Turf Talk Newsletter – 17 September, 2025

Beach Bomb’s 16 qualifying points will help in her bid to earn a final field berth in the Breeders Cup Filly and Mare Turf. Last year she qualified automatically by winning the Gr 1 Cartier Paddock Stakes (Picture: Wayne Marks)

One Stripe has already qualified for the Breeders Cup Mile, having won the “win and you’re in” race, the L’Ormarin’s King’s Plate, while both Beach Bomb and Gimme A Nother are SA-breds prominent in the points standings of the Breeders Cup Filly and Mare Turf.

However, the points are not the only criterium in the final field selection process.

Breeders’ Cup Limited has adopted a field selection system to select runners, in the event fields are oversubscribed, and this system ranks horses in order of preference based upon (i) wins in Breeders’ Cup Challenge races, (ii) a point system and (iii) the judgment of a panel of racing experts.

At present One Stripe is one of seven horses who have qualified for the Breeders Cup Mile and they, together with the “win and you’re in” races they have won, are:  Deterministic (USA) (The Gr 1 FanDuel Fourstardave (Saratoga)), Notable Speech (GB) (Gr 1 Rogers Woodbine Mile), Docklands (GB) (Gr 1 Queen Anne Stakes (Royal Ascot)), Jantar Mantar (JPN) (Yasuda Kinen (Tokyo)), One Stripe (SAF) (Gr 1 L’Ormarins King’s Plate), Qirat (GB) (Gr 1 Visit Qatar Sussex Stakes (Goodwood)), Soul Rush (JPN) (Gr 1 Dubai Turf (Meydan)).

In The Breeders Cup Filly and Mare Turf, six horses have already qualified by winning “win and you’re in races”. Beach Bomb is in joint fourth place in the point standings for the rest of the hopefuls with 16 points, which she has gathered through a Gr 1 second in the New York Stakes at Saratoga (six points) plus two Gr 3 victories (four points each) and a Gr 3 second (two points).

Gimme A Nother is in joint fifth place on 12 points which she gathered with a Gr 2 win this month (six points), a Gr 2 second (four points) and a Gr 3 second (two points).

Click here to see the points standings for all Breeders Cup races

Click here to see the final field selection process

Encountered was eyecatching in second place at Happy Valley on Wednesday (HKJC) 

Brett Crawford’s third runner in Hong Kong finished second today at Happy Valley after his first two runners had finished second and third respectively in the first two meetings of the season.

Lyle Hewitson scored his second win of the season  and Karis Teetan scored a double.

Luke Ferraris remains on one win for the season, while Keagan de Melo is yet to get off the mark.

Karis Teetan’s two wins were for top trainer Danny Shum and he was also aboard Brett Crawford’s runner up finisher.

Crawford competed in the last race, a Class 2 Handicap over 1650m with his highest rated inmate, the 90-rated Irish-bred Churchill gelding Encountered. This horse is a Gr 3 winner and was rated as high as 114 at one stage, but had gone completely of the boil, with two fourths being the best he could manage last season. His rating had been in free fall. In today’s race he was showing a Tote dividend of about 10 at the off. Jumping from a draw of six, Teetan settled him in midfield. In the straight it was easy to see why Encountered had reached such a high rating, because he ran on exceptionally well with big strides for a 0,75 length second. The winner Lo Rider finished fourth in the Hong Kong Derby and the first two were well clear of the rest. Crawford has clearly got Encountered firing again and he could win next time out if he comes through this run alright.

Hewitson was aboard the Australian-bred four-year-old Royal Meeting gelding King Lotus in the sixth race, a Class 4 event over 1200m. The Mark Newnham-trained gelding had won second time out in three starts last season and went off at a dividend of 6.20 today. Jumping from draw seven King Lotus was outpaced early, but with a wall of horses competing for the lead Hewitson had plenty of room to manoeuvre and took the horse to the rail. King Lotus traveled sweetly and  crept up rounding the turn and managed to turn sharply which gave him a clear run down the inside. He ran on well to win by 1,75 lengths and make it two wins from four starts.

Click here to read a HKJC report on the meeting

Chasing Happiness has been tipped to win the 6th race (JCPhotos)

The main race at the Vaal meeting today (Thursday) is a high class Pinnacle Stakes event over 1200m in which the merit ratings range from 124 to107.

The false rail report does not mention any rail structure down the straight so presumably that means the outside rail will be at zero metres and, if so, it will favour horses drawn high. However, the course layout should be checked on the day because it can change and another important factor is which side the stalls are positioned on, so tipping the meeting with the prediction of a draw bias can sometimes backfire.

