Turf Talk Newsletter – 17 June, 2026

Picture: Double Grand Slam wins last year’s Gr 1 wfa Ridgemont Garden Province Stakes and will have to overcome a tough draw to successfully defend her crown (Candiese Lenferna Photography) 

The Gr 1 Ridgemont Garden Province Stakes is the main supporting feature on Hollywoodbets Durban July day and the defending champion Double Grand Slam has drawn wide in 14 out of the 16 entries as opposed to her 8 out 13 draw when she won last year.

Double Grand Slam has been looking in fine shape at Summerveld and will be a hard horse to beat even if she does have that tough draw. Andrew Fortune rode her to victory last year and has been penciled in next to her name already for this year’s race.

Last year’s runner up Mon Petite Cherie was drawn six last year and is drawn 8 out of 16 among this year’s entries.

On paper she has a hard task with Quickstepgal, who beat her a shorthead in the Gr 2 HKJC World Pool Tibouchina Stakes over 1400m and is now 3kg better off. However, on the other hand, she will probably enjoy the 1600m trip more than Quickstepgal, whom trainer Tiene Prinsloo believes is more comfortable over 1400m.

Quickstepgal did win the Gr 1 WSB Fillies Guineas, but was allowed to dictate that day and the other jockeys will be wary of a repeat. However, the Vercingetorix filly has the winning attitude her phenomenal sire imparts and is sure to be right there. In her 12 start career a fifth place on debut has been her worst placing and since then she has had six wins, three seconds, one third and one fourth. Eight of  those starts have been at Graded level and one at Listed level.

Mon Petite Cherie promised to come into her own this season and her run in the Tibouchina proved it as she was actually caught wide throughout in that race, so did very well to get so close to Quickstepgal even if she was getting 2kg from the younger filly. With better luck in the Garden Province she should be in the shake up.

Keukenhof has often caught the eye with her strong finishes from off the pace but she doesn’t get much luck with draws and she has another difficult draw of 12.

Callmegetrix has some class but she has been no match for Double Grand Slam, being beaten  5,95 lengths in last year’s Garden Province and she was a 5,80 length third to her when Double Grand Slam was a runaway winner of the Gr 1 Empress Club Stakes, which is Johannesburg’s biggest Gr 1 wfa mile for fillies and mares.

Callmegetrix did beat Garden Province entry Rainbow Lorikeet in the Empress Club, but the latter was clearly below par on the day.

Nevertheless from a plum draw Callmegetrix can’t be written off.

Rainbow Lorikeet is an admirable sort and she reversed form with Callmegetrix in the Gr 2 Woolavington 2000 on May 30.

Both of them were well beaten in a race in which the leader was able to dictate and to get away from them.

However, Rainbow Lorikeet might have needed the run after probably being freshened up after her below par run in Jo’Burg. A better reflection of her class is her 0,30 length second to Double Grand Slam in the Gr 1 wfa Majorca Stakes over a mile at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth, a race in which Mon Petite Cherie proved her class again with a 1,30 length second, while Keukenhof was beaten 2,40 lengths into sixth.

Rainbow Lorikeet’s effort in the Majorca followed a 0,70 length third in the Gr 1 Cartier Paddock Stakes over 1800m, She is sure to give a good account of herself from a good draw in the Garden Province.

Hazy Dazy is a Garden Province entry, but is likely to run in the Hollywoodbets Durban July.

The ones mentioned are the ones that make most appeal.

The full field is shown below:

Last year’s KZN Yearling Sale was full of quality and it should be the same this year (Picture: Candiese Lenferna)   

KZN YEARLING SALE PREVIEW

by Sarah Whitelaw

The KZN Yearling Sale, which is set to take place at the Suncoast Casino this year on July 2nd, is one sale which has gone from strength to strength over the years.

Graduates of the KwaZulu-Natal auction have been seen to excellent effect this season, with the likes of Jan Van Goyen (G1 Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas), Quickstepgal (G1 World Sports Betting Cape Fillies Guineas, G2 HKJC World Pool Tibouchina Stakes), and Querari Dancer (G3 Tote Strelitzia Stakes), having all been purchased off previous renewals of the KZN Yearling Sale.

