Please Note : South African Quartet Pools with fractional betting offered at Cork (IRE) – 10 September 2025

Andrew Harrison

Punters may well be looking for landing place on a competitive card on the poly at Hollywoodbets Greyville today but Mike and Mathew de Kock could have the answer in the form of the lightly raced Schipole. The filly caught the eye when beaten less than a length in a Class 5 Handicap behind Flying Reign Storm when making her local debut on the turf at Hollywoodbets Scottsville.

She steps up in class in the fifth over 1400m but takes the corresponding drop in the weights over a trip at which she shed her maiden. She makes her poly debut from the widest draw but take on some well exposed older horses and any improvement should see her finish close-up if not win.

Of the balance, Skytrix is down in class and has been coming down in the handicap and has a useful claimer aboard while Jazz Café was much improved in blinkers when winning last time out and only got a two-point raise in the handicap so could be a threat.

Heading the card is a competitive B Stakes, a dash over 1000m, where Princess Hannah is over her favourite course and distance. She takes on some useful males but is quick and should put in another good effort. Lady Of Vix takes on stronger but has a light weight and is useful on her day while Intrepid  is up in class but has bottom weight over a suitable trip. Mojo Man has shown some recent improvement and gets a stronger rider aboard.

Xiphos can get the ball rolling in the first as he found some long-priced betting support last run. He make his poly debut and has a more experienced rider aboard but it aint going to be easy. Sovereign Command is the obvious choice as has made steady recent improvement and has the same draw as he had when finishing second last time out to Emoyeni who had not missed a place in five starts. . Little Cracker was a length behind in that same race but the latter is much better off in the handicap.

The second is a wide open handicap where all are in with chances. Greenlight Queen is down in class and was not far off last run and is back on the poly. On Board is 2kg better off with Ilha Da Orange on their last meetings and her best recent effort has been on the poly. Kom Naidoo’s mare has improved in blinkers for her new stable and all of her recent  starts have been on the poly. She can go close from the best of the draw. Jane’s Vision was a beaten favourite last run. She steps up in trip but her poly form is a little suspect.

 The opening leg of the Pick 6 is a tough maiden where form is thin but Saudi Sweep has her first run for her new stable and has shown some form on the Highveld. She could be the right one. Peggy Sue Shake was not too far back on debut and can make marked improvement in this line-up.

There is not much form to go on in the fourth but Sally Port is lightly raced and showed improvement when stepped up in trip. She goes a furlong further and could be the right one. Dee Day has shown some recent improvement and likes to go forward. From a good draw and a 4kg claimer up she can feature. Skipper O’Malley gets first time blinkers and makes her poly debut but has not been too far back in her six tries.

In the seventh, Trippi T is quick but has not been out since January. His racing fitness must be taken on trust but at best he will go close again. Isikwishikwishi will be a threat as he has been runner up at his last three and goes well this course and distance. Must be included in all bets. Preemptive Strike a poly specialist and never far off. He can go close in this line-up.

The last is another wide open handicap. Mc Dazzler is not well handicapped and has let the side down on more than one occasion. However, he comes in off bottom weight and showed signs of a return to form when having his second run for his new stable. Back on poly he could be worth a tickle. Viva Spirit takes a big drop in class but from the best of the draw, a rating drop, and a further 1.5kg relief from the saddle so he should be a big runner. Bank Street won well over course and distance last time out and can follow up. While Unicorn Alert made sudden improvement last run for a new stable when back to a sprint and another change of stable could see him close again.

RACE 1

10 XIPHOS   11 SOVERIEGN COMMAND   4 LITTLE CRACKER   2 BILINGUAL

Summary: SOVEREIGN COMMAND (11) has made steady recent improvement and has the same draw as he had when finishing second last time out to Emoyeni who had not missed a place in five starts. . LITTLE CRACKER (4) was a length behind in the same race. The latter is much better off in the handicap. XIPHOS (10) found some long-priced betting support last run. He make his poly debut and has a more experienced rider aboard. BILINGUAL (2) is a long-time maiden but has shown some recent improvement in blinkers. (Andrew Harrison: 10-11-4-2).