In the Pinnacle event Chasing Happiness represents the in form yard of Johan Janse van Vuuren and is the second best in at the weights and has a nice high draw with Muzi Yeni up. She is only half-a-kilogram under sufferance with the best-weighted Minogue. She has good pace and is able to kick off it, so could be the one to beat. Minogue has good Highveld sprint form and can bounce back from her Gr 1 wfa Mercury Sprint run, when beaten 7,65 lengths. She has a middle draw of four in the seven horse field and should make a bold bid under in-form Serino Moodley. Lucky Lad is top class, but has not run since finishing a 1,90 length fifth in the Gr 1 wfa Computaform Sprint, where he had a difficult low draw of two. He has draw three here and if at his best will mow the field down with his devastating finish after hitting his usual flat spot when the others are beginning their runs. He has to be included. Pistol Pete is capable of a top class performance too, although he is officially 0,5kg under sufferance with Lucky Lad and 2kg under sufferance with Minogue and he has the potentially unfavourable low draw of one. Ready To Charge could earn a cheque if producing his best.

The seventh is a MR98 Handicap over 1200m and topweight Francine is an interesting runner from a high draw. Two of her three career wins have been over this course and distance and she went close the only previous time Raymond Danielson rode her. The concern is she is a touch high in the handicap as her last win was off a 94 and she is now rated 100, but the return to this course and distance gives her a chance of defying the handicapper. Francilien made a fine comeback from a layoff to go close over 1200m at Turffontein Inside last time. She now has her second run after a six month layoff and she has landed draw one, but if able to repeat that effort she should go close. Valieva is in fine form with two wins in her last three starts and she is capable of earning again from draw four, but she does have to overcome an eight point raise for her 3,50 length win last time. Komati River could be a runner in this line-up if producing her best as she has a 4kg claimer up, meaning she is actually 6.5kg better off with Francilien for a 4,50 length beating. Bosum Buddy was found to be coughing after her disappointing last start, but if able to produce her best from a high draw she will be right there.

The fifth race is a Novice Handicap over 1400m. Echo Check by Master Of My Fate won easily on debut and over a suitable step-up in trip from a nice high draw and with Khumalo keeping the ride he can do well despite a 92-merit rating. Palace Attack won well in the maidens over this trip after some fair performances before that and he has a nice high draw and gets 2,5kg from Echo Check . Shinto Shrine went close last time over 1450 metres and if repeating that effort should be in the shake-up, but his low draw might be a concern. Page Boy has been disappointing but is a lot better than his last three starts and could bounce back over this drop in trip. Clairwood Rose has fine form in the two starts in which she was not up against top class opposition, so she should make her presence felt here from a fair draw.

In the first leg of the Pick 6 over 1700m Frangipani has improved in two runs in the Robin Klaasen Yard and could be the one to beat here from pole position over an ideal trip. Ethical is always thereabouts, and over a suitable course and distance is a big runner, but she does have a tough draw. Nkwenkwezi disappointed in her last two starts, but if bouncing back to her hard-knocking ways, she should be a big runner in this uninspiring field. Sassy Lassie could get a place in this line-up. Blood Of Eden showed signs of improvement last time when stepped up to 1600m.

In the second leg of the Pick 6 over 1700m My Lucky Charm ran a good race on debut and could go one better from a fair draw. He is out of a Seventh Rock mare whose wins were up to 1400m, but his sire Master Of My Fate could provide him with the necessary stamina to see out this trip. Trip To Peace has run some fair races and is capable of earning. All On Red looks capable of improving and has a good draw. Majalun improved in third time blinkers and can earn with a repeat. Cuzzie looks capable of earning.

In the last race over 1200m Versace Onthetrack goes for a hattrick. She looks capable of doing it despite a 91 merit rating as she does have a nice high draw and is not facing an inspiring field. Malibu made a fine debut and was not disgraced when beaten five lengths by One Fine Winter second time out, but she is returning from a five-month layoff and has a potentially tough low draw. Red Amber has been knocking on the door and is capable of being in the shake-up here. Blindfire ran well last time out and if able to step up to the 1200m trip she could be a runner here. Misty Metal looks capable of earning here after being raised four points for a win last time.

In the first race over 1200m the first-timers could dominate with not much form to go on. MME Huntress is by Vercingetorix out of a Dynasty mare, who is out of dual Group One Winner Happy Archer. Villarica is by Vercingetorix and is a half-sister to the like of Pacaya and Silver Hills. Red Secret is by Eric The Red, and is a half-brother to the promising four-time winner Willie Meet Again.

