Charles Dickens was last seen winning the Gr 1 weight for age Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge in scintillating style on June 10. (Photo: Candiese Lenferna).

Charles Dickens Has Hong Kong Targets – Depending

The first prize for the future of the superstar Charles Dickens will be to have a tilt at either, or both, of the lucrative international mile races in Hong Kong.

There was good news recently as far as equine exports go with the EU audit done last year on AHS control in South Africa having culminated in a positive report.

Trainer Candice Bass-Robinson said she was “desperately waiting” on further news and added, “Then I can take him to race in Hong Kong.”

The first feasible race for him on the island will be the Gr 1 HK$22 million FWD Champions Mile in Hong Kong in late April.

HK$22 million is a cool R53.9 million at the current exchange rate, so the go ahead for direct travel to Europe followed by the horse then being treated like a European horse is being awaited with much anticipation.

The Gr 1 Hong Kong Mile on Longines International Races day, which is staged every December, is even more lucrative. The stake this year will be HK$32 million (R78.4 million). It might be even more next year, which is the earliest possible date Charles Dickens will be able to take part.

Charles Dickens arrived back at his Milnerton yard yesterday (Monday) after a deserved holiday on the farm.

He is the highest rated horse in the country and it will be a surprise if he is not crowned Equus Champion Three-year-old male and Equus Champion Miler at the Equus Awards on August 23.

He topped the points table for the three-year-old male award and his two Gr 1 wins included an open weight for age mile, so he should oust See It Again, whose two Gr 1 wins were age restricted events.

Charles Dickens was only in fourth place on the points table for the Equus Champion Miler award, because age restricted races do not count. However, few would argue against him being the best miler in the land, so he should win both of the voting parts of the award.

Candice said she would “not really” be nervous before the announcement of the Equus Horse Of The Year Award and added, “We would love to get it but it is tricky as a case can be made for either one of them (Princess Calla being the other chief contender) and it is what it is.”

Princess Calla topped the points table on 174 points compared to Charles Dickens 144. However, Charles Dickens is a popular horse with the public, so that vote will be close, and the result might hinge on the expert vote.

Charles Dickens has not been seen since winning the Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge in scintillating fashion on June 10 at Hollywodbets Greyville.

Candice said as he had not raced for a while she might bring him back in the Gr 3 Matchem Stakes over 1400m at Hollywoodbets Durbanville on September 30.

The Trippi colt will then likely follow the traditional route for a top older racehorse of the Gr 2 WSB Green Point Stakes over 1600m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on December 3 followed by the Gr 1 weight for age (wfa) L’Ormarins King’s Plate over 1600m in early January.

She hinted the Hollywoodbets Durban July might be a possibility this season, which indicates he might well line up in the Gr 1 wfa WSB Met over 2000m in late January.

Picture: Travel Indiana

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What a finish! (Photo: Wayne Marks)

Dramatic Blanket Finish At Hollywoodbets Durbanville

A neck separated the first four home in the fifth race at Hollywoodbets Durbanville today and the fifth horse was only beaten 0,60 lengths.

The pictures taken above and below by Wayne Marks tell the story.

The winner of the Cape Racing Sales Cape C Stakes event over 1250m is the horse on the very outside, the Paul Reeves-trained Creme Brulee (Soft Falling Rain), who was delivered with a late charge by in form Grant van Niekerk and got up by a head. The horse with the blue cap and white stripe, Easy Money, on the inside is second; the horse with the black cap, Lady Look Alike, is a short-head further back in third and the horse with the green colours, Little Miss Pink, is another short-head further back in fourth. The grey horse with the yellow colours, Unconquerable Lady, is 0,40 lengths furtheer back in fifth.

Creme Brulee’s second career win, at odds of 40/1, gave Reeves a double on the day.

The picture below shows the horses a metre or so from the line.

Hollie Doyle poses at Ascot Racecourse on Saturday. Picture: Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images

Female Jockeys Are Definitely As Good As ‘The Boys’

No longer ‘Girls’, they are now grown-up ‘Ladies’

Mike Moon (The Citizen)

The Ladies team of jockeys won the Shergar Cup at Ascot in the UK on Saturday and set off another round of the tiresome debate about the worth of female riders.

The facts are: since a female team was added to the line-up in 2012, the upstart hussies have won the Shergar Cup four times – that’s four out of 11 (with a year off for Covid), for a winning rate of more than 36%.

Of course, jockey invitational events are a bit of a lottery, in that mounts are literally allocated by ballot. Maybe the Ladies have just had a long lucky streak.

