Graeme Hawkins

Gavin Lerena won all three Feature races at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth yesterday and for three different stables. To quote commentator Alistair Cohen, Garrix had to “stretch every sinew in his body” to scramble home in the R350 000 1800m Grade 3 Legal Eagles Stakes, a nose ahead of the pacesetting 75/1 chance Otto Luyken, with the fastest finisher Mucho Dinero (25/1) a short-head away in third spot.

Garrix attracted solid on-course betting support, shortening from 16/10 to start at 9/10 but his legion of supporters were kept on the edge of their seats as Garrix made heavy weather of putting the race to bed. Otto Luyken stuck to his task well and it was only in the very last stride that Garrix put his nose in front, although Mucho Dinero would have swept past them both had the race been a few metres further. Garrix, a smart 3yo son of Vercingetorix, is trained by Piet Steyn and the gelding has now won the first two legs of the Winter Series and will hopefully be seen in the final leg, the Grade 3 Pocket Power Stakes over 1950m on 25 May.

The One World colt, Dreamworld, bred by the Avontuur Stud, smashed a quality field of juveniles in the R300 000 Grade 3 Winter Nursery over 1100m. Gavin Lerena wasted no time in taking the initiative, forcing the early pace, and going quicker than his market rival North Point. Impressively, Dreamworld found another gear when Absolutely Yes and All The Rage loomed large, and the Vaughan Marshall-trained galloper went on to score decisively.

Absolutely Yes, having his first run as a gelding, ran on strongly from just off the pace and the son of Danon Platina will appreciate a stiffer test of stamina going forward. Although beaten into third spot, Aldo Domeyer was upbeat regarding the future of All The Rage and the son of Rafeef is another who looks to have a bright future. North Point was given every chance but failed to quicken over the final 200m and was edged out of the frame by the consistent Orbit.

Gavin Lerena was again seen at his superb best when driving Time For Love home in the R200 000 Ladies Mile over 1600m. Time For Love, winner of the Ladies Mile last year but without a victory since, sat in the box seat as Callmegetrix ensured a decent pace and the 5yo daughter of Time Thief had to dig deep to get the job done. Callmegetrix was brave in defeat and was only half-a-length in arrears at the line with Gimmethatpearl, Fun Zone, Kinda Winderful and Gold Poker Game all within a length of Time For Love in a blanket finish. Beware The Bomb having her first start since December never settled in running but was not disgraced, beaten little more than a length, and the impressive looking 3yo Lancaster Bomber could make amends in the near future.

Earlier in the day, Richard Fourie won three of the first four races, booting home She’s My World (11/10) in the opener, Jet A One (18/10) in the third race and Dumbledore (12/1) in the first leg of the Pick 6. Ironically, he was beaten in the second race on the afternoon’s shortest-priced favourite, Claire De Lune (4/10), who ran on powerfully but failed to reach the Andre Nel-trained Rikkitikkitavi (14/1) who skipped clear approaching the final 200m. Certainly, Rikkitikkitavi was not winning out of turn as she showed useful promise when a close fourth on debut and the 3yo daughter of Querari should make her mark beyond the maiden ranks.

Andrew Harrison

Muzi Yeni produced a vintage ride aboard Sail The Seas as he led home a Justin Snaith one-two in the Gr2 WSB Guineas in front of a festive crowd at a revamped Hollywoodbets Greyville on Saturday. Riding the Snaith ‘second’ string Yeni pounced at just the right time to edge out stable companion and short-priced favourite Eight On Eighteen and Cosmic Speed in a blanket finish.

In a change of tactics to his come-from-behind second in the Gr2 Hawaii Stakes behind Main Defender, Craig Zackey had no hesitation in taking Sean Tarry’s charge to the front in a field reduced to seven runners with the late scratching of Legal Counsel.

Cosmic Speed set sedate early fractions with Sail The Seas in close attendance and Eight On Eighteen off the pace but still in touch some six lengths off the leader.

