Turf Talk Newsletter – 29 July, 2026

Nishen Moodley and a couple of other connections lead in Fish Tales (Picture: Race Coast)

The distinctive colours of Tony Moodley were made famous in the first decade of the millennium by horses like Summer Cup winner Rudra and Champions Cup winner Equal Image and the red and yellow checks, emerald sleeves and cap silks might become a familiar sight next season through the James Crawford-trained Heavenly Blue colt Fish Tales.

The Ascot Stud-bred colt remained unbeaten when landing the Gr 2 World Pool Bet With Tote Umkhomazi Stakes over 1200m under a fine ride by Mickaelle Michel on Sunday at the World Pool Gold Cup meeting at Hollywoodbets Greyville .

He won in impressive style and the victory was all the more commendable in that he had to overcome a draw of 11 out of 13.

Fish Tales won by 2,30 length on debut over 1160m on June 7 and now that he has confirmed that promise he looks set to have a fine three-year-old season.

The colourful silks he carries are easy to follow and could put the partnership of Tony Moodley and his son Nishen back in the spotlight.

Nishen was at the course on Sunday and said, “Rudra and Equal Image were a long time ago, but I remember them well, although I did have more hair in those days! My Dad has been involved in horseracing for the longest of time. He has never left the sport. We did go a little bit quiet. I think horseracing is a wheel, you will be at the top one day and be at the bottom again. Now we are slowly rising to the top again.”

He said about the purchase of Fish Tales, “When we saw him at the August two-year-old Sale last year we absolutely fell in love with him. He is by Heavenly Blue, who I think is overlooked, he is such an underrated sire, and he is one of the better Heavenly Blues that we’ve seen. Myself and some friends decided to get involved and here we are today.”

The other owners in Fish Tales are Raphael Goolam and Selvan Naidoo. Fish Tales is in fact the first horse Raphael has ever owned.

Mickaelle Michel has been a revelation since arriving in South Africa last December and she played a big part in the win, giving the colt one of the best rides of the meeting.

She thus ended her extended tour on a high note as she departed for her home country of France the next day.

She took the athletic bay colt up to mid division from the wide draw and managed to slot him into a one wide position with cover before he had used up too much energy.

That expert manoeuvre was the key to victory.

After being switched out in the straight the colt continually found and hit the front at about the 150m mark before going on to win by 1,10 lengths.

James Crawford said they would have preferred him to have come into the race with one more run under the belt and he added, “He is still green and immature and once the penny drops we’ve got a lot more fun to have.”

Ashley Parker of Ascot Stud was alerted a number of years ago to Fish Tales’ dam, the five time-winning Var mare Caviar, being for sale and he snapped her up.

Caviar was trained by the late Colin Scott and her wins were over distances from 1000m to 1400m.

Fish Tales’ Australian-bred sire Heavenly Blue, who is by the iconic four-times Australian Champion Sire Snitzel, won the Gr 1 SA Classic over 1800m and he was third in the Gr 1 SA Derby.

On Sunday Fish Tales, who has plenty of substance, ran like a horse who would enjoy further.

He looks to be an exciting classic prospect.

He is a half-brother to the useful King Prawn, an Alan Greeff-trained three-year-old Master Of My Fate gelding, whose two wins include the Listed Champion Juvenile Cup over 1400m, although he has had a somewhat disappointing three-year-old season.

Fish Tales was bought for R375,000.

At this year’s National Yearling Sale his full-brother was bought for R200,000 by Jaap van de Vendel and will be trained by Alan Greeff.

Caviar is currently in foal to the Mauritzfontein-based sire Digital Age, a Gr 1-winning son of Invincible Spirit.

Caviar’s third dam is the Champion Broodmare Soho Secret, which means she is from the family of the good racehorse and influential matriarch Secret Pact.

Caviar has had six runners to date for four winners and Fish Tales is her second stakes winner.

Meanwhile, Mickaelle Michel will be back in South Africa in October.