Women’s sport is enjoying a golden age of growth and popularity, as evidenced by the media coverage given the current Fifa women’s soccer World Cup and the ubiquity of women’s cricket on television.

Racing is different. For one thing, women jockeys compete directly against men – usually on equal terms. For another, they’ve already been at the forefront of the game for decades.

In racing, the horse provides most of the, ahem, horsepower. Yet the physical, mental and intuitive harnessing of that power is in the hands of the small person perched precariously on its back. And that is a helluva job.

It’s been 50 years since women started encroaching onto the male preserve of “the irons” in racing countries – longer, if sketchily, in the US. Now they’re not encroaching so much as coming with a powerful gallop down the centre of the track.

Yet there is still bias against female jocks everywhere you look in racing, with grumbling about them not being brave enough or strong enough to beat the blokes.

Hollie Doyle is the proof of that being rubbish. In the UK 2022 season, this tiny person finished runner-up in the fiercely contested jockey championship – beating hundreds of men. She is currently lying third on the 2023 log – just one winner behind her husband Tom Marquand (but with a 16% strike rate to his 15%) – and 15 behind leader and current champion William Buick.

Doyle won the Silver Saddle as the highest individual points scorer at the Shergar Cup – the fifth time a woman has snagged this trophy.

Female jockeys – such as Doyle in the UK, Michelle Payne in Australia and our own Rachel Venniker – might be chipping away at prejudices, but there are many obstacles. The most obvious is childbearing duty at a critical age, but even that is not enough to account for such low representation in the weighing room.

Famously, Venniker is the only female riding professionally in SA, while her sisters – Doyle and Shergar teammates Hayley Turner and Saffie Osborne included – make up just 16% of flat jockeys in the UK. In the US, the tally is a less embarrassing 27%.

The Shergar Cup, for all its role in promoting “jockettes” – as they used to be called in SA – is still a nightmare of muddled messaging. It was only this year that the team name was changed from “Girls” to “Ladies”. But they still had to wear pink team silks.

Silver Falcon just gets up to pip pacemaker After The Rain (Photo: Wayne Marks).

Five On The Trot For Silver Falcon

Graeme Hawkins (Gold Circle)

Silver Falcon (9/4) reeled off his fifth consecutive victory with a last-gasp win over the front-running After The Rain (11/2) in the opening race at Hollywoodbets Durbanville yesterday. With 200m to race, After The Rain appeared set to provide Gareth Van Zyl with the first winner of his current Western Cape campaign but Grant Van Niekerk produced Silver Falcon with a late lunge and the 5yo Silvano gelding got up to score by a nose. The heavily backed Wecangoallnight (5/4) was never in the hunt and trailed in a distant third.

Kythera looked the best bet on the card in the second race and her supporters never had an anxious moment. Given a perfect ride by Corne Orffer, Kythera (9/10) tracked the pacemaker Amethystic (33/1) into the home straight but once given her head, the daughter of Erupt quickened smartly to put the race to bed in a matter of strides, winning with more than three lengths to spare. Amethystic held on to second spot just ahead of the one-paced Nile The Boss.

Something akin to a good old-fashioned coup was landed in the opening leg of the Pick 6. Rod The Mod was 8/1 in the ante-post market but there was a flood of on-course support for the 5yo son of Var and he shortened to outright 3/1 favourite before the jump. Putting a shocking last run in heavy conditions firmly behind him, and relishing the fast going which prevailed at the Country Course yesterday, Rod The Mod bounced out in front and was never headed. Beerenberg (11/2) and What A State (5/1) gave chase over the final 200m, closing in hand over fist, but the winning post came in time for Richard Fourie and Rod The Mod and they held on by a rapidly diminishing margin. Off the track for almost a year, Yellowporscheroad ran an encouraging race to finish in fourth position and he should come on plenty with the benefit of this run.

Rod The Mod’s stable companion, Bonanza (16/1 to 3/1), was also the subject of a sizeable gamble in the following race but this time Richard Fourie came to deny the Paul Reeves stable. Just as Bonanza loomed large under Van Niekerk on the inside fence, Fourie’s mount Jury Duty flashed up with a well-timed finish to win going away. Adam Marcus-trained Jury Duty was winning her fourth race this calendar year and the sixth of her career, and she now retires to the Avontuur Stud.