Zackey sat for as long as he could once off the false rail but with Sail The Seas breathing down his neck he was finally forced to go for broke. But Yeni always had him in his sights and in a bit of tactical riding he moved up along side Cosmic Speed and steadily pressed him off a straight line without causing interference.

It was a move that probably won him the race as Cosmic Speed, game as he tried, was not able to hold off his rival and looked destined for second before Eight On Eighteen flashed up on his inside to snatch second.

It was a tremendous effort from all three and as Snaith commented post-race, this this year’s three-year-old male crop is out of the top drawer, siting the results of the Gr1 L’Ormarins King’s Plate and the Gr1 WSB Cape Met as examples.

Eight On Eighteen is destine for the Gr1 Daily News 2000 and a crack at the Gr1 Hollywoodbets Durban July while his rivals will in all likelihood have the Gr1 Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge over a mile as their target given their apparent stamina limitations.

Snaith also pointed out that the recent wet weather at Summerveld had hampered preparations and he felt that both his charges have more to come.

James Crawford expressed similar reservations as Mon Petit Cherie came with a storming late effort under Richard Fourie to collar Spumante Dolce with an ever game Be Merry hanging on for third.

James is one of the brightest young lights in the training ranks, having learnt well from his father Brett who has left the stable in his son’s hands as he tries his hand in the highly competitive ranks of Hong Kong.

Mon Petit Cherie was not without her supporters as she vied for favoritism with Spumante Dolce and there was little more than a neck between her and Mike and Mathew de Kock’s filly with Be Merry hanging on for third after being up with the pace and tracking Spumante Dolce all race.

Give Me Everything had her winning streak snapped but Dean Kannemeyer will have been well pleased with his filly as she came from last in the straight to finish a length off the leading trio. Given that she was drawn widest of all in the 14-runer field, it was possibly the best showing of all and the Gr2 Woolavington 2000 looks to be an obvious target.

Stuart Ferrie is one of the more reserved men in the training ranks be he has had a grounding second to none having been around the world before signing up for an extended stint with highly respected trainer Dennis Drier.

On Drier’s retirement he took over Drier’s yard and among the stable ranks was Gladatorian. Ferrie has handled the five-year-old with precision and was a deserved winner of the Gr2 Independent On Saturday Drill Hall Stakes, albeit narrowly ahead of a seemingly rejuvenated See It Again and Great Plains who could be counted a little unlucky as he found traffic in the straight. Fourth was another Kannemeyer runner, The Real Prince, who was doing his best work from the back of the field and a wide draw.

Sean Veale got a dream split up the center of the field and Gladatorian responded with a fine turn of foot to hit the front when it mattered. See It Again ran on strongly up the inside fence to hold off Great Plains in a blanket finish.

Ferrie and Veale are convinced that Gladatorian has the stamina to see out the 2200m of the Gr1 Hollywoodbets Durban July and is going about it in the right way.

Given the quality of horses and the major Gr1’s still on the horizon, local patrons are in for a treat this Champions Season.

Please note South African Quartet Pools with fractional betting offered at Newmarket (UK) – 4 May 2025.

Graeme Hawkins

Garrix looks set to take another step forward in his pursuit of a clean sweep in Cape Racing’s Winter Series when he takes on seven rivals in today’s R350 000 Legal Eagle Stakes (Gr3) over 1800m, but he is unlikely to have matters all his own way. Rascallion finished fifth some five lengths behind Garrix in the Variety Club Mile last month but Vaughan Marshall’s veteran campaigner is now 3,5kgs better off and races here from pole position as opposed to the widest draw of all in the opening leg of the Series. One can also argue that Rascallion will be better suited to Sunday’s slightly extended trip and there should not be too much to choose between Garrix and Rascallion at the line.

