AND THEY’RE OFF!

GLOBAL TEAM HORSE RACING SERIES GETS UNDERWAY

AT HOLLYWOODBETS GREYVILLE

DURBAN, AUGUST 8, 2022 – TEAMS competing in the new Global Team Horse Racing night series (GTH) met at Durban’s Hollywoodbets Greyville racecourse last Friday evening to demonstrate a thrilling new style of thoroughbred horse racing in front of hundreds of local Durban families and new horse racing fans. The team jockeys also put their first scores on the series’ leaderboard. After night one of the series, the KwaZulu Royals took the lead with a total of 452 points compared to the Gauteng Gijimaz’s total of 448.

Teams and their followers will make their way back to the track this coming Friday for night two of the four-week series, where the Cape Stingers take on the Gauteng Gijimaz.

GTH has a similar format to T20 cricket in that teams will accrue points for every race in the series. The team with the most points wins.

Race meetings are being held under spotlights on consecutive Friday nights throughout August. There is plenty of track-side entertainment for families. The series comes to a dramatic finish on Friday, September 2, 2022.

The Teams

The Cape Stingers, KwaZulu Royals and Gauteng Gijimaz are competing for more than R3.5-million in prize money. Jockeys are gunning for the Night Rider prize at the finale, where they can cash in R30,000, R20,000 and R10,000 for first, second and third place respectively.

This past Friday, August 5, jockeys for the KwaZulu Royals rode against the Gauteng Gijimaz. On August 12, the Cape Stingers will meet the Gauteng Gijimaz. On August 19, it is KZN against the Cape. The two teams with the most points after the three weeks will ride in the final. The winning team will also be the proud owner of a 40cm Africanised horse bust Floating Trophy, which was hand-carved by Josphat Phiri, a Durban artist.

GTH Marketing Director, Angus Campbell, described the first night as a breakthrough and hopes to see even more families at the race track this coming Friday when the Cape Stingers take on the Gauteng Gijimaz.

Local celebrities were at the series opener and Social Pioneers also hosted their guests, which Campbell said had helped to grow the series’ following.

GTH has managed to attract some of the racing industry’s top talent.

The Cape Stingers is being led by team captain Mark Khan, a well-known SA Champion Jockey. Muzi Yeni, who has won numerous Grade 1 races, is captain of the KwaZulu Royals. Gavin Lerena has the team reins belonging to the Gauteng Gijimaz. Lerena was SA’s Champion Jockey in 2014/15.

Three winning female trainers have been appointed to manage the teams. The managers are also responsible for choosing which horses to feature in each of the races.

Michelle Rix will lead the Cape Stingers, while Wendy Whitehead and Candice Dawson will manage the KwaZulu Royals and Gauteng Gijimaz respectively.

The GTH race programme has been condensed into 2.5 action-packed hours. Races start at 18h00 and finish by 20h30 each week. Gates open at Hollywoodbets Greyville at 17h00 every Friday afternoon.

For more information about GTH, visit https://www.gthracing.co.za.

ENDS (508 words)

EDITORS INFORMATION

• TIXSA.
• Action channel (DSTV Channel 210) each week.

IMAGE INFORMATION

And they’re off 1

Muzi Yeni winner of the Night Riders award taking a hefty win against the Gauteng Gijimaz during last Fridays debut event at Hollywoodbets Greyville Racecourse, securing them the top spot on the series leaderboard.

And they’re off 2

The energy was electric as fans came out in full support of the KwaZulu Royals (blue) and Gauteng Gijimas (red).

And they’re off 3

A view from the finish line of what was to be a camera finish between the KwaZulu Royals and Gauteng Gijimaz in one of the eight races in a night of action-packed entertainment.   And they’re off 4 From left; socialites Ruan Scheepers, Sinotho Msweli, Shoreek Sheoratan and Ndumiso Shezi relished in the energy of the night from the VIP Box over looking the finishing line.