Other recent graded stakes winners purchased off this sale include Cliff Hanger, Crimson King Frances Ethel, Just Reckless, and Purple Pitcher, with the latter now standing at Hadlow Stud.

The portents look good for more top-class performers to emerge from the 2026 sale, with a number of factors suggesting the future is bright for this year’s KZN Yearling Sale graduates.

Sire Power
Nine of the top ten stallions on the South African General Sires list for 2025-2026 have at least one yearling on offer at this year’s KZN Sale. Reigning champion sire Vercingetorix, whose yearlings have dominated sales rings around the country this year once again, has two lots on offer. Vercingetorix’s red hot stablemate Querari, whose current flagbearers include leading G1 Hollywoodbets July hope Star Major, has two fillies on sale, while the ever popular Rafeef has six on offer. Master Of My Fate has a single filly on offer, What A Winter has seven yearlings on offer, and Erupt is doubly represented here. Rounding out the top ten sires for 2025-2026 thus far, One World has five yearlings for sale, and The United States has two lots on offer.

Proven Producers
This year’s KZN Yearling Sale also offers a host of yearlings produced by broodmares whose progeny have already made their mark in black type races. Among the mares to have already produced at least one stakes winner represented on the sale are Ikebana (Master Archie filly), Monte Carlo Girl (Act Of War colt), Musaanada (Soqrat colt), Pirate Queen (Danon Platina filly), Rashuli Breeze (Captain Of All colt), Senorita Al (Real Gone Kid filly), Shaama (Hawwaam filly), Victoriana (Fire Away filly) and Wiqaaya (Malmoos colt).

The catalogue also includes yearlings out of such graded stakes winning mares as Fish River (Danon Platina colt), Fort Ember (Malmoos colt), Hot Affair (What A Winter colt), Keep On Dancing (Rafeef colt), Mill Queen (Hawwaam colt), and Tropic Sun (Eden Roc filly).

Exciting young stallions
There are a number of high-profile young stallions represented by their first KZN Yearling Sales representatives this year. The G1 winners Digital Age, Eden Roc, Jet Dark, Kommetdieding and Master Archie all have members of their first crop on offer.
Invincible Spirit’s G1 winning son Digital Age (who is a direct descendant of the great racemare Time Charter) has some very attractive lots on offer including a colt (Lot 6) whose dam is a half-sister to dual G1 winner Happy Archer (the dam of this season’s Zimbabwe Derby winner Robin Of Locksley), aand a colt (Lot 38) out of a five time winning daughter of Kahal. The latter colt is closely inbred to breed shaping stallion Green Desert.

Eden Roc, a G1 winner at two and G2 Post Merchants winner at three, also has some attractive members of his first crop on offer. They include a half-sister (Lot 96) to the consistent Teerex, and a filly (Lot 136) out of G3 Sycamore Sprint winner Tropic Sun.
Champion, and five time G1 winner Jet Dark, has made an impressive start with his first yearlings this season and the son of Trippi has just two lots here. They are a colt (Lot 56) whose dam is a twice winning What A Winter half-sister to three black type horses, and a filly (Lot 59), closely inbred to Jet Master, whose winning dam is a half-sister to champion Sandringham Summit and fellow G1 winning sire Eden Roc.

Jet Dark’s great rival, and G1 Vodacom Durban July/G1 World Sports Betting Cape Town Met winner, Kommetdieding has some eye catching members of his first crop on offer. They include a colt (Lot 3) out of a G3 placed daughter of Gimmethegreenlight, and a filly (Lot 112) whose granddam is a three-parts sister to G1 Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo.

Rafeef’s G1 Computaform Sprint winner Master Archie is another young sire with members of his first crop on offer at the KZN Sale this year. They include a half-sister (Lot 31) to this season’s G3 Ridgemont Cape Of Good Hope Nursery winner, and millionaire, Red Spice, and a colt (Lot 63) whose winning dam is a three-parts sister to G3 winner Mill Queen.

