Please Note: South African Quartet Pools with fractional betting offered at Hamilton and York (UK) – 22 August 2025

RACE 1

4 HAT MONTERA      3 ONO NO KOMACHI      6 TAKE YOUR TIME      5 DARLING HARBOUR

Preview: HAT MONTERA (4) ran an absolute cracker last time when in open company for the first time and comes from an inform yard. She can go one better this time. ONO NO KOMACHI (3) is taking time for the next win but showed last time when 2^nd to Flight Display that the next victory is near – big chance. TAKE YOUR TIME (6) is never far off the action, gets Craig Zackey and has to be given serious consideration for all bets. DARLING HARBOUR (5) has place credentials. (Warren Lenferna 4-3-6-5)

RACE 2

1 DESERT CLOUD      2 GOLDEN ALEXIA      7 SALAGADOOLA      3 NIGHT IN JAPAN

Preview: DESERT CLOUD (1) kicked on well last time and should take a power of beating today. GOLDEN ALEXIA (2) brings Highveld form into the race and can make her presence felt in her local debut – bright chance. SALAGADOOLA (7) improved a ton last time and can go very close. She is lightly raced. NIGHT IN JAPAN (3) has clearly taken to racing at Fairview and should again be very competitive. A must for the quartet and should win soon. (Warren Lenferna 1-2-7-3)

RACE 3

3 STAND UP      1 PIBE DE ORO      2 BANDMASTER      4 MONOCLE

Preview: STAND UP (3) is improving with racing and went very close to getting it all right last time. He looks cherry ripe for the win and to be noticed. PIBE DE ORO (1) was a nose behind Stand Up in the race won by Bright Future and there shouldn’t be too much between them again. Strong each way chance. BANDMASTER (2) caught the eye when competing in PE for the first time last time and should be hugely competitive in this. MONOCLE (4) can earn. (Warren Lenferna 3-1-2-4)

RACE 4

8 CONCERTO      6 ARABIAN RED      3 PRISCILLA MAISEY      1 POLYNOMIAL

Preview: CONCERTO (8) has run some attractive races since winning in February and Khumalo would have learnt a lot from the last run when finishing 3^rd to Kingdom Of Heaven. She can be expected to go very close. ARABIAN RED (6) her stable mate can provide plenty cheek all the way home and is the exacta suggestion. PRISCILLA MASEY (3) impressed when winning last time and if she were to follow up it would come as no shock at all – respect and include in everything. POLYNOMIAL (1) has showed some spark in her last two runs and can earn – strong place claims. (Warren Lenferna 8-6-3-1)

RACE 5

2 SWEETIE DARLING      1 GIMME’S LASSIE      6 ENCHANTING CHOICE      3 MONTELENA

Preview: SWEETIE DARLING (2) has found a new zest for life in PE having won mighty impressively by getting up close to home every time in her last three starts. She goes a little further now to 1400m but can certainly continue on winning ways. Sparkling winning chance. GIMME’S LASSIE (1) is holding form, has finished close to Sweetie Darling in her last two starts and has huge each way claims. ENCHANTING CHOICE (6) has trotted up in her last two beating Walkonthewildside and Wild Applause respectively and can reel off the hat trick – serious contender. MONTELENA (3) is taking time for the next win but is competitive and can never, ever be ignored from any bets – respect and include. (Warren Lenferna 2-1-6-3)

RACE 6

1 FEW DOLLARS MORE      7 ROTOTO      3 ONE SCOTCH       4 WILLIAM THE FIRST

Preview: FEW DOLLARS MORE (1) brings solid KZN form into the race and might be too strong here. He gets the services of Chad Little and they are confidently selected to win. ROTOTO (7) can be forgiven for the last run and judged on the penultimate start – chance and could represent some value. ONE SCOTCH (3) and WILLIAM THE FIRST (4) should be in the first four. (Warren Lenferna 1-7-3-4)

