with Icona having never managed to win the July. That illustrated how owning a July winner is invariably an unreachable dream, so it is easy to understand why he said in an intervew after last year’s race that having at one stage dreamed of just owning a racehorse, winning the July had left him “overwhelmed”.

Hollywoodbets Durban July Will Have Three Joint-Topweights

Oriental Charm (middle) and Gladatorian (closest) could hardly be separated in the Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge and they will be joint topweights in the Hollywoodbets Durban July together wih See It Again. (Candiese Lenfera Photography).

There will be three joint topweights in the Hollywodbets Durban July after Oriental Charm and Gladatorian were raised to join See It Again on 127.

Handicapping Ratings Update (NHA Press Release)

HOLLYWOODBETS GOLD CHALLENGE (Grade 1)

DAVE THE KING retained his official merit rating of 128 following his victory in the Grade 1 Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge over 1600m at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Saturday. The Handicappers determined that he had performed to his mark and used him as the benchmark for assessing the race, given that he won this event last year.

Three runners received merit rating increases:

· ORIENTAL CHARM (2nd): Up from 125 to 127

· GLADATORIAN (3rd): Raised from 123 to 127

COSMIC SPEED (4th): Adjusted from 125 to 126

Meanwhile, four horses had their ratings reduced:

· ROYAL AUSSIE: Dropped from 124 to 122

· CAFÉ CULTURE: Lowered from 128 to 126

· PURPLE PITCHER: Trimmed from 123 to 122

MONTIEN: Reduced from 129 to 126—while he raced wide and tired in the straight, the Handicappers noted that he had not subsequently confirmed the 129 performance he produced in the Grade 1 L’Ormarins King’s Plate, where he finished second to the 132-rated ONE STRIPE while conceding 5kg under Weight for Age terms. The re-assessment of this horse was not based on his disappointing run in the Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge but on his two previous performances.

HKJC WORLD POOL TIBOUCHINA STAKES (Grade 2)

GREEN SAPPHIRE’S official merit rating has been raised from 104 to 109 after her victory in the Grade 2 HKJC World Pool Tibouchina Stakes for fillies and mares over 1400m at Hollywoodbets Greyville. The Handicappers agreed to use fourth-place finisher OXALIS GOLD as the line horse, keeping her rating unchanged at 107.

Five other runners earned rating increases:

· CALLMEGETRIX (2nd place): Up from 99 to 108 for outperforming the 107-rated line horse under Weight for Age conditions.

· MINOGUE (3rd place): Adjusted from 107 to 108.

· SOVEREIGN GRANT (5th place): Increased from 99 to 103.

· SONIC JET (6th place): Raised from 95 to 102.

SOHOT SOWHAT (8th place): Up from 94 to 101.

These changes were made to align with Handicap rules and maintain correct rankings for future eliminations. However, unplaced runners were not fully rated for their performances due to the compact finish, which may have flattered them.

No merit rating reductions were issued for any runners.

HOLLYWOODBETS DOLPHINS CUP TRIAL (Grade 3)

MADISON VALLEY’S official merit rating was increased from 113 to 115 following his victory in the Grade 3 Hollywoodbets Cup Trial over 1800m at Hollywoodbets Greyville. The Handicappers identified runner-up UNDERWORLD as the appropriate line horse, keeping his rating at 109. Third-place finisher ON MY HONOUR also performed to his mark, effectively making him another a line horse as well.

Four horses had their ratings reduced:

· THUNEE PLAYA: Lowered from 105 to 104.

· HOTARUBI: Dropped from 112 to 109.

· PONTE PIETRA: Reduced from 108 to 106.

PACAYA: Adjusted downward from 118 to 115.

4RACING JUBILEE STAKES (Grade 3)

IMMEDIATE EDGE saw his official merit rating rise from 102 to 108 after a dominant win in the Grade 3 4Racing Jubilee Stakes over 1800m at Turffontein Racecourse on Sunday. The Handicappers chose OLIVIA’S WAY (second place) and ATTICUS FINCH (third place) as benchmarks, keeping their ratings at 112 and 121, respectively.

Despite delivering a performance beyond the 108 level, IMMEDIATE EDGE’S rating was capped at 108 due to race conditions limiting increases for winners to six points and prohibiting adjustments for placed runners.

Notably, IMMEDIATE EDGE had his rating increased from 94 to 101 for an unplaced finish in the Grade 1 SA Derby – a figure that was swiftly validated by his subsequent performances. However, his official rating does not fully reflect his rapid improvement or current ability due to the applied ratings protection, making it somewhat misleading. Furthermore, the rating protection received here is negated in the Hollywoodbets Durban July, as IMMEDIATE EDGE will carry 53kg under the race conditions, effectively competing off a gross rating of 117 if the weights were to be finalised today.