The bomb landed in the fifth race when the Reeves-trained Crème Brulee (40/1) snatched victory in a blanket finish where less than a length covered the first five runners past the post. With 100m to race Lady Look Alike seemed the likely winner but she was swamped in the last few strides by Crème Brulee and Easy Money, with Little Miss Pink and Unconquerable Lady close on their heels. Crème Brulee’s victory capped a really good day for owner Andy Elton and the Reeves stable, whose four runners yielded two winners and two seconds.

Van Niekerk notched up his third victory in the sixth race when delivering Veronica Mars (11/2) at just the right time to collar the long-time leader Royal Invitation. Veronica Mars had not won for nearly two years but has been consistent in defeat and was not winning out of turn. The favourite My Flower Fate blew the start, losing considerable ground, and did well to finish fourth, with Lady Silvano just ahead of her in third position.

Enjoying a red-letter day, Van Niekerk rode his fourth winner in the seventh race when just getting Fallo Ancora (11/2) home narrowly ahead of stable companion Peut Etre Moi. This was a third winner for the Snaith racing team following Silver Falcon and Veronica Mars’ success earlier in the afternoon. Fitted with blinkers for the first time, Twice The Master showed some improvement to take out third placing ahead of Exceeder.

There was another head-bopping duel in the final race between the two 14/1 chances Miss New York and Winter Scout with the latter just prevailing under Louis Mxothwa by a short-head. The market leaders Lucy The Pink and Zippy Over made late headway from off the pace but had to be satisfied with minor money. Winter Scout’s victory ensured that only a percentage of the Pick 6 pool was won.

This bronze sculpture of Silvano unveiled at Maine Chance Farms recently was sculpted by Robin Kutinyu (Picture: Maine Chance Farms).

Statue Of Silvano Unveiled At Maine Chance Farms

The above bronze statue of Silvano was unveiled recently at Maine Chance Farms. It was sculpted by Robin Kutinyu, who also sculpted the statue of Captain Al at Klawevlei Stud.

The late Silvano was a six-time national champion sire.

The son of Lomitas has produced 105 individual stakes winners and 28 individual Gr 1 winners to date.

His last crop are now three-year-olds, so he is likely to still improve on those figures considering none of his 18 crops have been without a stakes winner.

He is also proving to be a sire of sires with his son Vercingetorix being the biggest boom sire in the country at present and commanding a cover fee of R220,000 (R50,000 nom plus 170,000 live foal).

Trois Trois Quatre will be going for a third win on the trot the next time he races (JC Photos).

Trois Trois Quatre, Named For Delpech, Going For ‘Troisième Victoire’

The Mike de Kock-trained Trois Trois Quatre is the latest Hollywood Syndicate horse who has attracted attention through being well-named.

The Rafeef Wilgerbosdrift and Mauritzfontein-bred gelding was named after Delpech’s famous 334 wins in one season South African record, which has also been in the news lately due to Hollywoodbets offering a R1 million prize to any jockey who can beat it.

“Trois Trois Quatre” is of course French for “Three Three Four.”

Last week at the Vaal, Trois Trois Quatre won his first start out of the maidens over 2000m to improve his career record to two wins, two thirds and a fourth and a fifth in seven career starts.

The now four-year-old caught the eye on both of his first two starts over 1450m and 1600m respectively.

However, when the blinkers were applied he disappointed in his next two starts over 1600m and 2400m respectively.

He only managed to finish fourth at odds of 9/10 in the first of those starts over 1600m and then finished fifth at even money odds over 2400m.

However, the removal of the blinkers saw him back on track.

He finished a close up third in his next start over the too sharp 1400m on the Hollywoodbets Greyville poly.

Then stepped up to the trip his breeding and his first two runs suggested he was going to relish, he stormed home to win by 0,80 lengths over 1950m at Hollywoodbets Scottsville.

Last week he once again finished strongly from off the pace to win by 0,90 lengths over 2000m running off a 74 merit rating and carrying 58.5kg in the MR 75 Handicap event.

JP van der Merwe has ridden him in both of his wins.

This horse will not stop here. Rafeef has produced a SA Derby winner and Trois Trois Quatre’s damsire Ideal World and his grandam-sire Badger Creek are both stamina influences. He could turn out to be a useful stayer. His dam Badger Creek (Ideal World) won over 2200m and is a half-sister to Mr Brock (Fort Wood). The latter won the Maiden Cup in Mauritius over 2300m and also won over 2400m in SA as well as performing well in Dubai, including finishing third in the Gr 2 Dubai City Of Gold Stakes over 2485m.

Modern Games wins the 2022 Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) at Keeneland, with William Buick aboard.

Dual Breeders’ Cup Winner Modern Games Retired From Racing

Stud Plans Yet To Be Determined

Modern Games, who won top-flight races at two, three and four, has been retired from racing, Godolphin announced on Tuesday.