Before departing the racecourse on Sunday she was presented with a framed enlargement of a Sporting Post front page headline commemorating the day she made history on Star Major in the Daily News 2000, becoming only the second woman in South African history to win a Gr 1 event.

Her 47 wins on this tour were achieved at a strike rate of 9.2% and included one Gr 1 and three Gr 2s.

Unbeaten colt finds top gear to chase down old rival Gstaad in the shadow of the post

At The Races

Bow Echo’s dazzling turn of foot once again came to fore as he came out on top in an epic renewal of the Visit Qatar Sussex Stakes.

George Boughey’s unbeaten colt was a brilliant winner of the 2000 Guineas before overcoming adversity to register a workmanlike victory in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot and was the 10-11 favourite to complete a famous hat-trick at Goodwood last achieved by the one and only Frankel in 2011.

It was again not an easy watch for odds-on backers, with Bow Echo stuck in the middle of the pack with plenty of work to do as the race began in earnest, but he ultimately went through the gears in stunning fashion in the final half-furlong to get up and beat his old rival Gstaad by half a length.

Boughey said: “He’s got an explosive turn of foot, it was probably a bit messier than we might have thought with the gallop they went.

“Huge credit to Billy again for being ice cool. He’s an extraordinary horseman and rider to go with it and Billy producing the horse like he is is just phenomenal.

“But fundamentally what an animal. The constitution to have another rough race, relax through it then find the line as strong as he did – I’m lost for words really.

“He’s so fast, he’s like a motorbike. He stays the mile, but has an exceptional turn of foot to go with it. Billy has had tremendous belief in this horse for a long time and so have I.

“We knew what happened at Ascot and it was just having the confidence to take stock and go again. I always thought this was the race for him, we had to get him back from what was a hard race (at Royal Ascot), but he’s shown how good he is there.

“It was always going to be messy, a Sussex Stakes with 12 runners. But it was to the letter how we wanted to ride the horse. There were a few gaps that closed and Billy had to sit tight and come round, but it was brilliant.”

Emulating Frankel with his Newmarket, Ascot and Goodwood treble is an achievement that gives his handler overwhelming pride.

Boughey added: “It’s not lost on me what he has achieved this year and it dawned on the last few days I might never be in this position again. There are a lot of trainers who have trained a lot better horses than I have who haven’t been in this position.

“It’s desperately sad Sheikh Mohammed Obaid isn’t here to see him and this is 30-plus years of work to get here.

“I can’t put into words what this horse means to me and he’s a warrior as well as being a very fast horse.”

Having delighted on home soil, he could now head on his travels.

Boughey said: “The plan was either to go to France for the Prix Jacques le Marois or the Prix du Moulin. We would love for the horse to end up in a Breeders’ Cup Mile at the end of the year and I think round a bend in America off a strong pace will suit him well.”

Loughnane said: “They made life difficult for him, but I always wanted to follow Ryan (Moore, on Gstaad), that was my plan.

“I knew the pace would be on with the set-up of the race. I was boxed in between Ryan and Christophe (Soumillon, on Puerto Rico) and I just had to wait to get out. But once I did, he proved how good he is.”

Varsfontein Stud, long one of South Africa’s top thoroughbred nurseries, has had another outstanding season in 2025-2026.

Not only did the Varsfontein Stud-bred Note To Self win the 2026 G1 Hollywoodbets Durban July, but Varsfontein-bred thoroughbreds won a total of 21 black type races in South Africa in 2025-2026.

Varsfontein Stud will be offering an exceptional draft at the upcoming August Two Year Old Sale, with their consignment including the progeny of such outstanding sires as Gimmethegreenlight, Master Of My Fate, Rafeef and Vercingetorix.