Two horses had their ratings reduced:

· LA MOOHAL: Dropped from 95 to 93.

INFINITE WONDER: Adjusted from 100 to 96.

Enquiries:

The Handicapping Team

Underworld Supplementary Entry Increases July Hopefuls To 30

Underworld winning at Hollywoodbets Greyville in April. (Candiese Lenferna Photography).

The Justin Snaith-trained Querari gelding Underworld has had a fine Champions Season and has duly been supplemented for the Hollywoodbets Durban July.

In his pipe opener on April 20 over 1600m at Hollywoodbets Greyville he won an A Stakes race and he followed with a 2,20 length third in the Gr 3 WSB 1900 and a 0,30 length second in the Gr 3 Hollywoodbets Dolphins Cup Trial over 1800m.

He was ridden by Muzi Yeni, Gavin Lerena and Richard Fourie respectively on those three occasions.

He increases Snaith’s number of July entries still standing to seven.

Underworld is a big handy sort owned by J P Cuvelier.

He is out of the Parade Leader mare Laverna, who won the Gr 1 Thekwini Stakes over 1600m at Greyville as a two-year-old.

Laverna was bred by Wilgerbosdrift and Mauritzfontein and hails from a famous family of Varsfontein Stud origin that includes speedsters like National Currency and Harry’s Charm, but her progeny include the like of Fort Wood gelding Horace, who won four races in succession over 2400m, so there is hope that Underworld can stay the 2200m trip.

To date the furthest he has run over was over 1900m on the Fairview polytrack and encouragingly he won that race.

He is only merit rated 109, which will see him carrying the minimum weight for an older male of 54kg in the July, but he will be 3kg under sufferance.

Warren Kennedy To Ride In The Hollywoodbets Durban July

Twice South African champion jockey and New Zealand reigning champion jockey Warren Kennedy is arriving in South Africa this weekend three weeks before the Hollywoodbets Durban July and is seeking a ride in the big race.

He has apparently received offers already and will be choosing his best option.

Kennedy has never won the July before but regards his third place finish on the notoriously difficult Mike de Kock-trained 100/1 shot Forest Path in the 2009 July as one of his career best rides.

His first ride in the July was in 2004 on the unplaced 100/1 shot Cousin John.

His best finish other than his third place in 2009 was fourth on the Glen Kotzen-trained Eyes Wide Open in 2019.

Kennedy was SA champion jockey in the 2019/2020 season and the 2021/2022 season with 209 and 263 wins respectively.

Winning a championship in your home country is one thing, but to do it in a foreign country in your first full season there is an extraordinary feat and that is what Warren managed in New Zealand in a gruelling but memorable 2023/2024 season, in which he had 140 wins in 849 rides for a strike rate of one every 6.06 rides or in South Africa terminology 16.9%.

His season included a memorable seven-timer, which is a New Zealand record.

Kennedy relocated to New Zealand in October 2022 and his seven-timer happened in a major ten-race meeting at Pukekohe on New Year’s Day 2024. It beat the previous single day record of six by Lance O’Sullivan, who was the co-trainer of three of Kennedy’s winning rides on the day. Kennedy, who was booked on nine horses, partnered four of the first five winners of the day, which included two Gr 2 successes, and he completed a hat-trick in races six, seven and eight, including the first Gr 1 race of 2024, the Railway Stakes aboard Waitak.

Kennedy was involved in an intense tussle for the title last season with the reigning champion Michael McNab. An untimely injury to the latter saw Warren ultimately pulling clear to win by 16.

The New Zealand press were high in their praise.

“To move to New Zealand as a total unknown here and win the premiership inside two years defies belief and McNab can take comfort he has conceded his title to a horseman of rare talent and drive,” wrote journalist Michael Guerin in the New Zealand Herald. “He (Kennedy) has been equal parts magnificent in the saddle, professional out of it and robotic in his determination to add the New Zealand jockey’s title to the two premierships he won in his native South Africa.”

Other records Warren set besides the seven in a day was becoming the first jockey to ever surpass NZ$5 million in stakes earnings in one New Zealand season and he might well have been the first foreign rider to win the title.

He said chasing the premiership had actually required more travel and had been just as taxing on him as it had been in South Africa.

He said towards the end of last season, “In SA you just fly into the major centres and you’re just about on course. But In New Zealand to get to some courses requires a two hour flight and a three hour drive. There are some pretty remote race courses and it’s quite a mission to get there, so it’s been very, very busy, really a lot of travelling.

Warren’s focus changed this season as his wife Barbara, former Summerveld assistant trainer to Dean Kannemeyer, took out her training license last season and he helps out as much as he can at the yard in addition to his other riding commitments.