See It Again has won two Gr 1 wfa races this season and is duly leading the Equus Horse Of The Year Points Table (JC Photos)

2026 EQUUS AWARDS – FIRST LOGS

Johannesburg, South Africa — With the completion of 2026 Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge and TAB Jubilee Stakes meetings on 6 and 7 June, the numbers have been collated for the publication of the first 2026 Equus Awards logs.

The 2026 Equus judging panel comprises Graeme Hawkins (Chairman), Robert Bloomberg, Karel Miedema, Aveen Sewpersad and Darryl Maree.

While the panel will have the deciding vote on the winners in each category, both the list of nominees and the final results are drawn from the Equus Logs.

The current log standings reflect that this season’s dual Grade 1-winning See It Again (Justin Snaith) holds a 14-point lead over Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge winner Questioning (Vaughan Marshall) in both the Champion Older Male and prestigious Horse Of The Year categories.

As far as the Two-Year-Old awards are concerned, the Sean Tarry-trained Get Up enjoys a substantial lead over Mike / Mathew de Kock charge Good Day Sunshine in the Filly category, while Haute Couture (Mike /

Mathew de Kock) has an 8-point advantage over Cape contender, Rich Man’s World (Vaughan Marshall) for Champion Two-Year-Old Colt/Gelding.

Wish List (Justin Snaith) holds a strong lead in the Champion Three-Year-Old Filly category, ahead of Quickstepgal (Tienie Prinsloo) and Hazy Dazy (Corne Spies), while Tin Pan Alley (Sean Tarry) has a 24-point advantage over Star Major (James Crawford) for Champion Three-Year-Old Colt/Gelding.

Double Grand Slam (Justin Snaith) is 31 points ahead of Asiye Phambili (Duncan Howells) and 32 ahead of Callmegetrix (Sean Tarry) in the Champion Older Female Category.

Nominees for this year’s Champion Sprinter category are very closely matched with Buffalo Storm Cody (Tony Peter) and Taxi To The Moon (Sean Tarry) tied on 48 points each and Kingdundee, the charge of young Dean Smith, not far behind on 40 points.

Vaughan Marshall charge Questioning holds a 36 point lead over nearest rival Tin Pan Alley (Sean Tarry) for the Champion Miler Award, while See It Again seems an unassailable 64 points clear of nearest rival Mocha Blend for Champion Middle Distance honours.

Things are a lot less cut and dried in the Champion Stayer category, with only 5 points between Ahead Of The Facts (Justin Snaith), Holding Thumbs (Glen Kotzen) and Enflame (Candice/Tammy Dawson).

With everything to play for, there is plenty of competitive racing to look forward to as the season progresses.

The next log will be published after the conclusion of 2026 Hollywoodbets Durban July day.

Further updates and information will be published on the official Equus Awards website (www.equusawards.co.za) and social media channels.

The logs for all categories are shown below:

Ombudsman had the stamp of greatness at Royal Ascot on Wednesday as he swept past the field to record a brilliant win (Picture: Sky Sports Racing) 

Ombudsman wows Ascot crowd in Prince of Wales’s romp
The five-year-old became first back-to-back winner since 1995

At The Races

Ombudsman successfully defended his Prince of Wales’s Stakes crown with a brilliant display in Royal Ascot’s day two feature.

A quality field of eight runners went to post for the 10-furlong Group One, with John and Thady Gosden’s Ombudsman the 11-10 favourite to become the first horse to go back-to-back in this event since the Gosden-trained Muhtarram in 1995.

In a race run at a furious gallop as the pacesetting pair of Devil’s Advocate and Mississippi River went at it hammer in tongs in front, William Buick was happy to take his time aboard the market leader before producing him to challenge halfway up the straight.

Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe hero Daryz and multiple Group One-winning filly Minnie Hauk were both in there pitching as the pacemakers faltered, but neither could resist the electric turn of Ombudsman, who powered clear late on to win in hugely impressive fashion by four lengths from Minnie Hauk.

John Gosden said: “Aidan (O’Brien) had a pacemaker and we thought we would have ours doing what we wanted to do as well so they wound up meeting as they came off the bend so they obviously agreed on the pace.