In the second race over 1200m Miami Mountain made a good debut after being backed and can make amends. Trajanus is knocking on the door and could get it right third time out from a nice high draw. Wayne is by Vercingetorix out of a Tiger Ridge mare and is a three-parts brother to Moraine, who won two of her first three starts, but he does have a low draw. Red Sunrise is by Eric The Red, out of a Trippi mare, and is a half-brother to a couple of winners, but he also has a low draw. Gold Platina improved second time out and could earn.

Regeneration duly obliged at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Wednesday when well weighted in a Progress Plate, winning by three lengths under Tristan Godden (Picture: Anneke Akal Kitching)

Andrew Harrison (Race Coast)

On the face of it, handicapping is always a punters best guide. It doesn’t always work out, given the vagaries of the sport, but the filly Regeneration looked to be the ‘right’ horse in the Progress Plate that headed the turf card at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Wednesday.

Rated way better than her opposition after showing smart form in group company, it was just a matter of Robbie Hill having got her fit enough to win first up in her seasonal debut over 1400m after not having been out since May when contesting the Gr1 Wollavington 2000.

In the event, it was never a contest as Tristan Godden rode a confident race. Tracking the early pace, he gave his mount a clear run and she responded with a romp to the line.

Hill has never been the easiest in a post-race interview, but it was a fitting win as Hill and Sean Veale, once first call riders for now retired trainer Dennis Drier, scored on his birthday.

Often there is a fine line of judgement between pulling the trigger too early and pulling it too late, especially when it comes to a tight finish. That was the case in the first as Deryl Daniels did it all right on Sun In My Pocket, only to be denied in the last few strides by Treasure Island with Tristan Godden timing his run to perfection on Mike Miller’s filly.

Daniels was quick to send Sun My Pocket to lead  and was clear of the pack for most of the race. Heading for home he sat for as long as he dared, only ‘pulling the trigger’ past the 400m mark.

Once Daniels committed, it was just a matter of how long the filly would last; just not long enough as Godden got Treasure Island to finish off her race smartly to get up close home – a finely judged ride by both riders.

Favourite Light Of Gabriel laboured into third, giving the impression that a furlong or two further would be more to her liking, while Blue Poppy in fourth made an eye-catching debut and is one for the notebook.

Hollywood are never shy to give chances to those that deserve and they look to have backed another winner in Vengi Masawi. Working out of Ashburton, Masawi saddled his second winner as a fully fledged trainer as Spinmyangelspin racing in the Hollywood Racing silks got the better of favourite Celestial Diamond in a tight finish to the second.

Kabelo Matsunyani took Celestial Diamond to the front early and looked to have the race in the bag some way out. However, Sean Veale kept hard at the blinkered Spinmyangelspin who appeared to be doing all she could to shirk the fight with tail spinning and ducking the issue but she did just enough to edge out Celestial Diamond with the balance well beaten.

Those looking for a little ‘cheer’ in the opening leg of the Pick 6 will have been resigned to their fate a long way out as Veale was hard at work to hold position on favourite Cheerscheerscheers even before the home turn. Given his position at the head of the pack, it was smart riding from Veale because if his mount had dropped the bit entirely there would have been mayhem behind.

S’Manga Khumalo was watching all unfold on his inside aboard the well-supported King Celtillus who glided to the front on the turn and although running on empty the last bit, still had enough in hand as Call Me Wild edged out Cheerscheerscheers who remarkably kept on to earn at the shallow end of the purse.

Frikkie Greyling was one of Mike de Kock’s righthand men in the time of Horse Chestnut so has learnt from the best. There has been a torrent of water under that bridge but he is back at the helm of his own yard. Go Grayson Go has been knocking at the door for some time now for Greyling but the gelding has not been the easiest of rides. However, sent over 2000m for the first time, he appears to have found his nice and cruised to a comfortable win under Calvin Habib in the fourth. Go Grayson Go has always appeared to be useful and with the step up in trip he could pay to follow.

Move over Andrew Fortune; In his absence MJ Odendaal has taken over the reins of the post-race interview. MJ was a rider in the same era before a horrific fall at Clairwood Park ended his career in the saddle. But he comes from farming stock in the backwaters of Mphumalanga and knows his way around livestock.

The diminutive filly Ubukhwebezana has never been the easiest but Sean Veale, at the top of his game for his retained stable, Hollywood Racing, timed the mare’s run to perfection to land the sixth win of her career and confirm her superiority over second-placed Happy Fortune, unable to turn the tables.