CREDIT

Credit all photos to Candiese Lenferna

DISTRIBUTED ON BEHALF OF:	GLOBAL TEAM HORSE RACING
DATE OF DISTRIBUTION:	AUGUST 2022
Global Team Horse Racing (GTH) is a fast paced, thrilling spectator sport, specifically aimed at a new generation of fans. GTH is a gamechanger, the definitive team horse racing product, that merges live and digital elements into an exciting entertainment product that is broadcast across multiple platforms, attracting, and engaging a younger, more diverse, and globally connected fan base.   GTH transforms the racing format without losing the essence of the grand traditions of the sport, resulting in a revolutionary and colourful spectator event, where team captains apply innovative strategies to achieve competitive advantage.

Please feel free to contact me should you require any information.

TAKE NOTE REPUTATION MANGEMENT
Dionne Collett C: 082 378 2025 dionne@take-note.co.za	Rory Rieseberg T: 063 760 6352 rory@take-note.co.za

David Thiselton 

The public voting for thus year’s Equus Awards has been opened and the relevant URL is https://equusawards.co.za// .

The awards system was explained last week in detail by two members of the Equus Awards team, Graeme Hawkins and Jay August.

The three components for voting which all carry an equal weight are:

1. A points system based on Graded and Listed race performance.
2. Voting by an expert panel. This panel used to be the sole judge of the awards and will as usual have a panel of five, although the voting system has been slightly changed.
3. A public vote.

The system is based on the Cartier Awards (European Racing Awards) after it was analysed the latter system worked well.

The initial points log keep interest going throughout the season. It is an objective measure because points are accumulated by winning or placing in certain races.

The nominees for the awards were decided by the points system.

An advantage of the points system is that it has “a long memory” and horses who have won at the beginning of the season do not disappear into the mist in the face of more recent winners.

The points system was updated and audited throughout the season.

A “Super Grade 1” race accumulated 48 points for a win and 24, 12 and 6 points for second, third and fourth respectively.

The six “Super Grade 1’s” are the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate, the WSB Met, the Wilgerbosdrift HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes, the TAB Premier’s Champions Challenge, the Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge, the HKJC World Pool Champions Cup.

They were chosen based on them being open weight for age races and for scoring high ratings as races by the Asian Pattern Committee handicappers . They also chose two of these races per region.

The Hollywoodbets Durban July, as well as an open weight for age Grade 1 that is not a super Grade 1, accumulated 40 points for a win and  20, 10 and 5 points for second, third and fourth.  

A Grade 1 open handicap, a Grade 1 age restricted race and a Grade 1 for fillies and mares, earned 32, 16, 8 and 4 points respectively.  

A “super Grade 2” earned 24 for a win and 12 and 6 for second and third respectively, although this past season no races were give super Grade 2 status..

An open wfa + penalties Grade 2  earned 20, 10 and 5.

A Grade 2 open handicap, a Grade 2 age restricted event and a Grade 2 for fillies and mares earned 16, 8 and 4 points respectively.

An open Grade 3 wfa + penalties earned 10, 5 and 3.

All other Grade 3’s earned 8, 4 and 2 points respectively.

A Listed open conditions event earned 6, 3 and 1 points respectively.

A Listed open handicap earned 4, 2 and 1.

A Listed open fillies and mares race earned 3 for a win and 1 for second.

Jet Dark won a super Grade 1 on the last weekend of the season, which saw him passing Captain’s Ransom, who only won a normal open wfa Grade 1.

The points system will always work well in Europe because of the plethora of weight for age events which sees horses competing on level playing fields. The best horses will invariably emerge on top.

Therefore the Cartier system weights the points system at 40% and the other two components only get 30% each.

In South Africa the points system should, and has, worked well for the Horse Of The Year award.

The undoubted two best horses in the country, Jet Dark and Captain’s Ransom, have emerged on top with just four points separating them.

However, there will be the odd case of a skewed points table due to the relative sparsity of weight for age races. 

The staying division in particular lacks a big weight for age race. 

However, in the Equus Awards the points system only gets 33,3% weight, the same as the other components.

The humans of the other two components can right any obvious skewing produced by the points system.    

The weighting system does not mean a horse who wins in two of the components will necessarily win the award because the weighting method could see a low score from the third component pushing that horse down the ladder.

The model decided upon was tested on previous seasons.

This means the learning curve part of the system this year will be the public vote.