“A furlong and a half to go I thought ‘they are going to have to get to them’ but this horse has got a turn of foot, great acceleration for a mile and a quarter horse and he just showed that class.

“It was quite something to come away from the field like that. The filly (Minnie Hauk) ran great, the Arc winner Daryz ran great. Probably the horse that won in Ireland (Almaqam) might not have run his race today because he would usually have been in the shake-up but overall I thought it was one of the great performances of his career.

“He is very elegant. He is strong for sure. We will watch him for the next week to 10 days and the horse will tell you (how he is). You just watch them. You know their habits when they are right when they are 100 per cent, when they are full of it and when they are under par. The Juddmonte International would be the major target. He likes York.

“We are very lucky to have wonderful owners to send us those horses because you can’t train empty boxes. He is right up there with what he has done. Enable, she won everything.

“He is a lovely horse who will make a good stallion and he’s got a mind as well as a fabulous body and strength. He is too good to go a mile and a half!”

Buick, riding his 40th winner at the meeting, now rates Ombudsman among the best horses he has ever ridden.

“I’m privileged to be able to ride these horses, this horse is just an absolute privilege and joy to ride and deal with,” he said.

“What he did there was mind blowing. His turn of foot is that of a miler but he stays 10 furlongs, it was an amazing performance.

“John and Thady had him in great shape. I’m the lucky man on top.

“He’s a closer, people want pacemakers because they don’t want a false run race. I was never too far from the horse I needed to be near and I was comfortable the whole way, it was very smooth and all credit to the horse.

“I’ve ridden some amazing horses but this horse has an electric turn of foot and he must be right up there.

“Today, he pleasantly surprised me a little bit how well he did it and the feel he gave me, he was exceptional – it’s very rare for a horse to do what he did.”

Lock And Key gave Mauritian apprentice Anaas Mosaheb the first leg of his first career double (Picture: Candiese Lenferna) 

Race Coast

Glen Kotzen was not complimentary of the handicapping of his filly Lock And Key, given that she once garnered a rating of over 100. But down to an 87 rating after two years plus a 4kg claimer aboard she got home in the Middle Stakes that headed the card on the poly at Hollywoodbets Greyville yesterday.

Although only shouldering 50.5kg, the instructions to promising Mauritian apprentice Anaas Mosaheb were not to go to the front. That instruction went out of the window from the jump as Lock And Key broke well and nothing willing to take her on.

The filly kept rolling all the way to the line with the well supported Thisiswhatitmeans chasing hard but once up to the girth of the filly the 13kg swing in the weights came into play and MJ Odendaal’s gelding was more than game in defeat.

Back against her own sex after an eye-catching run behind the progressive Green Energy, Mike Miller’s filly What A Classic was relatively easy to back in the first with all the late money coming for Sei Bella and Red Hot Miss.

Tristan Godden was content to sit off the pace as the two market rivals disputed the lead and it looked to be a boat race up the straight. However, What A Classic started to warm up and Sei Bella, starting to feel her early exertions, dropping out of the challenge. Red Hot Miss kept finding but was unable to hold the challenge from What A Classic who finally got home quite comfortably.

Garth Puller’s filly Amphitrite was a boil-over in the first leg of the PA as apprentice Dezahn Louw took his medicine at the start but brought his filly with a storming late run to collar the year younger Christmas Rose with the balance of the opposition fighting over scraps.

The pace was on early as Dee Day took off like a scalded cat with Amphitrite jumping sideways out of the gate and left in the dicky seat with Christmas Rose just ahead.

A furlong out, it was the proverbial cavalry charge but both Christmas Rose and Amphitrite were given a clear run at the line. Wide into the straight, Christmas Rose was the likely winner before Amphitrite arrived on her outside to snaffle the race.

Gimme The Truth drifted alarmingly in the market before the first leg of the Pick 6 in spite of some smart recent form but those that followed the market came up short. In instructions were to stay wide and Glen Kotzen’s gelding arrived with a wet sail under apprentice Damyan Pillay putting plenty of daylight between him and Crimson Typhoon with favourite Good Omen never going well and finishing out with the washing.