Reigning champion sire Vercingetorix has two blue blooded offspring in this draft. Ragazzino (Lot 316), a colt with a stallion’s pedigree, is out of a G2 winning daughter of Gimmethegreenlight and multiple G1 winning champion Bela-Bela. This colt is bred on similar lines to Vercingetorix’s high-class sons Aquae Calidae (who is out of Bela-Bela), Roland Garros and Roman Agent. Varsfontein, as Agent, are also offering the beautifully bred Vercingetorix colt (Lot 124) out of the speedy Nous Voila. This colt is another with a stallion’s pedigree, with Nous Voila herself hailing from the same female line as such breed shaping sires as Danehill, Machiavellian and Northern Dancer among others.

Varsfontein’s champion resident sire Gimmethegreenlight also has some well bred two-year-olds on offer. They include Capital Call (Lot 93), a three-parts sister to G2 Cartier Sceptre Stakes winner Gimme What I Want, Planet Friendly (Lot 201), a three-parts brother to champion Bless My Stars, and Gala Event (Lot 311),a three-parts brother to Listed East Cape Paddock Stakes winner Gimmethatpearl.

Fellow Varsfontein resident Master Of My Fate continues to impress, and his flagbearers this season include star filly Anotherdanceforme and such graded stakes winners as Aladdin’s Lamp, Atticus Finch Errol Flynn and Jet Force. Master Of My Fate’s representatives here include Master Knotter (Lot 61), a half-brother to Listed World Sports Betting East Cape Derby runner up Ardabil and the smart filly Kensal Green, Whathappensontour (Lot 239), a filly from the family of champion Proceed, and Noble Truth (Lot 288). The latter is a full-sister to 2026 G2 TAB SA Derby third Master Spy.

Other exciting prospects on offer include Redskyinthemorning (Lot 216), an Erik The Red three-parts brother to promising two-year-old Roskilde, Jetliner (Lot 264), a Jet Dark half-brother to the high-class performers World Of Alice and Alice B Toklas, and Aitsa (Lot 128), a Rafeef colt out of G1 Allan Robertson Fillies Championship winner On Her Toes.

This draft can be viewed from Blocks A, B and C at the TBA Complex in Germiston.

Jabulani Estates Stud will be offering buyers the chance to buy a beautiful filly at the 2026 August Two Year Old Sale.

The filly, named Rocking The Pink (Lot 145), is a daughter of dual G1 winner Rabada and the well related mare Prettier In Pink. A granddaughter of legendary Australian sire Redoute’s Choice, Prettier In Pink is out of a twice placed daughter of another outstanding Australian sire, Encosta De Lago.

Further back, this is the family of G1 Caulfield Guineas winning sire Private Life, who is currently standing at Coolmore Stud in Australia.

Jabulani’s Tracey King had the following to say about this lovely filly, “Rocking the Pink –An eye catching dark bay beauty who covers ground with effortless lightness and durability, a filly who enjoys her work immensely- proving to us she could go on and on; this cross breeding shows a promising composition.”

This filly can be viewed from Block E at the TBA Complex in Germiston.

Frangipani has been tipped to win the day’s highest rated race (JC Photos)

A MR 87 Handicap over 2000m for fillies and mares is the headliner at the Vaal Classic track on Thursday and Frangipani could claim a hattrick.

The three-year-old Master Of My fate filly won her last start over 1800m going away under Muzi Yeni and in her previous start she had won over this trip by a comfortable two lengths under Calvin Habib. She has been highly tried during the season and running off a 90 merit rating, five points higher than in her last start, she could still be ahead of the handicapper. She has landed a plum draw of two and Calvin Habib is back aboard.

Art Nouvea can beat Frangipani on the evidence of formlines, but she is drawn one outside of her which could be a telling factor. However, if able to find a good position early she could be the one to beat.

Azaleas For All is half-a-kilogram better off with Frangipani for a 1,40 length beating if the 1,5kg claim of Mickaelle Michel is taken into account, otherwise she is 2kg better off. Gavin Lerena is up, which is a bonus, but she does have a tricky draw of six to overcome.

