Turf Talk Newsletter – 28 October, 2026

Deterministic (closest) beats One Stripe by a length in the Gr 1 Manhattan Stakes at Saratoga with the latter’s stablemate Test Score splitting them. Deterministic goes for a fifth Gr 1 win in the Breeders Cup Mile on Saturday, where he faces the defending champion Notable Speech as well as Zulu Warrior, who defeated One Stripe and Notable Speech in the Gr 1 Maker’s Mark Mile. Test Score goes for the Breeders Cup Turf (Picture: TDN (Sarah Andrew)).

One Stripe was unfortunately injured before this year’s Breeders Cup and has been retired to stud, but the Breeders Cup Mile can still be watched with interest by his fans as Zulu Kingdom and Deterministic can give his status a boost.

One Stripe was ridden all wrong in last year’s Breeder’s Cup when taken to the front and his well beaten last of 13 finish was not a true reflection. It was his second defeat to Notable Speech, the first being when he likely needed the run and finished a three length fifth to him in the Gr 1 Woodbine Mile.

However, when he was at his peak One Stripe inflicted a defeat on Notable Speech in the Gr 1 Maker’s Mark Mile Stakes, finishing a 0,75 length second, while an admittedly luckless Notable Speech only managed a 1,75 length fourth.

Interestingly, that race was over the same course and distance of this year’s Breeders Cup Mile i.e. the mile on turf at Keeneland.

Furthermore, the winner of the Maker’s Mark Mile, Zulu Kingdom, will be clashing with defending champion Notable Speech in the Breeders Cup Mile on Saturday.

Notable Speech is a seven-times Gr 1 winner and could lay claim to being the best miler in the world.

He is an even money shot to win the Breeders Cup Mile.

However, Zulu Kingdom will have the opportunity to prove a point. His win in the Maker’s Mark Mile was regarded as a touch lucky as Notable Speech was badly hampered when looking to still be full of running.

However, nobody knows what would have happened had Notable Speech got a clear run and Zulu Kingdom will be out to prove he would have won it anyway.

Zulu Kingdom, who is by Ten Sovereigns, will be out to score a third Gr 1 win.

One Stripe’s profile can be boosted if Zulu Kingdom does win.

Another horse who can boost One Stripe’s pedigree is Test Score, who is his former stablemate from the Graham Motion stable.

Test Score (Lookin At Lucky) denied One Stripe by a neck in the Gr 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes over a mile and one furlong (1800m) on the Gulfstream Park turf and he also beat him by a neck over a mile and three-sixteenths (1900m) when they finished second and third in the Gr 1 Manhattan Stakes.

Test Score runs in the Gr 1 Breeders Cup Turf on Saturday over a mile and a half and a win for him there will give One Stripe’s profile a boost.

The winner of the Manhattan Stakes was Deterministic, who runs in the Breeders Cup Mile on Saturday and he and Zulu Kingdom can be cheered on by One Stripe supporters.

Deterministic, who beat One Stripe by a length in the Manhattan Stakes, was beaten 1,75 lengths into second by Notable Speech when the latter defended his title in the Woodbine Mile last time out.

Deterministic is by Liam’s Map and will be out to score a fifth Gr 1 victory.

Deterministic is the second favourite for the Breeders Cup Mile with odds ranging from 7/1 to 8/1.

Zulu Kingdom is a rank outsider between 33/1 and 40/1.

Test Score’s odds for the Breeders  Cup Turf range from 12/1 to 25/1.

Those three horses, along with Gimme A Nother, will give South African purists something to look forward to on Saturday.

Anaas Mosaheb has taken an early lead in the Lucky Fish Apprentice Championship and the talented Mauritian has his first ride in a Graded race on Saturday aboard the Peter Muscutt-trained I Salute You in the Gr 2 Allied Steelrode-Onamission Charity Mile over 1600m at Turffontein Standside.

He said about the five-year-old Soqrat gelding, ‘He is working very well, he always works like a top horse. He always knows what to do and is in a good space, so hopefully I get the chance to overcome the wide draw of 17 and get him into a nice position and hope he can then finish the race off nicely.”

Anaas has only ever ridden at the venue of Turffontein once, but it was on the Inside track.

However, he has a highly professional approach and knows about the layout of the Standside course.

Turffontein is not an easy course to ride as it has a steep uphill into the straight and then a very long straight.

Patience is key on Johannesburg’s premier course.

I Salute You is a 50/1 outsider.

He carries 56kg off his 113 merit rating in the handicap event and it does not look to be a vintage renewal, so he can perhaps surprise.

Anaas will not eb allowed his normal 2,5kg claim.

However, he said he never approached a race as if he had a claim and is always intent on progressing in his profession through the learning curb and through hard work and analysis.