Billy Bowlegs is interesting! After a long spell in the wilderness – it has been 833 days since the 5yo son of The United States last tasted victory – Billy Bowlegs is showing signs of coming back to his best form and was running on very strongly from the back of the Variety Club field when finishing a three-length fourth behind Garrix. Now trained by Eric Sands, Billy Bowlegs is 2,5kgs better off with Garrix and is another who will prefer 1800m – a trip over which he has raced four times for two wins and two thirds. Magic Verse was very disappointing in the Variety Club Mile but if he reproduces the performance which saw him beaten a whisker by Rascallion in the Premier’s Trophy over track and trip back in January, then the 4yo son of Vercingetorix will go very close to winning.

Notwithstanding the evidence to suggest it will be no stroll in the park for Garrix, there appears to be plenty of upside for Piet Steyn’s charge and he may well step up another gear in this, his second run as a gelding. He was much better behaved in the preliminaries last time and it appears as if the unkindest cut of all has worked wonders for his temperament and allowed Garrix to settle down and focus on the job at hand. He gets the nod to beat Rascallion, Billy Bowlegs and Magic Verse in what is expected to be an intriguing contest.

The R300 000 Winter Nursery (Gr3) over 1100m is the opening leg of Jackpot One and the impressive North Point will be seeking a hat-trick of wins and his first Graded Stakes success. North Point has been dominant in his last two start-to-finish victories over 1000m and the additional 100m is unlikely to pose a problem for the Crawford team’s eye-catching 2yo son of William Longsword. All The Rage raised many an eyebrow when scoring emphatically on debut and the well-bred son of Rafeef could be absolutely anything. There is a line of form through Demanding Dave which suggests that North Point may have the edge but All The Rage has huge scope for improvement and is likely to give North Point a very good run for his money.

Demanding Dave is improving rapidly and his last effort when third to All The Rage was perhaps better than the formline suggests. The track on that day had a distinct bias against horses racing on the stand side of the course and Demanding Dave found himself in no man’s land. Orbit has three lengths to find with North Point but the son of One World may have needed that outing, which was his first since being rested and gelded. He is highly regarded and could get closer to North Point this time around. Dreamworld also appears well above the average and would not be a shock winner while Match That, a winner on debut at long odds, can only improve with the benefit of the experience.

Not easy to be completely definitive or overly bullish about the talents of these relatively unexposed juvenles but there is no doubting the overall quality that lines up in this year’s renewal of the Winter Nursery. I fancy North Point to edge out All The Rage but the chase for the winner’s purse does not necessarily end with this pair.

The R200 000 Ladies Mile (Listed) over 1600m seems very competitive but I am leaning towards the Drakenstein owned and bred Beware The Bomb, to be ridden by Richard Fourie for the Justin Snaith outfit. Beware The Bomb has not raced since misfiring in the WSB Cape Fillies Guineas in December but the time off can only have done this imposing daughter of Lancaster Bomber plenty of good. And the comments from Justin Snaith are extremely positive, “doing great, include in all bets.” That is enough to persuade me that Beware The Bomb from a neat draw is ready to deliver a solid performance and perhaps yet another Stakes victory for Gaynor Rupert and her team.

But there is plenty of form to go around with bright winning chances for Kinda Wonderful and the ultra-consistent Callmegetrix. The latter finished runner-up behind another Drakenstein filly, Be Merry, in the Sweet Chestnut Stakes (Listed) over 1400m last month and would be deserving of victory here but she does have a difficult draw to contend with. Kinda Wonderful was second behind the progressive Give Me Everything in the Cape Oaks over 2000m and may now prefer a touch further than the 1600m she gets here. Time For Love has not been seen since WSB Cape Town Met race meeting when a close second behind Rainbow Lorikeet but she won this race last year and with Gavin Lerena in the saddle, she is worthy of respect again.

Gold Poker Game is capable of causing an upset while My Flower Fate, ideally course and distance suited, rates a money chance on her best efforts. It’s a complicated affair, as many Fillies’ Features are, but I am rowing in with Beware The Bomb to deliver on her potential.