This season Barbara has had ten wins in just 71 outings, a fine strike rate of 14.08%. She looks set to win more support at that rate.

Warren is likely to ride in meetings out here before the July, although he did not speak of that possibility.

Ultra Quick Could Be The Wright One

Ultra Quick has been tipped to win the 8th race. (Candiese Lenferna Photography).

Hollywoodbets Greyville Poly Wednesday Preview

Andrew Harrison (Race Coast)

Punters face another testing card on the poly track at Hollywoodbets Greyville today and hopefully the gale force winds have subsided.

Alyson Wright has a basket-full of runners as she bids for the KZN Champion Trainer title. On 33 winner’s so far this season, she currently trails log leader Garth Puller by five and Gareth van Zyl by four in what will be another tight race for the championship.

That said, her runners face some difficult opposition but she can get her ship sailing in the first leg of the Bi-Pot but may first have to get past Fanie Bronkhorst’s raider Time Will Tell who has been knocking on the door for some time now. She goes well over this trip and has first time blinkers. Wright saddles three lively runners, best of which could be Captain Clever who was much improved when having his first run back after a lengthy break. He was on the poly from a wide draw and now gets 4kg relief from the saddle. Stable companion Gorgeous Bomb was a close-up second over course and distance and has yet to run a bad race. She gets the services of stable rider Athandiwe Mgudlwa. Gareth van Zyl saddles KMV Retrofit who has the widest draw but has shown up well at her last two and can feature.

In the opening leg of the PA Cherry Oh Baby had excuses last run but has been costly to follow. She gets first time blinkers and may be worth one more chance. However, she could find herself in the shallow end of the purse again. Lemon Thyme was second best last run but was narrowly beaten at her penultimate start. Andre Nel looks to have her primed for this. Fascination has not been too far back in her two outings to date and the step up in trip could make her a threat.

The first leg of the Pick 6 French Flame made a promising start on the poly last time out and has improved at his last two. He gets first time blinkers and could get the better of Kitchical who has been struggling for his next win but is never far back. He is course and distance suited with a plum draw.

The fifth is an open handicap but Azaleas For All has shown up well in her last two and was a beaten favourite last time out. Gavin Lerena is back in the saddle and this trip suits. Garry Rich saddles English Primrose who just needed her last outing. She has a light weight and is back over her optimum trip. Qondanekukhanyeni has improved with each outing of late and was touched off last run. A repeat will see her in the money while Grand Slam has the best of the draw and was not far back to stronger last time out.

In the sixth, Numzaan has a big weight but Serino Moodley is back in the irons and he has a strong chance. Gripen was a beaten favourite in his local debut behind White Seahorse but is still a maiden. He makes his poly debut but does look good enough to go close in this company. Dawn Surprise has consistent form over shorter but may now prefer this extended trip while Viva De Janeiro has been dropping in the handicap but has consistent Highveld form. The switch to poly could bring out the best.

Dean Kannemeyer’s runner Uzwano was hiked six points in the handicap for his latest victory over course and distance but is lightly raced. He is possibly still under the handicappers radar and could solve the problem of the seventh. Stable companion Gurkha took a walk in the market last run but did have a wide draw and did not get the rub of the green in the race. He can do better here. Shoefella has joint top weight and a wide draw to contend with but has done well against stronger and should feature.

Wright will be hoping that the consistent Ultra Quick can get her closer to the log leaders. He has been consistent at recent outings on the turf and the rejuvenated poly should suit. He could be the pick of Alyson Wright’s two runners. Clinton Binda also saddles a pair with similar form. Prized Platinum has shown up well in KZN and could prove the pick although Kabelo Matsunyane stays with Mariarchi Madness. Hippocrates has a big weight but is a poly specialist and jumps from a plum gate while Fate Of Fortune comes off a lengthy break but has solid poly form and is one to watch in the market.

In the last, Coming In Hot ran way below form at Hollywoodbets Scottsville last run after showing solid Highveld form. The switch to first time poly could bring out the best in the six-year-old. Gorgeous Guy has been close-up in all of his recent starts. He goes well this trip and the poly should suit. Super Fast goes well this trip and shows good form in blinkers. He gets on well with his apprentice rider and from a good draw he should be right there again.

Samarkand Can Get It Right At Last

Samarkand has not won for a long time but has been tipped to do so at Wednesday’s Happy Valley meeting (Picture: HKJC)

Tim Carroll (At The Races)

Happy Valley provides Wednesday’s action from Hong Kong, where Tim previews all nine races and gives three best bets.

This Wednesday sees a competitive nine-race card from Happy Valley getting underway at 12.40am SA Time. The feature of the meeting is race 6, the Class 2 Cheung Sha Handicap, over 1 mile, offering prize money of more than £312,000.

Click here to see Tim’s Selections