He said being a good jockey was mainly in the mind.

Anaas has had a total of 28 career wins.

This season he is on 17 wins and is three clear of Dezahn Louw in the Lucky Fish championshoip and he is six clear of reigning apprentice champion Blaine Marx-Jacobson.

Marx-Jacobson is on 11 wins together with Damyan Pillay.

Divesh Ramkhalawon is next best on six wins.

Anaas has the highest strike rate on the apprentice log at 14.17%.

Major Master sweeps to the front in impressive style (Picture: Wayne Marks) 

Candice Bass, who recently reached a milestone of 900 career wins, sent out a hattrick at Hollywoodbets Durbanville’s last meeting of this calendar year and all of them were ridden by Aldo Domeyer.

The hattrick came in successive races, three, four and five and the most impressive of the winners was the middle leg winner, Major Master.

This Master Of My Fate gelding has always been well regarded and he showed why today. He was dropped out from a wide draw in the small six horse handicap field over 1400m, but late in the race he swept past the opposition in devastating style to win by a 0,40 lengths despite carrying 64kg and giving the runner up Pomp It Up 5,5kg.

Candice and Aldo’s other two winners were Gimmethegreeenlight filly Gimme Perfect and Querari filly South Of France. The trio converted respective odds of 18/10, 7/1 and 7/1.

Major Master looks to be coming into his own and could have races like the Gr 3 Ownpay Peninsula Handicap, i which he finished second last year, and the Gr 2 Anthonih Ruper Premier Trophy, in which he was unplaced last year, in his program. Both Of those race are over 1800m.

In another signicicant result on the day last year’s BSA National Yearling Sale-Topper, October Rush (Rafeef), who was knocked down to Form Bloodstock for R4.25 million, got off the mark at the third time of asking in an Open Maiden over 1600m.

Earlier, Mickaelle Michel won her first ride back in the country on the James Crawford-trained Stitchintime.

Justin Snaith leads in recent winner African Kingfisher, who is by Kingman out of the crack racehorse Same Jurisdiction. She was bred by Gaynor Rupert’s British breeding operation Cayton Park Stud (Picture: Wayne Marks) 

Justin Snaith is having a fine season and leads the Lucky Fish national trainers championship and he also leads the Cape trainers championship and the KZN trainers championship.

The Lucky Fish Championship looks set to be a two horse race between Snaith and Alan Greeff.

Justin leads it at present with 45 wins achieved at a strike rate of 17.58%.

Alan Greeff is second on 41 wins at 21.47%.

In next place is Dean Smith on 33 wins at 16.34%.

Mike and Mathew de Kock and Tony Peter are both on 24 wins at 18.46% and 18.90% respectively.

In the Cape Trainers championship Snaith has 31 wins at 15.42% and he is 16 wins clear of Candice Bass, who is on 15 wins at 14.42%.

In third place on stakes is Vaughan Marshall, who has had seven wins.

However, on number of wins it is Adam Marcus who is in third place with 9 wins at 20%.

Dean Kannmeyer and James Crawford have both had 8 wins apiece.

In KZN Snaith is on 12 wins at a high strike rate of 27.91%.

Next best is Kumaran Naidoo on 11 wins (19.30%).

Stuart Ferrie and Glen Kotzen are next best on ten wins apiece at 12.16% and 16.39% respectively.

Andre Nel (21.95%) and Garth Puller (8.49%) are both on nine wins and defending champion Gareth van Zyl (9.30%) is on 8 wins together with Dean Kannemeyer  (19.51%) and Lucinda Woodruff (23.534%).

tab.co.za

Muzi Yeni will fly out for a short stint to ply his trade in France.

“I have a milestone birthday this year as I turn 40 in December, and I have always wanted to test myself in another country and also expand my knowledge,” said Yeni on Tuesday.

“I applied to ride in France and they have okayed my application so I will go there for about a month and see how it works out.”

TAB reports that at this stage he is going in blind as he has not raced in France and has nothing finalised at a particular centre or with a particular trainer.

“I am working on that before I leave, and I have been looking at various options. I have spoken to people who have offered some assistance, but my first aim is to find an agent who will negotiate with trainers to provide me with rides.

“I have received some suggestions from people in the know about where in the country I should base myself and I hope to sort that out over the next few days.

“I know they have many racecourses in the country and I will be happy to go wherever the opportunities arise.”

Yeni has been riding particularly well of late and last year finished fourth on the national jockeys’ log with 148 winners and has regularly featured in the top 10 riders in the country since the 2010-2011 season.

His best finish was second behind Lyle Hewitson in the 2018-2019 season.

So far, he has ridden 2,668 winners and has placed with another 10,625 runners.