A son of Dubawi out of the exceptional broodmare Modern Ideals, the Godolphin homebred is also a half-brother to 2023 Classic heroine Mawj.

Progressing through the ranks as a juvenile in 2021, Modern Games won a G3 at Newmarket before heading to Del Mar to land the G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf.

As a globetrotting 3-year-old, he won G1 races in three separate countries; the Poule d’Essai des Poulains at ParisLongchamp, the Woodbine Mile in Canada, before recording his second Breeders’ Cup success in the Mile at Keeneland in Kentucky.

His first G1 on home soil came at the start of his 4-year-old campaign when beating a top-class field in the Lockinge Stakes by one-and-a-half lengths, emulating previous Godolphin winners and Darley stallions Farhh, Night Of Thunder and Ribchester.

Charlie Appleby said, “Modern Games was a brilliant horse to train and such a great advert for Godolphin. To win at two Breeders’ Cups, to be part of our trio of Guineas winners in 2022, and to land the Lockinge Stakes this season, shows his class, toughness and durability.

“He answered every call we asked of him, and we will miss him at Moulton Paddocks. I’m sure he will be a huge success in his next career as a stallion.”

Stud plans for Modern Games will be announced at a later date.

Maxiumus has been selected by the At The Races Tipster to win the last race on Wednesday on the Hollywoodbets Greyville Polytrack (Photo: Candiese Lenferna).

Hollywoodbets Greyville Wednesday August 16 Formguides And Selections

1 12:25 PM – Catch KZN Racing Via Live Streaming On www.galloptv.co.za Maiden Plate

MAGIC PRINCE can score his overdue maiden win as he has shown enough to win a race like this. He could relish the polytrack and may overcome his wide draw as he has good gate speed. BENNI IN THE AREA has also gone close in the past and appears better than his one showing on the poly. He may prefer the less frantic pace over 1400m and could get the job done. PRINCE OF DUBAI has run in some competitive races and can suddenly show especially as he is fitted with blinkers. He has drawn well but there are first-timers that won’t need to be special to win it. All three have drawn well.

Top Tip: PRINCE OF DUBAI (1)

Watch out for: NEW SPIRIT (2)

2 1:00 PM – Track & Ball Gaming Maiden Handicap

Some of the main contenders have drawn wide, so it could be tough. TOBACCONIST is improving and carries a light weight. If he takes to the poly in his second try on the surface he could open his account. But along with MISTER LINCOLN and VENERABLE, he has his work cut out from a wide draw. VENERABLE can put his 4kg claim to use and can get away if allowed to. KING OF SEVILLE rates the dark horse. He has shown potential but now gelded he could go on with it. TRUE TROJAN caught the eye last time. More with earning potential.

Top Tip: KING OF SEVILLE (4)

Watch out for: KING BAVARIAN (5)

3 1:35 PM – Greyville Convention Centre Fm 66 Handicap (F & M)

QUEEN BOMI won’t get an easier opportunity to get back to winning ways. She was a good second the only time she raced on the poly and can go one better but has been a bit costly to follow. SHAKEN NOT STIRRED can turn the form around with SATURN MOON. Not only is she 1,5kg better off for a 0.70-length beating but she has now secured the best draw after having jumped from the worst draws for a while. SATURN MOON hated the turf last time but now back on her preferred surface could light up. ROWINS DREAM can improve back over the longer trip. RAIN WEAR is capable.

Top Tip: SHAKEN NOT STIRRED (1)

Watch out for: QUEEN BOMI (5)

4 2:10 PM – tabGOLD Card Call Mr 66 Handicap

BAYVIEW EXPRESS can finally get it right after having to play second fiddle to National Dream. He is holding form nicely and more importantly has RICCARDO, VENGEANCE FOREVER and SAFE SPACE held. RICCARDO has yet to win on the surface but did catch the eye with the fastest finish behind BAYVIEW EXPRESS last time. VENGEANCE FOREVER has been frustrating to follow but has dropped further in ratings and from a plum gate could have things his way. A 4kg apprentice claim could see SAFE SPACE get his head in front on the poly.

Top Tip: SAFE SPACE (3)

Watch out for: RICCARDO (4)

5 2:45 PM – Follow In The Box Seat Podcast Fm 68 Handicap (F & M)

WHATSUPBUTTACUP suddenly improved on the poly, showing her previous form to be all wrong. She could make it two from two for apprentice Siphesihle Hlengwa if getting the timing right in handicap company. LADY CANTON opened the door with an assertive win when tried over a similar distance on the turf. If she brings the form to the poly she could repeat. MYSTERIOUS GIRL was most impressive when given distance. She could now notch up a string of wins. BLAZING ASTUTE and PRETTY IN PEARLS could be ready to add to their tally as well.

