Pick 6 carryover: To banker, or not to banker?
Picture: Kingdundee looks a certainty at first glance, but his stablemate Cruise Control is a danger! (Pauline Herman).
There is a TAB Tote Pick 6 carryover of R500,000 to the race meeting at Fairview on Friday and punters have three possible bankers to consider: Kingdundee (Race 4), Sports Fan (Race 5) and My Best Shot in Race 7, the Listed Betway Algoa Cup over 2000m.
If you’re going to go for all three of them, with three fields in the other legs, your Pick 6 perm for the day will cost you R1584, or a percentage thereof, but on closer inspection of the form, it probably won’t be that easy.
Computaform notes in their Pick 6 preview that Kingdundee is on the up, races well fresh and looks the best of Dean Smith’s pair on the face of the jockey bookings. But Smith noted in an interview that he is unable to split Kingdundee from his top-class stablemate, Cruise Control, who lost his form before a rest but is obviously showing some of his old sparkle in work.
Allan Greeff’s Sports Fan looks the most progressive in Race 4, but she likely to encounter some opposition from Danish Dynamite and perhaps even the older sprinters King’s Again and Priscilla Maisley, while Alesia’s Love is better over further, but she ran close to star filly Direct Hit last time and cannot be discarded.
My Best Shot has a lot going for him in the Algoa Cup, but the very capable front-runner, Holding Thumbs, is likely to dictate the pace. You don’t want to be without his number if he has his head in front going into the last 150m.
Desert Storm, Lotus Silk and Heavenly Mafia should suffice for the first leg of the Pick 6, which starts in Race 3 over 1400m, but Races 6 and 8 are trappy and you’ll need adequate cover.
Below, a small suggested Pick 6 permutation, and two Jackpot perms to cover your Pick 6 investment:
Pick 6: R126: (Starts in Race 3)
Leg 1: 1, 8, 10
Leg 2: 1, 2
Leg 3: 6
Leg 4: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 12
Leg 5: 1
Leg 6: 8, 9, 10
Jackpot 1 R252 (Starts in Race 4)
Leg 1: 1, 2, 3
Leg 2: FIELD (1-7)
Leg 3: FIELD (1-12)
Leg 4: 1
Jackpot 2 R288 (Starts in Race 5)
Leg 1: 6
Leg 2: FIELD (1-12)
Leg 3: 1, 3
Leg 4: FIELD (1-12)
The Ultimate King runs on strongly to win
Picture: The Ultimate King (blue and pink silks) mastered a game Read All About It to claim victory. (JC Photos).
The Ultimate King delivered his expected good show-and-tell run, winning a MR95 Handicap over 2000m at Turffontein on Thursday, and having proven himself very capable now has a chance of making the final field for the 2025 Betway Summer Cup.
It is not certain if his current merit rating of 97 will go up by a few points but even if it does, The Ultimate King will need a bit of luck to get in, as he will still find himself in the lower ranks of the 42 entries.
The second entry stage falls due next Tuesday, during which a number of contenders are likely to be scratched, but Tony Peter’s assistant trainer, Marc Peter, indicated that The Ultimate King will stand his ground. Being in good form and on the up, he’ll arguably be a more deserving Cup runner than a few no-hopers who are presently higher than him on the log, but only time will tell.
Jockey Gavin Leren said that The Ultimate King’s win was full of meritr considering that he gave weight to all his rivals and raced on the inside track, which is not his best circuit.
“He impressed us today, and he runs for Gavin,” said Marc Peter.
Th Ultimate King is a son of Vercingetorix. He races for Basie and Suzette Viljoen.
Melbourne Cup Festival starts with Grade 1 Victoria Derby
Picture: Observer is expected to follow up on his Gold Vase win. (Racing Photos).
This year’s Melbourne Cup Carnival kicks off Saturday with the Penfolds Victoria Derby Day, featuring eight Graded races including Race 7, the Grade 1 Derby over 2500m.
The early favourite is Godolphin’s Observer, who looks hard to beat after his win in the Gold Vase at Moonee Valley last Saturday.
Jockey Mark Zahra said after the race: “He was having a good look around and quickened up for 400 and the race was over. I was getting a bit up him in the end but thinking about next week I thought ‘that’ll do, you’d better ease up’. So onwards and upwards towards next week.”
The carnival stretches for a week and will also feature the Grade 1 Lexus Melbourne Cup on Tuesday 4 November, the Grade 1 Crown Oaks Day on Ladies Day Thursday 6 November, and Grade 1 TAB Champions Stakes on Saturday, 8 November.
Fantasy World impresses the buyer's bench
Picture: Fantasy World, fetched 600,000 guineas.
International purchasers have dominated the headlines thus far at the Autumn Horses in Training Sale but it was domestic buyers from the National Hunt sphere who came to the fore on the sale’s third day.
The highest priced lot of the session was FANTASY WORLD who was consigned by trainer Andrew Balding’s Kingsclere Training Stables on behalf of Kennet Valley Thoroughbreds. Jamie McCalmont was among those involved in the early skirmishes but bidding swiftly developed into a duel between Ryan Mahon and Jerry McGrath, with the latter offering the successful bid of 600,000 guineas for the three-year-old son of MAKE BELIEVE.
“Fantasy World has been bought to go jumping, but also with a dual purpose career in mind,” revealed McGrath. “He has been a horse on the radar and he is progressing, he ticks a lot of the boxes for us. He goes to Seven Barrows, is for an existing owner and hopefully he is lucky!
“This lad is very progressive, he has won over 1m2f, 1m4f and 1m6f, goes on the slower ground and is a real hurdling type. He looked beaten at Ascot last time and battled back well, he is an exciting horse going forward. He is gelded, but he will have a break now as he has been busy this summer.”