Surprise Party has a tough task with Azaleas All on their clash over 1800m in March and the latter also comes out ahead on the form of their recent clash over 2000m, in which she beat Azaleas All by 0,55 lengths. Surpise Party is drawn in pole though. She was outclassed in a Gr 3 last time, so should be in the shake up back in an ordinary handicap.

Lady Sabrina is an interesting runner because although this Erupt filly is out of a Captain Al mare, that mare is in turn out of a Galileo mare, so she might have the stamina capacity for this trip. She was eight lengths back in her only try at this trip more than a year ago, but she was only 2,30 lengths back when being tried over 1800m in August last year and she is from a yard known for their expertise in staying races.

Juliet Tango is a capable sort and has a comfortable win over 1800m at the Classic Track to her name. However, she does have a tough draw of nine out of nine and is the sort who needs things to go her way. Kaidan Brewer rides.

Those are the ones who make most appeal.

In the first leg of the Pick 6 over 1600m Duke Of Lorraine looks to have scope for improvement and from pole position this time his late run could put him in the winner’s enclosure, as opposed to him being a touch green and making late progress. Vixeninthevineyard rallied in eyecatching style over this trip last time when caught late and she came back for second place. That was the first time Calvin Habib had ridden this hard-knocking maiden and from another plum draw she should put in a bold bid. Crimson Ranger looks to have plenty of scope for improvement and should be running on over a suitable trip after being dropped out. Gavin Lerena will help him overcome a tough draw.

In the sixth race over 2000m the Vercingetorix filly Chariklo, who has improved since the blinkers were applied, will have a fine chance from pole position. On pedigree she should see it out, being out of a Jallad mare who won over 1600m and was placed over 2200m. Her form confirms that because last time she had to be used up early from a wide draw over 1700m and was caught one out and one back without cover and yet still stayed on to finish a close second. She has won over 1800m before too.

Her stablemate Be My Fate was narrowly behind her last time and also when the latter won over 1800m and she should be there again if able to overcome a wide draw.

Kylie’s Angel ran a fair race from a tricky draw last time over 1600m and the cheekpieces now go on. She sneaks into the handicap with the minimum weight, has a slightly better draw and is interesting stepped up to this trip for the first time being by Vercingetorix out of a Giant’s Cuaseway mare.

In the seventh over 2000m Last Ginger stays this trip and has come down the merit ratings based on runs over shorter, so she will be dangerous from a plum draw over this trip. Erik The Red two-year-old gelding Cover Charge is a half-brother to Gr 1 Daily News winner Surcharge, who went on to win a Gr 1 in Australia, and having won well when stepped up to 1800m last time he can go close stepped up again to 2000m off an 82 merit rating. Thambi is a bit in and out but from pole position over a suitable trip he could make his presence felt.

In the eighth over 1000m Twentytwentyvision is drawn higher than the number one drawn Hammer Blow and that could be the separating factor over a course and distance that favours high draws. Arilena could also be in the shake up.

In the last race over 1450m Lady Elliot is well drawn over a suitable trip and with Gavin Lerena up can convert her good recent form over this trip into a victory. Satyahraha gets Keagan de Melo up from a good draw and off a merit rating lowered another point she should go close. Pretty Analia has been in fine form with her devastating runs from off fthe pace and she should be flying at them late, although she would prefer further. .

In the third race over 1200m Two Tigers is knocking hard and from a fair draw is the one to beat.

In the second over 1200m Tenareef ran a cracker last time over this trip at Hollywoodbets Greyville and looks the one to beat. Mocha Magic is by Rafeef and is a half-brother to the dual Listed winner I Salute You, so is an interesting runner on debut with champion jockey elect Craig Zackey up.

In the first race over 1200m Rafeef’s Queen is the one to beat on form and Gavin Lerena can help her overcome a tricky draw. Pretty Girl is by Rafeef out of the Gr 1 winner Happy Archer and she is an interesting debutant under Zackey.

Coast Of The Sun turned it on in fine style (Picture: Julia Marnewick)

Andrew Harrison (Race Coast)

Coast Of The Sun missed the bus as far as the two-year-old features went this season, but he is likely to be in front of the queue to catch the next one given his performance at Hollywoodbets Scottville yesterday.