Top Tip: WHATSUPBUTTACUP (1)

Watch out for: LADY CANTON (2)

6 3:20 PM – Online Form Guide www.gallop.co.za Mr 68 Handicap

DONTSHOOTTHEBARMAN was pipped in his bid to remain unbeaten on the surface. He has Richard Fourie up and jumps from a plum gate so could get back to winning ways. IMPARTIAL is coming to hand and he could be hard to catch if allowed to make use of his number one draw. SERVILIUS rates the dark horse. He had excuses in his previous two starts before running a fair race in stronger company. A 1.5kg claim could give him the boost needed to win. MAJORCA PALACE and TRAFALGAR SQUARE are poly regulars that could give cheek if overcoming their draws.

Top Tip: IMPARTIAL (1)

Watch out for: DONTSHOOTTHEBARMAN (2)

7 3:55 PM – www.tabgold.co.za Fm 75 Handicap (F & M)

BRIGHT STAR didn’t disgrace herself down the straight in her last two. She is however better at this venue and should turn in her best performance. TIME FOR GLORY was eye catching last time and is knocking at the door, but along with BRIGHT STAR will need a bit of luck from a wide barrier. POPPY OF BAYEUX is holding form. Her best recent run was over 1400m and she could prefer a gut-busting pace. ASPOESTERTJIE also needs them to go hard as she has found it tough to quicken. She has matured and drawn well again. POURSOMESUGARONME has the form but needs to jump well.

Top Tip: ASPOESTERTJIE (1)

Watch out for: POURSOMESUGARONME (2)

8 4:30 PM – Hollywoodbets Bright Future Mr 96 Handicap

BLACKWHITEDYNAMITE impressed last time. That was in much weaker company but with his confidence boosted and a light weight he could prove dangerous again. PROUD MASTER has fantastic form on the poly but he has reached a high rating and now has a wide gate to overcome. MR MASTER STARTER looks to have found 1000m a bit too short last time. He, like PROUD MASTER, is very good on the poly and needs to be taken very seriously. CAMORA didn’t disgrace himself over 1600m in his last two. He could bounce back to form over the shorter trip. AQUA BOLT and more in with upset claims.

Top Tip: MAXIUMUS (1)

Watch out for: CAMORA (2)

Fallo Ancora (Twice Over) took 14 runs to exit the maidens but always looked to have some ability and she duly scored first time out the maidens today to give Grant van Niekerk a four-timer and Justin Snaith a treble (Photo: Wayne Marks).

Van Niekerk Four-Timer, Snaith Treble, Fourie and Reeves/Elton Doubles

Grant van Niekerk rode a four-timer at Hollywoodbets Durbanville today, three for Justin Snaith and one for Paul Reeves.

Both Richard Fourie and Paul Reeves scored doubles.

Reeves’ winners were both for owner Andy Elton.

Van Niekerk goes to six wins for the season at a strike rate of 28.57% and he is just two off the pace being set by Gavin Lerena and Muzi Yeni.

Fourie goes to five wins at 16.67%.

National champion trainer Snaith has had six wins so far this season at 15% and is second on the log to early pacesetter Paul Matchett, who has had eight wins at 28.57%.

Reeves has had two wins at 28.57%.

Hollywoodbets Greyville Fields – Wednesday

One of the horses in question is pictured above.

Today’s Question

Which horses have won both the Cape Derby and the SA Derby?

Question answer at the bottom of the newsletter

ANSWER TO TODAY’S QUESTION

The 1963-born Pent House II colt Appointment won the SA Derby at Turffontein on 31 December 1966 and won the Cape Derby on 25 February 1967.

The Syd Laird-trained Secret Service won the Cape Derby on 7 March 1981 and was then flown to Johannesburg where he won the SA Derby three weeks later on 28 March 1981.

The Terrance Millard-trained Argentinian-bred Liloy colt Potomac won the Cape Derby on 22 February 1986 and the SA Derby on 4 April 1986.

They appear to be the only three horses in history to have won both races.

The Cape Derby had its first renewal in 1946.

The SA Derby was first run in 1885 at Fairview in Port Elizabeth and its first renewal at its current venue of Turffontein in 1907.

Turf Talk Newsletter – 15 August, 2023