RACE 2

6 ON BOARD   1 GREENLIGHT QUEEN   2 ILHA DA ORANGE   4 MOUNTAINSOFTHEMOON

Summary: GREENLIGHT QUEEN (1) is down in class and was not far off last run. She is back on the poly. ON BOARD (6) is 2kg better off with ILHA DA ORANGE (2) and their last meetings and her best recent effort has been on the poly. Kom Naidoo’s mare has improved in blinkers for her new stable and all of her starts have been on the poly. She can go close from the best of the draw. JANE’S VISION (3) was a beaten favourite last run. She steps up in trip and her poly form is a little suspect. (Andrew Harrison: 6-1-2-3).

RACE 3

4 SAUDI SWEEP   6 PEGGY SUE SHAKE   8 CHAMPAGNE PROBLEMS   1 CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT

Summary: Tough maiden where form is thin. SAUDI SWEEP (4) has her first run for her new stable and has shown some form on the Highveld. She could be the right one here. PEGGY SUE SHAKE (6) was not too far back on debut and can make marked improvement in this line-up. CHAMPAGNE PROBLEMS (8) has a money chance if putting in her best effort. (Andrew Harrison: 4-6-8-1).

RACE 4

7 SALLY PORT   1 DEE DAY   4 SKIPPER O’MALLEY   6 JUMPTHEGREENLIGHT

Summary: Very little form to go on here. SALLY PORT (7) is lightly raced and showed improvement when stepped up in trip. She goes a furlong further here and could be the right one. DEE DAY (1) has shown some recent improvement. She likes to go forward and from a good draw and a 4kg claimer up she can feature. SKIPPER O’MALLEY (4) gets first time blinkers. She makes her poly debut but has not been too far back in her six tries. JUMPTHEGREENLIGHT (6) steps up to what may be a more suitable trip. (Andrew Harrison: 7-1-4-6).

RACE 5

9 SCHIPOLE   1 SKYTRIX   8 JAZZ CAFÉ   4 BLUE HORIZON

Summary: SCHIPOLE (9) is lightly raced and made a promising local debut when just out of the money. She doesn’t have much to beat here. SKYTRIX (1) is down in class and has been coming down in the handicap. She has a useful claimer aboard. JAZZ CAFÉ (8) was much improved in blinkers when winning last time out and only got a two-point raise in the handicap. (Andrew Harrison: 9-1-8-4).

RACE 6

7 PRINCESS HANNAH   3 LADY OF VIX   4 INTREPID   2 MOJO MAN

Summary: Competitive handicap. PRINCESS HANNAH (7) is over her favourite course and distance and should put in another good effort. LADY OF VIX (3) takes on stronger but has a light weight and is useful on her day. INTREPID (4) is up in class but has bottom weight over a suitable trip. MOJO MAN (2) has shown some recent improvement and gets a stronger rider aboard. (Andrew Harrison: 7-3-4-2).

RACE 7

2 TRIPPI T   7 ISIKWISHIKWISHI    5 PREEMPTIVE STRIKE   9 NOW I GOT YOU

Summary: TRIPPI T (2) is quick but has not been out since January. His racing fitness must be taken on trust and at best he will go close again. ISIKWISHIKWISHI (7) has been runner up at his last three and goes well this course and distance. Must be included in all bets. PREEMPTIVR STRIKE (5) is a poly specialist and never far off. He can go close in this line-up. NO I GOT YOU (9) has drawn wide but has come good at recent outings and has a handy galloping weight. (Andrew Harrison: 2-7-5-9).

RACE 8

9 MC DAZZLER   1 VIVA SPIRIT   3 BANK STREET   4 UNICORN ALERT

Summary: Wide open. MC DAZZLER (9) is not well handicapped and has let the side down on more than one occasion. However, he comes in off bottom weight and showed signs of a return to form when having his second run for his new stable. Back on poly he could be worth a tickle. VIVA SPIRIT (1) takes a big drop in class but from the best of the draw a rating drop and a further 1.5kg relief from the saddle he should be a big runner. BANK STREET  (3) won well over course and distance last time out and can follow up. UNICORN ALERT (4) made sudden improvement last run for a new stable when back to a sprint and another change of stable could see him close again. MVELELO (5) is back to what looks to be a more suitable trip and can feature. (Andrew Harrison: 9-1-3-4).

David Thiselton

Tawanda Taruvinga was named Racing Personality Of The Year at the recent KZN Racing awards.

This was most appropriate as this Digital Marketing Strategist’s youthful vibrancy appeals to the younger generation in a sport whose fan base had been tending to have an older and older average age and his go-getting style is a perfect fit for the new Hollywoodbets-owned Race Coast operator.