Not having run since shedding his maiden in May, the son of Hawwaam was entitled to be ring-rusty but Tienie Prinsloo, who cut his teeth in the competitive climbs of the now defunct Flamingo Park, was never going to run the colt in a race that he could not win.

There was some money for Ricky Maingard’s charge Klein Karoo but Coast Of The Sun was never challenged at the top of the boards and Tristan Godden, riding at the top of his game, quickly found the rail after the start and gave Coast Of The Sun the perfect ride.

It was clear a long way out that Coast Of The Sun was all at sea as the older and more experienced Klein Karoo pressed forward but ears flat and asking for some guidance from the saddle, victory was never in doubt.

A stunning specimen, Prinsloo intimated that a trip to Cape Town for their Summer season may be on the cards but be that as it may, Coast Of The Sun is one for the notebook.

Mike and Mathew de Kock took the wraps off a trio of smart colts in the first three races and all three look to be heading in the right direction.

All were racing in the now familiar Hollywoodracing silks that will be crowned Champion Owners this season with their tally up to 178 come the close at the end of the week.

In the card opener, the two fancied runners Scots Wae Hae and Lenoxx took each other on for most of the race and just when Lenoxx looked to assert his authority Scots Wae Hae found an extra gear to get past and win going away.

Stable rider Gavin Lerena was of the opinion that 1000m was at the bottom of the colt’s range and a step up in trip is on the cards.

Next up it was Gimme A Fireball and it appears that the son of Gimmethegreenlight lives up to his name at home. Mike de Kock said that they had held off ‘picking his pockets’ because of his pedigree but he was not an easy horse to work with. “He’s a bit of a meneer,” he said and complimented jockey Sean Veale for doing all the hard work in keeping the lid the colt.

He made short work of his rivals as he strode away to a four-length victory and the family jewels should be safe for the immediate future at least.

Sparrow Man completed the stable hattrick. Stepping up to a mile after an eye-catching sprint debut, he showed plenty of potential as he quickened away from his rivals to win as he liked. There were still signs that the penny having not quite dropped but he won well enough to suggest that the De Kock’s and Hollywoodracing can look forward to a potentially stellar season that starts on Saturday with the unbeaten Gr1 Gold Medalion winner Haute Couture also in the yard.

Apprentice Damyan Pillay rode his 40th winner and is down to a 1.5kg claim after booting home Soho Celebrity for Yogas Govender in the fourth. Magical Spring set a searching gallop with Pillay keeping a close eye and poaching the lead at just the right moment as Magical Spring faded. Favourite Blenheim Palace was out with the washing in the early exchanges but made up a huge amount of ground rapidly in the straight. At one point it looked as if he would pass Soho Celebrity but came up empty over the final furlong and not getting home as Soho Celebrity kept on finding.

Lucinda Woodruff rounded off an exceptional three months of Champion Season campaign as the heavily backed Sohot Sowhat gave Gavin Lerena his third winner of the afternoon in the Middle Stakes but it was a close-run thing with Lerena showing why he is paid the big bucks.

He will have worked out that Tara Star, drawn on his inside, had plenty of speed so he was content for her to lead him on. Maybe what he didn’t count on is Darryl Moore’s mare staying on doggedly and he was forced to call on maximum to get his filly home ahead of Tara Star and land the gamble.

It’s seldom that you see a Kannemeyer horse going to the front. The seasoned trainer generally likes to see his runners charge from off the pace. It didn’t quite pan out earlier for Blenheim Palace who came up short but stable rider Craig Zackey changed tactics on Spirit Of Shimla and led all the way to win the Class 4 and was never for the catching.

Cole Dicken tried his best to copy Zackey in the last as he allowed Gardeners Pride to take a hold of the bit and make all the running, but try as he may Yadav Singh’s gelding was not able to hold off the challenge from Double Olympic who gave Govender a double on the day.