Lucinda Woodruff has had a strong KZN winter season and added another to her tally as Ebisu ran her field ragged in the Class 4. Sweating up in the preliminaries would have put some punters off but Callan Murray had no hesitation in taking her to the front and there she stayed, winning as she liked chased home by favourite Red Coral and Chasing Gold. Woodruff confirmed post-race that the filly did tend to sweat up before a race.

Woodruff was back in the winner’s enclosure in the fifth as Innerbloom made all the running under Calvin Habib. Making her poly debut, Innerbloom looked to be under pressure crossing the subway but challenges fell away and she went to the line a comfortable winner with Dawn Surprise staying on for the minor money ahead of December Dawn.

The mare Diamondsandpearls was a hard-knocking mare for Shane Humby but only produced one foal before being found dead in her paddock one morning. However, her legacy lives on as her only foal, Last Margarita, went back-to-back. Stepping up to a mile, she made all the running in the Class 5 to give Puller and apprentice Mosaheb a double on the day.

Dancing On A Cloud always seemed to be something of an under performer but the switch to the quieter climbs of Ashburton and a lengthy break saw him back in the winner’s box for Wengi Masawi who attested to the fact that he was a bit of a handful at home. Sean Veale came from well off the pace to produce Dancing On A Cloud to win with something in hand.

Christophe Soumillon hit with eight-day ban for assisting stablemate Gstaad on outsider in messy St James’s Palace Stakes

Sadie Iddenden (Racing Post)

Christophe Soumillon was handed an eight-day ban at Royal Ascot on Tuesday after the stewards ruled that he rode Puerto Rico in a manner that assisted his stablemate Gstaad in the Group 1 St James’s Palace Stakes.

An inquiry was launched into Soumillon’s ride on the 16-1 shot, who finished last in the opening-day highlight, amid concerns his actions hindered Power Blue, who was fourth, while creating an advantage for Ryan Moore’s mount Gstaad, the first string from the Aidan O’Brien yard.

It marked the second suspension in the race involving the Ballydoyle team, with Moore having earlier received a three-day careless-riding ban for failing to take sufficient corrective action after making contact with eventual winner Bow Echo and Talk Of New York when leaving the stalls.

Soumillon, Moore and Power Blue’s rider David Egan were shown recordings of the incident, while O’Brien was interviewed by telephone.

It was found that Soumillon deliberately moved Puerto Rico away from the rail after the home bend, where he then impeded the Amo Racing-owned outsider Power Blue, creating an opening on the inside for second favourite Gstaad and giving his stablemate an advantage in the closing stages.

The race produced a nail-biting finale, with a photo-finish called between Bow Echo and Gstaad before the former maintained his unbeaten record by a short head for rider Billy Loughnane and trainer George Boughey.

The winning 20-year-old rider said after the race: “The first furlong was crucial and we got squeezed out of it early. There were five of us in a line and I slightly lost my position from there on.

“Bow Echo was then lit up and I was just trying to manage him and get him back in behind. Then Power Blue came back into our lap. That meant I had to come out and move a little bit sooner than ideal, but his guts got him through. He’s determined to win and is blessed with a fantastic turn of foot and a lot of ability.”

Willy Meet Again is the tentative tip to won Race 7 (JC Photos) 

The highest rated race at the Vaal meeting today (Thursday) is a MR 95 handicap for fillies and mares over 1700m and the one top beat could be Willy Meet Again, a talented sort who has come down to a competitive merit rating.

That race is one of four on the day that are around the turn, but in the straight races the course is set up with a mere two metre standside false rail which by trends will lead to high draws being favourable.