He does have some international experience and in October 2024, Yeni became the last jockey to win at Singapore’s Kranji Racecourse, guiding Smart Star to victory in the Grand Singapore Gold Cup (Grade 1) over 2000m, etching his name into racing history.

Yeni believes he does have a few details in his favour. “I feel I will be able to bring years of experience to the job, after all, I’ve been riding since I was 16.”

His other advantage is that he can ride at 51kg and that could help to open a few doors.

France is reported to have around 233 racecourses and they service Flat racing, hurdle and steeplechase racing as well as harness racing.

“I have booked a plane ticket to fly out on Tuesday and to return in early December, however, that will all depend on how things workout.

“If things do go well I will look to extend the trip.

“I know it won’t be easy to start all over against in a foreign country where I don’t speak the language, but I look forward to the challenge and believe I’m capable of dealing with any hurdles that might stand in my way.”

Nichola Yuen celebrates a Sha Tin treble (HKJC)

Nichola Yuen, who spent some time at the South African Jockey Academy, scored a hattrick at Happy Valley today (Wednesday) at an All Weather meeting and is now on 16 wins for the season. She is in second place on the log and is only ten wins behind perennial leader Zac Purton.

A report on today’s meeting can be read below:

Leo Schlink (HKJC)

Nichola Yuen’s impressive rise continued at Sha Tin’s all-dirt meeting on Wednesday night (28 October) when the apprentice slotted the second treble of a burgeoning Hong Kong career to consolidate second place on the jockeys’ championship.

With 16 wins from 91 rides this season, Yuen trails only nine-time Hong Kong Champion Jockey Zac Purton (26 wins) in the 2026/27 standings after triumphing aboard Me Tsui’s Macanese Master (122lb) in the Class 5 Tsim Me Fung Handicap (1200m), Yoda’s Choice (121lb) for Pierre Ng in the Class 4 Tiu Yue Yung Handicap (1800m) and Ricky Yiu’s Giant Leap (122lb) in the second section of the Class 4 Shek Uk Shan Handicap (1200m).

With Purton sidelined through suspension tonight, Yuen capitalised on her 7lb claim to dominate the meeting with her second treble of the season.

“I’m very happy with all the opportunities I’m getting,” Yuen, 26, said. “I’m getting good rides and good support from a lot of trainers and also my master Mr Ricky Yiu. He teaches me a lot and hopefully we can have more wins.

“I’m very happy with the way things are going and I’m grateful for the opportunities I’m getting. Hopefully, I can keep doing my best,” Yuen said.

Pierre Ng extended his lead in the trainers’ championship after Yoda’s Choice improved his overall record to four wins and eight minor placings from 37 starts after making a successful return from knee surgery in June.

“He’s tough – he had a knee operation since his win last season to take out a chipped bone, which I suppose may have helped him move more freely,” said Ng, who has 15 wins for the campaign, two more than Caspar Fownes.

“He had two trials going into this race and we thought he wouldn’t be 100 per cent yet, but he was still fresh enough to hit the line first. I do believe he’ll be better for this run.”

Apprentice Britney Wong rode her first winner of the campaign with Happydearhappydeer’s (113lb) victory in the second section of the Class 5 Wa Mei Shan Handicap (1650m) for Tony Cruz.

“It’s been almost two months since the season started and two months without a winner feels like forever, but I’m glad I got the winner today for Tony,” Wong said.

“With these two months, I’ve been talking to a lot of people – a lot of jockeys, a lot of trainers and especially Amy (Chan, Headmistress, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Apprentice Jockeys’ School) and Felix (Coetzee, Apprentice Jockeys’ School Chief Riding Instructor, The Hong Kong Jockey Club), who I work very closely with – and we all know this is just racing.

“This is just how it works in this industry. You get your ups and downs, so the only thing is I just have to keep my head down and keep pushing.”

Cruz said: “This horse has been out for a long time and it’s great he has such great owners (Hong Yiu, Lynn Fu Lam Wu, Yan Hao and Wang Kejia) who have been extremely patient and given me the time to get the horse back.

“I’m happy to have won this race for the owners. He jumped good and Britney rode him well.”

Tsui produced a winning double with Macanese Master and Speedy Trident (118lb), who scored at 66/1 for Keith Yeung in the first section of the Class 5 Wa Mei Shan Handicap (1650m), breaking through at his 23rd Hong Kong start.

Jimmy Ting posted his first win of the season when former Macau galloper Happy Universe (135lb) claimed Hero Rising (122lb) late to clinch the Class 4 Tin Ha Shan Handicap (1650m) under Derek Leung.

David Eustace continued his strong start to the season, notching his 11th victory for the term with Central Bank’s (129lb) emphatic win in the first section of the Class 4 Shek Uk Shan Handicap (1200m) under Jerry Chau.