FANTASY WORLD was bought at the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale for €70,000 by Lillingston Bloodstock for Kennet Valley Thoroughbreds. Kennet Valley’s bloodstock advisor Luke Lillingston and racing manager Sam Hoskins were in attendance and understandably delighted with the sale.
Hoskins commented: “He was always going to be the kind of horse who was going to appeal to the NH or Australian market and we were not going to do either of those things, we are a Flat syndicate and historically we offer our horses at the end of their three-year-old seasons. He fitted that bill and he will make some hurdler, and the timing is perfect having won the Listed race. I will love to see him coming down that hill at Cheltenham, he looks a real jumper and that is what he should be doing – he is made to be jumper, and we are a Flat syndicate.”
Lillingston said: “It is big credit to trainer Andrew Balding. He has developed this horse all the way through this season and he said let’s have a go at the Noel Murless.”
Hoskins added; “It was inspired placement, he was the lowest rated horse in the race but we thought he is a guaranteed stayer, he will appreciate the ground and it was going to be his last race of the season. We hoped that he would be competitive in it and that his rating would go up – in the end he won! He was very game, he has a wonderful attitude and is very sound. They will do well with him, he is a lovely horse.”
A three-time winner, FANTASY WORLD won the Listed Noel Murless Stakes at Ascot by a neck on his most recent start from NIGHTWALKER, who was bought for 320,000 guineas by Phil Cunningham and Sam Haggas’ Hurworth Bloodstock from the Juddmonte draft earlier in the session.
Motion reckons One Stripe has a 'tall order'
Picture: One Stripe, working on the gallop track. (Herringswell Stables).
Dettori lands a job hours after retirement notice
Picture: Frankie Dettori and his new boss, Kia Joorabchian. (Sporting Life).
A ‘thrilled’ Frankie Dettori has landed a new job within hours of announcing his retirement – labelling it the ‘natural next step’.
The world’s most famous jockey confirmed in a statement posted on Wednesday that he would stop riding at the top level after this weekend’s Breeders’ Cup.
Dettori, 54, will fulfill a lifelong dream and have his final rides in South America.
And he will go there to much fanfare in his new role as global ambassador to Kia Joorabchian’s Amo Racing.
Writing on social media, Dettori, who rode Amo’s King Of Steel to victory in the 2023 Champion Stakes at Ascot, said: “I’m thrilled to be joining Amo Racing as their global brand ambassador.
“Kia and his team have huge passion and ambition for the sport, and it’s exciting to be a part of their journey.
“Riding King Of Steel to victory on Champions Day was an unforgettable moment, and to now represent Amo Racing feels like a natural next step.
“I’m looking forward to being part of the team, growing with them, and helping to share our love of racing with fans around the world.”
While Joorabchian, a football superagent who has made a huge splash in racing with big spending at the sales, commented: “Frankie is a true icon of our sport, his presence, his personality and his passion for racing are unmatched.
“We’ve shared some incredible moments together, and his enthusiasm perfectly reflects what Amo Racing stands for.
Toby Moore rides his first career winner
Picture: Young Toby Moore and his father, Ryan Moore. (FB)
Toby Moore, the son of multiple champion jockey Ryan, secured his first winner under rules after steering the Godolphin-owned Valdorcia to a clear-cut victory at Kempton Park on Wednesday evening.
The 17-year-old, who has plenty of experience on the pony racing circuit and frequently lined up in the Shetland Pony Grand National races at the London International Horse Show, is the latest member of the Moore family to attempt to make his name in the professional ranks after his illustrious father and uncles Jamie and Josh.
Having been part of trainer Charlie Appleby’s team since last winter and riding work alongside not only his father but the likes of Kieren Fallon, William Buick and Billy Loughnane, he was handed his first professional ride by the Moulton Paddocks handler, donning the famous Godolphin silks and finishing third aboard Valdorcia at Kempton three weeks ago.
Having been beaten on three favourites since, Moore had another chance to break his duck in division one of the Unibet 2000 Sponsored Races At Kempton EBF Fillies’ Novice Stakes and Valdorcia duly delivered on her third competitive start, passing the post with two and a half lengths in hand as a 7-4 shot.
Moore told Racing TV: “It’s great. I’d like to thank Charlie and the whole team there, they’ve been excellent.
“To allow me to ride the horses is great. The extra furlong definitely helped her a bit and she was fair easy there.” – PA.
Start studying for big Pick 6 carryover!
There is a R1-million Pick 6 carryover to Saturday’s Charity Mile meeting at Turffontein, and a pool of R5-million is expected.
The Computaform for this meeting has been published and is available here, so you can start making form notes to catch the big fish this weekend.
It’s a quality card which, aside from the Allied Steelrode Onamission Charity Mile includes five other features and some big names, including Tin Pan Alley, Elegantrix, World Of Alice and Perfect Miracle, potentially the new sprinting sensation on the block.
The meeting sees the return of Champion Jockey Gavin Lerena, joined by the formidable Richard Fourie and other title-chasers Craig Zackey, Muzi Yeni, Sean Veale and Serino Moodley.
Today's Question
Picture: The 20-year-history of the Allied Steelrode-Onamission Charity Mile produced two winners who became stallions, but are no longer active. One was New Predator, who died unexpectedly. The other was active until recently but has now been retired. Who is he?
Today’s Question Answer
The two stallions from Charity Mile history (2005-2025) are 2016 winner New Predator (Redoute’s Choice), who died after a paddock accident in 2023, and Hat Puntano (Hat Trick, photo), who won in 2017 and was retired from stud duties last year.