Tawanda does not view himself as a stand out personality and explained, “I just think it’s my confidence, my respect and my smile because I’m always trying to make people feel good. I just always try to be a good person and spread some positivity and optimism.”

His feel-good videos and directorship of the popular racing podcast In The Box Seat do just that, not to mention his input in marketing strategies.

Tawanda became familiar with racing as he actually lived within the boundaries of Hollywoodbets Greyville.

His father Edward is the Race Coast Buildings and Facilities Manager and has a house on the racecourse.

Tawanda was not particularly interested in racing in the beginning, but his creative mind attracted the attention of the Gold Circle media team.

He had taught himself how to make online videos by watching YouTube tutorials and was hired by a forex company to produce some video content, which he did by interviewing random people on nearby Florida Road.

Edward saw the videos and showed them to Warren Lenferna of Race Coast Publishing. Graeme Hawkins then offered Tawanda a position in Gold Circle to produce similar content for horseracing and provided him with some basic equipment.

The videos made an immediate impact and a podcast that began as an audio only entity slowly metamorphosed into the In The Box Seat podcast with Warren Lenferna and Andrew Harrison.

Tawanda said, “Podcasts are very, very good, it’s something I would advise for anybody trying to grow, whether it’s a business or a social media following, because if you invite industry leaders that sort of indirectly brands you as an expert as well. You’re adding educational and entertainment value and that’s why I knew In The Box Seat was going to grow.”

Tawanda went the extra mile by buying his own state of the art equipment, a laptop, camera and microphone.

He said, “It’s like I knew one day I was going to resign and start my own agency.”

His frustration at his videos not being published timeously led him to explore social media.

He then began posting his own videos.

He said, “That then made me want to learn about how to make my videos get more views, I started learning about how to grow views and engagements and that just led me down a rabbit hole of learning about social media, learning about copyrighting, learning about hooks and even learning about graphic design.”

A hook is something also used by musicians that “hooks” people into the content and makes them want to watch for longer.

Tawanda said, “Now, especially with all this short-form content, you need to hook a person in the first three seconds.”

He added, “What I realised is stuff that really goes viral are celebrations or content that the public don’t usually see. A flying dismount, that’s an interesting video, or a punter or trainer just going crazy shouting, and also jockeys being asked funny questions that are not really horseracing related. Following top trainers goes viral, so if you have a podcast with Justin Snaith that is going to go viral.”

A fascinating video produced by Tawanda and his team on Hollywoodbets Durban July day was of the favourite Eight On Eighteen’s connections following the race. The raw roller coaster of emotion on their faces was a reflection of exactly how the race unfolded.

Going back to his early Gold Circle days, Tawanda was drafted into the marketing department and ended up working for them by day and doing his social media work and research by night.

The 16 hour day did not phase him and he revealed, “I was inspired by Ken Twedell and Precious Mbatha when i was in marketing – I was in awe of Ken’s work on the Durban July and the Loerie award he received for it. “As somebody who had always wanted to be an entrepreneur it inspired in me a vision of having a starting point outside of the company and then expanding.”

Tawanda started Vinga Media during Covid in 2020 and is especially grateful to Gold Circle’s marketing manager Steve Marshall for providing him with an office that was being unused near the judge’s box on the West Wing. The rental costs were offset against work done for Gold Circle.

Tawanda has employed a number of people and even has a satellite office in Cape Town.

As Tawanda’s expertise has grown, he has been able to incorporate techniques used by the business world into horseracing as he believed horseracing had been behind in this sphere.

One of his role models is Gary Vaynerchuk, an American businessman and entrepreneur also known for his work in digital marketing and social media.

Today Vinga Media does social media, graphic design, videography and creative direction and strategy for Race Coast.

Their strategising experience led to them formulating and submitting this year’s Hollywoodbets Durban July theme, “Marvels Of Mzansi”, in opposition to other submissions from various sources. It was virtually an automatic choice, because as Tawanda said it must be one of the best July themes ever, not only due to how versatile it was and the special meaning it had to South Africans, but also due to the inspirational advertorial design that accompanied it. Tawanda is confident of winning a Loerie award for the theme, having entered it.

Of the future, Tawanda wants to get into animation and wants to create TV productions with horseracing themes.

Meanwhile he has never stopped learning about the sport of horseracing and views this as a vital continuous learning curve.

He concluded, “You can’t add value into an industry that you don’t know, especially with horse racing. There’s so much context that you have to have before you can create the content. Good context gives you good content.”

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