It’s an early start at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Sunday with the first of ten races, a Maiden Juvenile Plate (Fillies) over 1000m, due off at 11:40. The field includes a number of well related debutantes but She’s My World may get us off to a winning start at the expense of Beautiful One.

Durban – On the eve of the launch of the 2025 Champions Season this coming Saturday, South African horse racing awoke to a brand new chapter in its history on the Workers’ Day public holiday today with the good news that the acquisition of Gold Circle by the Hollywood Sportsbook Holdings group (Hollywood/Hollywoodbets) has received the final stamp of approval of the KwaZulu-Natal Economic Regulatory Authority (KZNERA).

In a transaction that dates back to the commencement of negotiations in 2023, and culminating in a Special General Meeting of Members in September of that year, KZN racing is set to benefit from a R500 million (and rapidly escalating) rescue injection by Hollywood in a seriously ambitious and committed plan to resurrect the failing industry in the richly culturally diverse province that has enjoyed a passionate following of the sport for well over a century. 

It is a reality that, given the combination of the prevailing economic climate and dramatic changes in the betting landscape, horse racing countrywide has languished in the doldrums for a large part of the 21st century. 

The move by Hollywoodbets is thus seen as the dawn of a new era of management and capitalisation, that will introduce a focus on the best utilisation of resources, while embracing a wider universal appeal that will keep pace with ever evolving modern entertainment trends, directed at a wider customer market.

The investment by Hollywoodbets is set to ensure job security for the estimated 6,000 people employed directly and indirectly by the industry and peripheral services in the province, and foster broader stakeholder interest and incentive for investment through the modernisation of facilities in venues and training centres, while also upgrading prize money, which has lagged over the past 30 years.

The operational aspect of the introduction of a new-look racing programme, coupled with incentives to promote racehorse ownership and boost field sizes, an important component of the key driver of improved betting turnovers, is already well advanced.

Whilst ownership transfers on 1 May, the investment began months ago. A huge leap of faith was required. Even before this final approval by the KZNERA, Hollywoodbets had confidently commenced its considerable investment. To date there has been extensive capital investment in facilities, which includes wide-scale renovation of buildings and equipment upgrades, as well as a revamp of the Hollywoodbets Greyville Polytrack. Day-night racing has proved immensely popular in KwaZulu-Natal and a multi-million-Rand upgrade of the lighting facilities at the home of the historic Hollywoodbets Durban July, brings the Durban City racetrack on a par with leading night-racing venues internationally. To have delayed these essential projects until formal approval had been given would have resulted in none of the work commencing until after the Champions Season.

The Summerveld Training Centre is also set for major improvements. Plans are well advanced for an extensive capital injection that will result in material upgrade of stabling, Grooms accommodation, roofing, roads and other infrastructure. 

Hollywood CEO, Suren Rampersadh, welcomed the announcement and confirmed that it was now all systems go for the company’s game changing plans to revitalise a sport that enjoys a unique place in the hearts and minds of passionate locals and the whole Purple Team.

“We wish to reaffirm that we are fully committed to securing the future of the horse racing industry in KwaZulu-Natal and are privileged to be in a custodial position to carry the baton into what we firmly believe will be a bright and prosperous future for the sport and all stakeholders in the region and beyond. The investment that commenced some time ago will continue, with plans to change the face and broad appeal of the business that operates in one of the most exciting sports internationally, with a global reach of over 584 million households,” added Rampersadh. “This has been a long journey, and we are super-proud that our team has got it over the line. I am sure that our pride is more than matched by the relief and renewed enthusiasm of all stakeholders”.

The encouraging news comes in excellent time for the much-anticipated launch of the 2025 Champions Season at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Saturday.

Three months of action-packed top-level horseracing will be headlined by the 129th renewal of the historic Hollywoodbets Durban July, which will be run over 2200m on Saturday 5 July 2025.