Turf Talk Newsletter – 18 November, 2025

Good For You has a lot of class but does he have the stamina? (Picture Wayne Marks)

The Legislate gelding Good For You can give Glen Kotzen a second victory in the Gr 2 Cape Punters Cup over 1600m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday.

The yard won it with Cousin Casey in 2022.

Cousin Casey had to give 2kg to the rest of the field due to a Gr 1 penalty and Good For You will have to do the same.

However, he has been eyecatching this season and giving the weight away is not the main issue.

The main issue is whether this Gr 1 Gold Medallion winner will see out the trip.

He was a bit keen last time out over 1400m before running on well  in the Gr 3 Cape Classic over 1400m, where he gave Vapour Trail 4kg and was beaten only two lengths into second.

He was drawn nine on that occasion but is this time drawn two, so that will help.

Happy Verse has always struck as one with plenty of class and he will have a shout here, but he does have to overcome a tough draw of 11 out of 12.

Star Major is held in high regard and should handle the step up in trip, but he has a tricky draw of nine.

Good For You holds Randolph Hearst, Aristocratic, Chapbook, Count Of Rouen, Aversator, Pay The Palace and Absolutely Yes on Cape Classic form, because he beat them and is now 2kg better off with every one of them.

However, Randolph Hearst and Aristocratic were finishing well in the Cape Classic and look likely to prefer the 1600m trip, so with a question mark over Good For You’s stamina capacity that pair could make an impact.

Fox On The Run is drawn in pole and although quite speedily bred he did run on well to win over 1400m last time and he is drawn in pole, although on official merit ratings he has a tough task at the weights.

Better Man will definitely see out the trip and could well prefer further than a mile, but he has class and scope and could be a factor.

The field for the Gr 2 Punters Cup is shown below:

Dean Smith has officially taken over the family’s racing yard (Pic – Pauline Herman)

At just 25, Dean Smith has stepped into one of the most demanding roles in South African racing.

Following the sudden passing of his father, renowned trainer Gavin Smith, Dean has officially taken over the family’s powerful racing yard.

Dean’s journey into training wasn’t something his father had planned. In fact, Gavin tried to steer him away from the sport, encouraging him instead to pursue his academic interests in maths and science.

Gavin cited the constant stress of a seven-day workweek as reason enough for his son to consider another path, but the lure of the stables proved irresistible. As a fourth-generation Smith horseman (following great-grandfather Andrew, grandpa Andy and Gavin), Dean was naturally drawn to the racing world, so much so that he could barely wait to leave school on Fridays, rushing straight to the track to watch his father’s runners in action.

In 2024, Gavin was diagnosed with melanoma cancer which spread to his lungs and then into his hips and spine. He was forced to step back from his daily duties for the latter part of 2024 and most of 2025, but had responded well to target therapy and was positive in the weeks before his death on Sunday, 19 October.

Dean said: “The doctors were happy. My dad was in remission, and he seemed optimistic. But all the medication and treatment must have taken its toll. Tragically, he died of a heart attack.”

With Gavin’s guidance, Dean and his team continued to churn out the winners for Smith Racing, who concluded the 2024/5 season with a tally of 116 and a customary Top 10 finish on the National Log.

At the time of his passing, the stable was in the Top 5 for the 2025/6 season with 26 wins on the board.

Dean said: “My dad came to stables only a few times a month during his Illness. He gave me free rein, but kept a watchful eye. I had opportunities to experiment with a few of my own ideas, but always with his blessing. We’d spoken about Zatara Magic a few months ago, I told him I had the horse coming to his peak and that we’d win the Listed Algoa Cup. When he won on 31 October it was a very emotional moment for all of us.”

Dean spoke to Gavin for the last time on the morning of Saturday, 18 October. He recalled: “I wanted to pick him up on the way to our stables for the day’s training, but he asked to stay indoors. He said he wasn’t feeling all that well. The next day, he was gone.”

Among the many lessons Dean learned from his father, he singled out three as most important: meticulous attention to detail, keeping a close eye on a horse’s breathing, and resisting the urge to overwork a horse that already has proven talent.

Attention to detail is the first weapon in any top trainer’s armoury. It begins with performing the fundamentals of horsemanship and stable management over and over again – without ever losing sharp focus to the mundanity of routine.

This means checking leavings, feed portions, and water buckets; maintaining strict cleanliness and hygiene; adhering to morning schedules; keeping good records; and closely observing every horse in the yard.

“My dad always stressed the importance of breathing — listening carefully to how a horse breathes after a workout,” Dean explained. “The fitter they get, the less they blow, but to get accurate measures on breathing you have to know every horse inside out. There are no shortcuts. Some horses, like our own Cheeky Laddie, blow heavily even when they’re fully fit, so you assess their condition in other ways – by the darkness that develops around their eyes, their eating habits, their coat, and so on.”

Thirdly – a skill that develops with experience – is knowing when to trust the natural ability of talented runners.

Dean explained: “There’s always a temptation to work a very fit, capable horse one time too many just before a race, often just to satisfy your own curiosity about its readiness. But that’s when horses can be ‘overcooked’ and end up running below their best.”

We didn’t ask Dean to reveal all of the master trainer’s methods – there are plenty he’s already learned, and undoubtedly many more he will discover himself in the years to come.

He said: “I do a lot of research, I like to read and follow social media postings and interviews with the world’s best trainers, like Aidan O’Brien. There is everything to gain by doing that. I’ve been using some new vitamins and supplements, specifically addressing problem areas like gut health. There are always new developments to take note of.”

Dean is hands-on when it comes to the stable’s social media presence, personally managing their Facebook and Instagram accounts.