RACE 7

2 MERCANTOUR       1 FAIRY KNIGHT      7 GOLDEN PAVILLION      6 CHAMPONELLE

Preview: MERCANTOUR (2) boasts solid form and will have a huge winning chance but the race is fiercely competitive. FAIRY KNIGHT (1) can be forgiven for the last effort in a Grade 1 in KZN and can bounce right back to way better form – big danger. GOLDEN PAVILLION (7) has won four out of his last five and can continue on the winning spree and CHAMPONELLE (6) is another one that is just winning and winning well – how can he be ignored? A tough race. (Warren Lenferna 2-1-7-6)

RACE 8

8 CASINO ACE      1 ROYAL KINGDOM       3 WORDSWORTH      2 WINTER WARFARE

Preview: CASINO ACE (8) could represent some attractive each way value. His two runs in PE have been better, especially his last run when only 1,60 lengths off Danish Dynamite. ROYAL KINGDOM (1) won his maiden oh so easily and has been given a mark of 86 – he may be nicely treated and could end up being absolutely anything. Big chance. WORDSWORTH (3) is way better than the last run, ignore that and expect way better. WINTER WARFARE (2) has a first four chance.

David Thiselton

The BSA August Two-year-old Sale takes place today (Thursday) and tomorrow and all eyes will be on the ring and on the auctioneer when the Drakenstein Stud-vendored Lot 47 enters the ring.

There have been rumours flying around that this Vercingetorix colt is going to potentially challenge a South African thoroughbred auction record price, which is R9 million, first achieved in 2019 for a Silvano colt at BSA Nationals and matched at this year’s Race Coast Sales March Day 1 Sale for a Drakenstein Stud-bred Vercingetorix colt out of the Captain Al mare Snowdance i.e a half-brother to Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas winner Snow Pilot.

Lot 47 at today’s Sale is also a Vercingetorix colt and is out of the twice Gr 1 Majorca Stakes winner Clouds unfold, who is by What A Winter. Clouds Unfold won nine times, including the Gr 1 Majorca Stakes over 1600m twice as well as two Gr 2s and also a Gr 3 as a two-year-old.

Vercingetorix is the reigning champion sire and he achieved it by smashing records, with his progeny earning a probable record amount of stakes in a season and breaking a record for the  number of stakes winners in a season i.e. 23.

Vercingetorix has also smashed records at the Sales and is surely the most successful Sales sire in South African history having averaged R1,661,364 at the Race Coast Sales March Day 1 Sale this year for 22 lots before averaging R1,435,000 at this year’s BSA Nationals.

What A Winter is the son of Western Winter, who was champion freshman sire, three-times Champion Sire and also a Champion Broodmare Sire.

What A Winter himself has finished second in the sires championship before and is perennially high up on the table.

Drakenstein Stud are the national Breeders Champions and their progeny earned a record amount of over R40 million last season.

 Lot 47 is called Le Soleil, which means The Sun, and he is a stunning individual.

He is tall and stands over a lot of ground and looks well balanced.

He is a November foal, which is likely why he is appearing at this Sale and did not appear at the Race Coast Sales March Day 1 Sale or the BSA Nationals.

However, he has everything in his favour and there is sure to be some fireworks around the ring at roundabout 12 noon today.

There will only be four Vercingetorix’s at the Sale and the other three are all fillies.

The Ascot Stud-bred lot 89 is an interesting Vercingetorix filly as she is a out of a six time-winning Jet Master half-sister to the Durban July winner Bold Silvano. She looks to have plenty of scope and should also attract a lot of interest.

Ascot’s other most interesting entry is Lot 42, who is a Heavenly Blue half-brother to the likely East Cape Champion Two-year-old colt, the Alan Greeff-trained King Prawn. Ascot Stud’s Ashley Parker confirmed this colt was a “very nice colt”.

Lot 9 is a Varsfontein Master Of My Fate colt who is closely related to Betway Summer Cup winner Atticus Finch as they have the same sire and the same grandam, the Irish-bred Alexandra B (Darshan), which means he is from a prolific black type family which includes Main Defender, Alexandra Rose and World Of Alice.

Lot 24 is an interesting Wilgerbosdrift Stud-bred colt by the former Mike de Kock-trained multiple Gr 1-winning son of Silvano, Hawwaam, and he is out of the De Kock-trained Irish-bred daughter of Danehill Dancer, Berry Blaze, who finished second to Beach Beauty in the Gr 2 KRA Fillies Guineas, among other good performances.