Bustling City (127lb) blazed to a three-and-a-quarter length victory in the Class 3 Hebe Hill Handicap (1200m) under Brenton Avdulla to provide David Hayes his 11th win of the season before Lucky Sam Gor (126lb) made a successful debut on the dirt with a stirring win in the Class 3 Pyramid Hill Handicap (1650m) under Chau, who is in third place in the jockeys’ championship with 14 wins.

Trained by Mark Newnham, the Press Statement gelding claimed his sixth victory in Hong Kong, adding to five wins last season and taking his career prizemoney to HK$7.5 million from 25 starts.

Hong Kong racing continues at Happy Valley on Sunday (1 November).

Art Nouveau has ben tipped to winthe fifth race (JC Photos)

The highest rated race at The Vaal Classic track meeting on Thursday is a MR92 handicap for fillies and mares over 1800m and the consistent Art Nouveau could be the one to beat.

It is not an easy race to assess and is made harder by the fact that the one who makes most appeal, Art Nouveau, is widely drawn in six out of seven. Art Nouveau won her penultimate start over 2000m and last time with a new 84 rating she ran 3rd over 2000m. She was staying on at the finish and now with that same 84 mark she will perhaps be dropped out before running on. Flying World disappointed last time over 2000m having won in fine style first time out of the maidens over 1700m before that. The drop in trip here should suit her and she should be a big runner, although on their last meeting Art Nouveau has the edge as she is only 1kg worse off for a 3,80 length beating. Hat’s Queen was most disappointing last time in a middle stakes race over 1800m, but she was caught wide without cover and now from pole position could bounce back under a 4kg claimer. Onetwobucklemyshoe went close in her last start over 1600m and this Master Of My Fate filly should enjoy the step up in trip. However she returns from a three month layoff. Top Shelf Teddy stayed on well over 1600m in her penultimate start and probably needed her last start. She should enjoy the step up in trip. Boom Boom is well drawn and could earn in this line up from a nice draw of three. Amazon Queen is in poor form and needs to improve.

The first leg of the Pick 6 is over 1000m and this maiden looks to be a good opportunity for Beautiful Rosie. She is drawn on the wrong side but has run two good races and doesn’t look to have much to beat. Desert Diamond made a fair debut over 1200m and is drawn on the right side here so looks to be the main danger. The first timer Abu Soqrat is interesting in this uninspiring line up and although costing only R100,000 she wouldn’t need to be great shakes to earn here.

In the next leg over 1700m Life And Letters is the obvious choice but is also not favourably drawn in six out of 12 around the turn. However, Muzi Yeni keeps the ride having gone close on her over 1600m last time and he is is good at overcoming draws. She stayed on over 1800m in her penultimate start so should enjoy this trip. Thundering Hooves will relish the step up in trip after a moderate debut over 2200m as she is by Vercingetorix out of Gr 2-winning stayer Witchcraft. Stanislavia ran a fair race on debut and is interesting stepped up in trip second time out.

In the sixth race over 1800m Be My Fate ran on well last time over this distance and Craig Zackey keeps the ride. Chariklo went close in that race too and might have needed it considering she did not quite go through with it and it would be no surprise to see her reversing form with her stablemate Be My Fate. Up And Up looks to be on the up and and starts off handicapping on a reasonable mark of 79, so she should be in the shake up if able to overcome a wide draw.

In the seventh over 1600m American Beauty has top weight but has the 4kg claimer Chester Choi up and has pole position. She has proved up to her high merit rating in her last couple of starts. She looks perfectly distance suited. Alta Capitana has always looked to have promise and looks to be coming into her own now that she is a four-year-old. She is well suited to this distance and should be running on after being dropped out from a wide draw.

In the eighth race over 1600m One State has a good draw and a 4kg claimer up. He has a good chance of reversing form with Duke Of Lorraine on the weight turnaround. Aint No Doubt gets a good draw and will enjoy the step down in trip so should go close. Duke Of Lorraine has Keagan de Melo up and has a fair chance of a hattrick although she has a tough task with One State on both the weight turnaround and the reversal of draw fortunes.

In the last race over 1000m Master’s Lady ran well first time out of the maidens and is drawn on the right side with the same 2,5kg claimer up. Sergeant Soqrat is in fine form and was only raised three points for her win last time. Echoes Of War went close last time and is distance suited. She should make a bold bid from the front. Time Will Tell is drawn on the wrong side but is in good form and is distance suited. Bell Of Angelus could suprise and earn a place.

In the second race over 1000m Celeritas has a nice high draw under De Melo and can build on her good debut.

In the first race Fire Attack’s full brother Fire To The Stars makes his debut and would not have to be a star to win this race. Campo Formio is the one to beat of those to have raced.