“Our public image and interaction with punters are important to me,” he said. “Whenever I skip posting our runner advice on Facebook on Fridays, I get 30 or 40 messages on my phone. It’s not about tipping; it’s about staying in touch with the racing public and giving them some insight into the stable, which is essential these days.”

Dean’s ambitions are no different from those of any other trainer in the country – to win the major races, which is always a challenge for trainers from the Eastern Cape.

More immediately, however, his focus is on serving the yard’s loyal owners, staying competitive, and settling properly into his role as the official new face of Smith Racing.

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Major Tommie provides Serino Moodley with the second leg of a treble (Picture: Candiese Lenferna)

Andrew Harrison (Race Coast)

The switch from turf to poly after the weekend’s rain put the kybosh on Hollywoodbets Scottsville, Garth Puller was left in two minds whether to run Major Tommie in the Class 3 Handicap that headed the card at Hollywoodbets Greyville yesterday.

With all the withdrawals, Major Tommie only had five in the opposing ranks but he delivered in emphatic fashion vindicating Puller’s decision.

At the back of the field in the early exchanges, Serino Moodley – three from three on Major Tommie – looked to have made a fatal error trying for a rails run. But when the gap failed to open, he switched early and Major Tommie responded with a tremendous turn of foot, skipping clear to win as he liked.

It was a day of favourites as late market support for the Robbie Hill-trained Mystic Dancer proved on the mark in the first as Kabelo Matsunyane kept her hard to her task to get the better of long-time leader Malshana Mou in a driving finish with Coccolina some way back in the minor placing.

Eric’s Legacy, hot favourite in the second, looked to be in a scrap crossing the subway as War Emperor and William Of Orange stuck to his heels, but once Moodley asked his mount to get serious, Andre Nel’s gelding responded like a horse with a future, lengthening his stride to waltz clear of the pair. It was not a field of any strength but Eric’s Legacy won well enough in spite of racing green to give Moodley his fiftieth winner of the season.

Greatest Hits scored a bloodless victory in the third for Wengi Masawi. Sean Veale always had the pacemakers in his sights and when it came to the business end, the son of Canford Cliffs had little trouble holding off Bourbons Beast with the balance well beaten.

The run of winning favourites continued into the first leg of the Pick 6  as Green Glow  landed the odds for Dean Kannemeyer. With the field reduced to five runners, pace was always going to be an issue and they dawdled the early fractions with Veale taking the initiative on High Queue.

Coming up the hill Moodley and Craig Zackey started to hustle their mounts and the two charged to the front crossing the subway. But there was always only going to be one winner in spite of Master Du Rouvray’s game effort as Green Glow got his big frame into action and won rather comfortably. The son of Gimmethegreenlight gave plenty of cheek in the preliminaries but does appear to be going places as a colt winning off a slow pace and the runner-up no slouch.

Wendy Whitehead’s filly Buttercup Baby led from start to finish in the fifth under Rachel Venniker but was kept honest by favourite Light Of Gabriel with Zackey pressing hard up his rivals inside. The pair raced close together for most of the way up the straight with the stipendiary stewards calling for a race review. The two came together around the 150m mark with Buttercup Baby shifting onto Light Of Gabriel but the contact appeared to be minimal with no further action.

Moodley had a fine afternoon as he rode a tremendous race on Mark Dixon’s mare Captain’s Christy for this third winner. Patient off a strong early pace, he sat in behind runners for many strides up the straight before pouncing and getting the better of a game Convocation.

In spite of returning from a lengthy break, Position Of Power found solid support in the eighth and  Alyson Wright’s gelding charged home to snaffle long-time pacemaker Luneluck.

Fate Of Fortune didn’t enjoy the best of luck out of the gate to be shuffled back in the pack but when asked the question he made light work of his 63kg, streaking home win going away to give Wright and Venniker a closing double.

Picture: Galileo powering home in the Derby in 2001 

Aidan O’Brien said in an interview with Sid Fernando of Thoroughbred Daily News back in 2021 that what separates Galileo’s progeny from the rest is a mental attribute they have that appears to be unique and it might pay for trainers of the progeny of Galileo sires in South Africa i.e. The United States, Erupt, Global View, Flying The Flag and The Assayer to take heed of what he says.

It helps if a trainer knows about this attribute, because it can be mistaken for physical precociousness which could lead to the horse being “overcooked” early.

O’Brien explained, “Galileos are, like, very strange horses, meaning that they try so hard. And always with the Galileos, all you’re trying to do is slow them down and relax them. With most other horses, it’s the complete opposite. But Galileos, they never remember what happened yesterday. Say they got really tired–and when a horse gets really tired, they feel a bit of pain–some horses get very clever to that and they don’t want to go back there anymore. So what happens is that when they start controlling that, you can only train them to a certain level because they won’t let you push them any further. But with Galileos, they will give their absolute 150% every day. It’s very strange. It’s a mental trait, not a physical trait. Of all the horses we’ve ever trained, we’ve never seen it in another horse before. It’s a gene that will carry on. It’s a pure remind of him.”

Sid Fernando elaborated, “That “try” that O’Brien described is a rare attribute that needs careful handling and development, something that could go awry without proper recognition and training.

A lesser trainer, or one without an understanding of the Galileos, might squander what they see too early and overcook a horse before he’s had a chance to show his potential, but O’Brien is meticulously patient in his handling of the Galileos, whom he oversees from as early as the time they are sent to Ballydoyle as yearlings in the autumn to be readied to race at two.”

How many Galileos have won the Derby?

The picture gives a clue to the answer (Picture: Sky Sports Racing)