Lot 154 from Klawervlei Stud is a One World filly out of the twice Listed-winning Querari mare Maria Querol and this filly is from the family of a Canadian Horse Of The Year called Never Retreat (Smart Strike).

There should be a lot of action at this Sale, which has produced plenty of champions over the years.

,

Andrew Harrison

The Gr1 HKJC Champions Cup marks the end of Champions Season on the final weekend of July. That meeting also marks the end of top class racing in KZN as the cream of the country’s gallopers move to centres with more lucrative offerings and added value of black type.

Couple that with the two-year-old sale in Johannesburg and  Hollywoodbets Scottsville resembled a ghost town with trainers and owners hunting a lucky bean at Germiston.

It was a bread-and-butter meeting, but the like that keeps racing folk interested and while none of yesterday’s winners will be headed for ‘Hollywood’, there was some hard-fought battles worthy of any major race.

It is also racing that gives the lessor lights an opportunity to shine out of the spotlight of the ‘big’ races and those punters paying attention may find a few unpolished gems amongst the bling.

I remember a time back where an observer commented that a good ‘mouth’ is more valuable to a trainer than any ability to train horses. He went on to opine, “good horses train themselves, but it takes a proper horseman ‘woman’ to get the best out of a slow horse”.

Tienie Prinsloo cut his training teeth in the hot and often freezing climes of Flamingo Park in Kimberly. A dirt track in the back of beyond with minimal stakes it was a case of eat or be eaten. You had to know your way around the bigger centres often lame and mostly slow cast-offs. So you had to know your way around a horses to make a living.

After Flamingo Park closed, Prinsloo was the only former Kimberly trainer to make it in the bigger pool of KZN. He will admit that it has been far from easy, often with less than a dozen horses in his stable, but he has picked a few plums including Main Defender and now Quickstep Gal who recently changed ownership for what will surely have been a tidy sum.

Prinsloo was not on the radar at Hollywoodbets Scottsville yesterday but Gary Rich was. A man that has a pedigree in racing second to a very few with De Vlugge winning second time out for Rich under stable rider Cole Dicken in the fourth.

Rich is a man of few words, reluctant to imposed himself on any prospective owner, but a man who, like Prinsloo, knows his way around a racehorse. His father, Dessie, won the Durban July with Lightning Shot and the chip has not fallen far from the old block except that Des was a lot more vocal in his opinions.

De Vlugge, having only his second run for Rich, was led in by his daughter Tess Zietsman, also a woman of few words, but racing runs in her blood.

Rich has always had faith in Yannakis but the gelding has had many issues. Rich’s faith in the five-year-old that he had another win in him was vindicated as he made most of the running to land the sixth, giving Rich and Dicken just rewards.

With the A Stakes reduced to just five runners after a number of scratchings, Lion Rampart made short work of his opposition. S’Manga Khumalo had the race in the bag a long way out and Gareth van Zyl’s charge cruised home a comfortable winner ahead of the Gauteng raider Mover And Shaker.

Soccer10 Friday 22 August 2025. ADD-IN R150 000. Estimated Pool: R1.8 Million. Pool Closes at 19h30.Sport 15 and Pool 1.

Soccer10 Saturday 23 August 2025. ADD-IN R150 000. Estimated Pool: R1.8 Million. Pool Closes at 15h00.Sport 7 and Pool 1.

Soccer13 Saturday 23 August 2025. R18 Million (If only One 13 of 13 Winner). Pool Closes at 15h30. Sport 10 Pool 1.

Soccer Any13X on Saturday 23 August 2025. ADD-IN R200 000. Estimated Pool: R 500 000. Pool Closes at 13h30. Sport 13 and Pool 1.

Soccer SCORES on Saturday 23 August 2025. ADD-IN R74 642. Pool Closes at 15h00. Call Bet V73

Soccer CORNERS on Saturday 23 August 2025. Carryover R1 886. Pool Closes at 15h30. Call Bet V74.