Regulars on the racecourse who are keen observers of the paddock will know that when seasoned trainer Dennis Bosch arrives in a jacket and tie, it’s game on. It doesn’t always work out, but at least you know that you will get a run for your money. Serino Moodley is the regular pilot of the Bosch-trained Copacabana but must have been at least a little anxious as Nicholas Patel set sail for home aboard Mystique Rouge in the hunt for an Odendaal double. Moodley’s supporters may have been anxious, Bosch included, but  Copacabana sailed past late to win rather cozily.

Muzi Yeni is not one easily denied in a finish and he just got the better of Rachel Venniker in the last as Icy Blast and Gorgeous Guy fought out a tight finish in a ding-dong battle for the line.

Tokyo racecourse meetings attract massive crowds (Picture: Skyracingworld.com)

By Mike Moon (The Citizen)

Could a video game be the saviour of horse racing? If Umamusume: Pretty Derby’s success in Japan is anything to go by, it could give an unexpected boost to an industry that seems always on the backfoot in the 21st century.

Umamusume’s phenomenal popularity is credited with boosting racecourse attendance by young people in Japan, of inspiring thoroughbred ownership among that country’s wealthy and of raising public interest in the welfare of retired racehorses.

It is described by The Japan Times as “the hottest video game in the world”.

An English version of Umamusume, released in June, shows signs of replicating the Asian success, having drawn 87,000 concurrent gamers two weeks after launch (a lot, apparently).

A guest appearance at this year’s Kentucky Derby aroused curiosity, if not avid interest – but that was before the masses got a look.

What is it? Outside of teen and gaming media, little has been written. A well-watched YouTube video explainer does a fair job and comments beneath read, “When I was in Japan last year, it was crazy how old ladies, salarymen, and even little kids, were playing the game on trains or in restaurants. It was legit a cultural phenomenon over there”, and, “I saw the dumb horse game everywhere and I was so fed up. Then this video showed up… Now I’m hooked into the stories of these horses. Season 2 of the anime made me cry so much. This video made me a fan of horses. Thank you!”

Stars of the show are cartoon “horse girls”, named after famous real-life thoroughbreds and reflecting their namesakes’ personalities, racing records and backstory – and frequently breaking into Idols-type singing and dancing celebrations.

Anime and ganga series, live concerts and a stage play are spinoffs.

The girls have horses’ ears and tails but are otherwise humanlike, fashionably dressed and running on graphic depictions of Japan’s real racetracks. Partings in the girls’ hair indicate if the real horse was male or female.

Players are called “trainers” and they nurture a horse girl’s abilities to try to win races. Players use the game’s gacha (in-game currency) system to acquire trainee horse girls and “support cards”, which offer various skills and abilities.

Popular Umamusume names include Special Week, rated by many as Japan’s greatest galloper; Gold Ship, a famously temperamental grey champion, and Haru Urara, the “shining star of losers” who raced 113 times without winning.

The real-life Haru Urara died last week at age 29, unleashing a wave emotion across Japan. Earlier, when the mare’s life in retirement featured in articles, donations of expensive ryegrass flooded in from across Asia – enough to feed plenty of horses for a year.

Umamusume: Pretty Derby was launched in 2021 by Cygames, whose boss Susumu Fujita has become one of the biggest spenders at thoroughbred sales with the colossal profits he has garnered from the game’s runaway success. He has emulators.

The Japan Times says viral popularity alone doesn’t explain the game’s “sticking power” in a sector notorious for transience.

“Instead, the game’s heady mix of gambling elements might,” says the site. “A key gameplay mechanic in Umamusume is ‘scouting’, by which players can spend in-game currency earned during normal gameplay on the chance to obtain new playable characters or boosts to existing ones.”

At first glance, it all sounds daft. But anything that unveils the joys of racing in an engaging manner and helps build new audiences – as Umamusume seems to do so well – is surely welcome.

Sovereignty (Picture: Sky Sports Racing)

Each week a panel of media members, horseplayers, and Breeders’ Cup World Championships officials release a poll tabulating their votes on the nation’s top contenders for the 2025 Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic. The rankings are a weekly rating of the top 10 horses in contention and are determined by each voter ranking their top 10 horses with points assigned on a descending 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.

Week seven of the 2025 Breeders’ Cup Classic rankings are led by 3-year-old Sovereignty, the winner of the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve and the Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets who was the runaway 10-length winner of the Aug. 23 DraftKings Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. This week’s big race will be the Grade 1 $million Pennsylvania Derby, Sept. 20 at Parx Racing.