Picture: Hollywoodbets Scottsville was the venue for the latest Punters Challenge Jackpot success 

With five out of eight tote favourites scoring on the day, the final Race Coast KZN fixture for the 2025/26 season at Hollywoodbets Scottsville on Wednesday ended on a high note for most players, and produced the 157th jackpot winner in the ever popular Hollywoodbets Punters’ Challenge competition.

Hollywood Racing and the Lucky Fish-sponsored De Kock combination won the first three races on the midweek card with the promising 2yo’s Scotts Wae Hae (Gavin Lerena), Gimme A Fireball (Sean Veale) and Sparrow Man (Gavin Lerena) all shedding their maiden tickets as well-fancied winners, to show that there is plenty to look forward to in their sophomore season, which commences on Saturday 1 August.

Summerveld trainer Yogas Govender saddled two winners in Soho Celebrity (Damyan Pillay) and Double Olympic (Athandiwe Mgudlwa), from his 3 starters on the afternoon.

But the big winner was Logan29, who banked R100 000 for finding all 8 winners on the card in the Hollywoodbets Punters’ Challenge.

A 58 year old Physics teacher from Centurion in Pretoria, Logan29 was kicking himself for not wagering the minimum R50 on the programmatically generated betslip, which would have turned his jackpot into a R1 million payout!

“I have just been so busy, I did my selections in quite a rush. But I am happy. It’s a lovely prize and it will go a long way towards a great holiday,” added the man who labels himself an ‘enthusiast’, rather than a ‘punter’.

“I used to live in Durban and my Dad took me racing from about the age of 16. I always loved it. But we were more about enjoying the horses, the action and the competition, rather than being ‘big’ punters, as such,” he explained.

Being a Physics teacher, Logan29 doesn’t struggle with applying his mind to form study, but admitted he sweated a bit in the final race.

“Gardener’s Pride was holding on in front. But Double Olympic, I felt, was overdue. I got lucky and it panned out well. And all thanks to Hollywoodbets for a great competition,” he told the Sporting Post.

To show that the results were generally favourable, there were 180 players with 6 out of 6 winners, while 5 survived going into the final race. Logan 29 proved to be on the mark with Double Olympic.

It has been a big month for Hollywoodbets Punters’ Challenge players!

On Sunday 5 July lifetime racing fan Ramox Govindsamy bounced back from ‘doing his boots’ on Hollywoodbets Durban July day, to selecting the winners of the ten races on the Turffontein card.

Then on Friday 24 July, Disiree found all the winners on the Fairview eight-race card.

Sadly, both players didn’t wager the R50 minimum on the betslip, which would have added another 0 – making it R1 million – to the jackpot payout.

A special edition of the popular Hollywoodbets Punters’ Challenge is currently being held on the Qatar Goodwood Festival, which continues every day until Saturday.

Glorious Goodwood 26 PC

The Hollywoodbets Punters’ Challenge is available on all local and selected international racemeetings, with entries closing five minutes before the scheduled off-time of the first race.

Over R46 million has been paid out in South Africa’s most popular horse racing competition of all time.

All one needs to enter the Hollywoodbets Punters’ Challenge is a Hollywoodbets account and to get your selections in at least five minutes before the first race on a card.

This puts you in contention to win either a share of the Must-Be-Won prize or the whole/share of the All-Or-Nothing prize.

The idea is to find as many winners on any local or selected international fixtures as possible.

Points are awarded based on finishing positions and the total number of runners in a race and the starting price of your selection if it wins.

The Must-Be-Won prize of R5 000 is shared among the top 20 players on the leaderboard at the end of each eight-race (minimum) meeting.

If you place a R50+ bet using the Bet Slip Feature, the Jackpot amount rockets to R1 million, irrespective of the number of horses carded to run, so long as at least eight races are run on the day.

On days when seven or fewer races are carded, the All Or Nothing prize will be capped at R100 000, provided you’ve taken a R50+ bet using the bet slip feature.