In the MR 95 handicap for fillies and mares Willy Meet Again has faced some tough tasks recently in features or in races where she has had wide draws, but when she last ran in a handicap, on January 24 over 1800m at the Vaal, she finished a 0,45 length third to Aristotle in the Listed Dr Richard Maponya Handicap over 1800m. She ran off a 104 merit rating that day and she is now off a 99. Craig Zackey was up in the Richard Maponya and is aboard today. On the downside, she was drawn in pole that day and now has a tough draw of eight and does carry a big weight of 62kg. It is particularly tough because she is front-running to handy type. However, if she gets to the front without expending too much energy, or finds a handy position with cover, she will have a good chance because she possesses a good kick.

Dimako’s Jet has been in good form and although she got a four point raise for her last win she now gets Mickaeele Michel aboard so the 2kg hike in her weights are alleviated by her 1,5kg claim. She also has quite a tricky draw but that hasn’t stopped her doing well in two of her recent runs.

Scarlet O’Hara has some eyecatching form and this progressive three-year-old can rise above her merit rating of 84, but on the downside she has a tough draw of ten.

Future Date will enjoy the trip and is drawn in pole with 2,5kg claimer Jacey Botes up, so she has an opportunity to go close here.

The topweight Royal Invitation has relished running on the Highveld tracks with their long straights and although she would prefer further she is effective over this trip too and has a 2,5kg claimer up from a plum draw.

Those are the five that make most appeal and are selected in the order mentioned.

In the first leg of the Pick 6 over 1400m Fully Loaded will enjoy the trip from a nice high draw and off a three point higher mark for her last win she can go close again under the ever improving Blaine Marx-Jacobson. Wayne was not disgraced in the Egoli Mile last time out and should be in the shake up off a merit rating of 91, which he could rise above, and he has a fairly high draw of ten. Mastership looks to be full of potential and this scopey sort won three of his last four starts before being rested for six months. He might need it but his ability gives him a chance, although he does have a low draw.

In the fifth race over 2400m Green Machine has thrived since being stepped up in trip and won well in his first attempt at this trip last time. He can be ridden with confidence off a four point higher mark now that it has been proved he enjoys the trip and he should go close from a fair draw of five under Gavin Lerena. Repetition has not run over this trip since winning his maiden about 17 months ago and he now has a plum draw and has come down the merit ratings, so he could do well carrying just 57kg. DJ Junior was just 1,10 lengths behind Green Machine last time and has a good draw, so he should be right there.

In the sixth over 1000m Heath House has to carry topweight despite being a two-year-old but he is very quick and is unbeaten in three starts over 1000m and below. His draw of four is quite low but he should be able to use his speed to get to the front under 1,5kg claimer, Blaine Marx-Jacobson, who is the champion apprentice elect. Harry Nyquist is a British-bred who won easily on debut over 1160m and over this trip he could get away with a long layoff of about 16 months. He is drawn on the right side. Twentytwentyvision went close last time over 1000m and has shown continual improvement with blinkers on. This is his fifth start with the headgear and he has a nice high draw with the in form Mickaelle Michel coming with a bonus 1,5kg gender claim.

In the eighth over 1700m Kortvandraad enjoyed the step up in trip last time and should go close under Gavin Lerena, despite bhaving to jump from a wide draw. Pretty Analia has a fair draw and will enjoy he step up in trip. She is capable of a strong finish and will be dangerous carrying just 53kg. Chariklo was npt disgraced in her first start out of the maidens and is 1kg better off with Kortvandraad for a 2,25 length beating and she can go close if able to overcome a tricky draw of ten.

In the last race over 1700m Guerilla Warfar has a chance in a wide open contest although he is not as well drawn as he was when going close last time over this course and distance. Redlightgreenlight ran a cracker over 1600m last time and the form has been well franked so he has a chance if able to overcome a wide draw. Sky Pilot’s maiden win has been well franked and he could go close under Gavin Lerena off an attractive 77 merit rating.

The third race over 1400m should see Midnight Show improving over a suitable step up in trip having faced some strong opposition over shorter in two previous starts and not being disgraced. High Fidelity could be in the shake up if able to overcome a low draw and Kovil should be respected.

In the second over 1400m Impressive is knocking on the door and can get it right here from a nice high draw.

In the first race over 1600m Cover Charge looks capable of improvement but has a low draw and Beach Walker and Vixeninthevineyard should be thereabouts.