The rankings will be updated each week. The results of the latest poll are below:

Click here to see the Breeders Cup Classic power rankings

Picture: King Gambit

Gavin Lerena rode his first Gr I winner on April 5, 2008, when he brought Kings Gambit home an easy 2,75 length winner of the R1,2 million SA Classic over 1 800m on the Turffontein standside track. The horse was trained by the late Lance Wiid and was the first Gr 1 winner for the legendary Silvano, a six-time national champion sire who is the most successful sire in Hollywoodbets Durban July history and he is the sire of South Africa’s most successful sales sire in history, the current national champion stallion, Vercingetorix.

Lerena had only come out of his record-breaking apprenticeship the previous season.

He was glowing in his praise of the three-year-old Danika Stud-bred Silvano gelding.

In an article written a couple of days after the SA Classic victory he spoke about the horse and about his time in horseracing and his aspirations.

“King’s Gambit is the best horse I have ever ridden and probably the best horse I ever will ride,” he said about the inexperienced horse who only made his debut in late January and was having just his fifth start on Saturday. “He is world class.”

Lerena described the feeling of passing the line for that elusive first Grade I winner, “It’s amazing, not something you can really explain, but I also heaved a big sigh of relief. There was high expectation from the yard as we knew he had all the ability.”

He was seen rousting his mount shortly after the start to get him covered, and settled one wide in sixth place about four lengths off the pacemaker Solar Symbol.

He kept him covered until about the 500m mark before producing him on the outside at which stage the 16-1 shot quickened well and sustained his finish all the way to the line.

“He is still very green so I had to use him a bit out of the gate, but we found a nice position. He was very relaxed and always felt like a winner and when I asked him the question he accelerated within a matter of strides.”

Lerena, still in his first year out of the apprentice ranks, sat on Kings Gambit for the first time when an unraced youngster on his initial trainer Michael Roberts’ farm.

“From day one I knew he was special,” he said.

He has first choice of rides for young trainer Lance Wiid, to whose private yard Kings Gambit moved in December last year.

He rates Wiid, who also bagged his first grade I winner, as a “real horseman and a very underrated trainer”.

The long-striding gelding’s next mission is probably the Derby.

“He is amazing as he won over 1 160m and will definitely get the Derby trip,” he added.

A former champion apprentice, Lerena broke Michael Roberts’ long-standing record for the most number of wins by an apprentice. He is also the son of former jockey, Tex, and started riding horses as a kid on the family farm.

“My father didn’t want me to be a jockey,” he said. “But when he saw that that was all I wanted to do he helped me and, together with everyone in my family, has always supported me tremendously.”

Before entering the jockey’s Academy as a fourteen-year-old, he did show jumping and also rode work at his favourite racecourse, Newmarket.

“Newmarket was a very honest track and there was a great vibe about the place,” he said. “It was a sad loss for racing.”

His favourite track these days is the Turffontein standside track, which he regards as “testing and tactical, where the best horse aided by the best tactics wins”.

He has a very professional approach and is one of only two jockeys who uses a sports psychologist.

He revealed that while he has always admired Piere Strydom, and Anton Marcus too, all of the senior jockeys help and correct the apprentices and in the end every jockey has his own style.

Lerena regards riding any horse as a privilege and counts himself as lucky to have ridden in all of the country’s big races, adding that a jockey has butterflies in his stomach on the morning before a race like the Durban July but the moment the gates open “one forgets everything and it just becomes another race.”

He concluded by saying that he has ambitions to ride overseas one day.

“I would like to get my name out there and do the best I can for my country.”

Lerena has gone on to be a twice SA Champion jockey and has had overseas success. He won the iconic Hong Kong International Jockeys Challenge in 2015 before having a stint on the island and he rode two winners when helping the Rest Of The World team win the Shergar Cup in 2016.

King’s Gambit went on to win the Gr 1 SA Derby and was named Equus Champion Stayer and he became a successful campaigner in Britain winning a Gr 3 and placig in a number of other stakes races.

King’s Gambit is from the family of the like of London News and Master Of My Fate as well as the current useful Wilgerbosdrift and Mauritzfontein-bred Mike and Mathew de Kock-trained Gr 2-winning filly White Pearl (Danon Platina).

White Pearl is out of the Tiger Ridge half-sister to King’s Gambit, Oyster Pond. Interestingly, Oyster Pond’s latest runner, the De Kock-trained filly Queen Of Pearls, is by Silvano stallion Hawwaam and she finished second on debut, so is one to follow. Oyster Pond also has a Hawwaam two-year-old colt on the ground called South Sea Pearl.

Which is the only graduate from the Hong Kong International Sale to have gone on to win the Hong Kong Derby?

The picture is of the subject