The model might thus need some tweaking after this year’s awards.

The expert panel this year consists of Graeme Hawkins, Nico Kritiotis, Ken Nicol, Rouvaun Smit and Deez Dayanand. 

There were just over 3600 public votes for last year’s Cartier Awards and the Equus team is expecting about ten percent of that number here.  

Nominees:

Equus Awards 2022 – Points Tables to 31 July 2022

Horse of the Year	Age	Sex	Pts
JET DARK (SAF)	4	C	152
CAPTAIN’S RANSOM (SAF)	4	F	148
KOMMETDIEDING (SAF)	4	C	108
SPARKLING WATER (SAF)	4	F	107

Champion Three-Year-Old Male	Age	Sex	Pts
SAFE PASSAGE (SAF)	3	G	90
POMP AND POWER (SAF)	3	G	84
ARAGOSTA (SAF)	3	G	52

Champion Three-Year-Old Female	Age	Sex	Pts
RAIN IN HOLLAND (SAF)	3	F	86
CHANSONETTE (SAF)	3	F	72
BIG BURN (SAF)	3	F	64

Champion Older Male	Age	Sex	Pts
JET DARK (SAF)	4	C	152
KOMMETDIEDING (SAF)	4	C	108
MK’S PRIDE (SAF)	4	C	83
ASTRIX (SAF)	5	G	80

Champion Older Female	Age	Sex	Pts
CAPTAIN’S RANSOM (SAF)	4	F	148
SPARKLING WATER (SAF)	4	F	107
PRINCESS CALLA (SAF)	4	F	52

Champion Sprinter	Age	Sex	Pts
CAPTAIN’S RANSOM (SAF)	4	F	72
BIG BURN (SAF)	3	F	46
ALESIAN CHIEF (SAF)	3	C	45
MASTER ARCHIE (SAF)	3	C	40
BOHICA (SAF)	5	G	40

Champion Miler	Age	Sex	Pts
MK’S PRIDE (SAF)	4	C	83
AL MUTHANA (AUS)	4	G	68
JET DARK (SAF)	4	C	60

Champion Middle Distance	Age	Sex	Pts
JET DARK (SAF)	4	C	92
SPARKLING WATER (SAF)	4	F	79
KOMMETDIEDING (SAF)	4	C	72
ASTRIX (SAF)	5	G	66

Champion Stayer	Age	Sex	Pts
BLACK THORN (SAF)	4	G	21
SPARKLING WATER (SAF)	4	F	20
NEBRAAS (SAF)	5	G	20
SHANGANI (SAF)	4	G	18

Champion Two-Year-Old Male	Age	Sex	Pts
COUSIN CASEY (SAF)	2	C	48
THUNDERSTRUCK (SAF)	2	C	32

Champion Two-Year-Old Female	Age	Sex	Pts
CANADIAN SUMMER (SAF)	2	F	32
SWEET PEPPER (SAF)	2	F	32
AMEENA (SAF)	2	F	24

Devonne Govender

The KZN Champion season attracted a number of high-quality equine athletes from all over the country making their way to Hollywoodbets Greyville and Hollywoodbets Scottsville and competing for top prize money as well as feature race status being in the offing.

The Independent on Saturday Drill Hall Stakes (Grade 2) saw a nail-biting finish where the Vaughan Marshall trained Silver Operator swooped through on the inside rail winning narrowly beating Russian Rock on the line under a driving ride from Richard Fourie.

The World Sports Betting Fillies Guineas (Grade 2) was the highlight of the day. The Sean Tarry-trained Under Your Spell powered home to victory in the closing stages and showed her class. At one stage it looked as if she may not get there but once Calvin Habib asked her to quicken, she showed a dazzling turn of speed to the delight of the winning connections and punters.

Zapatillas claimed the World Sports Betting Guineas (Grade 2) for trainer Brett Crawford and jockey Luyolo Mxothwa in another down to the wire finish. It was rather unfortunate for the connections as he was a late scratching from the Hollywoodbets Durban July. He is a talented horse and many look forward to seeing him in action again next season.

The Justin Snaith-trained Do It Again clearly thrives in KZN. He showed his customary turn of foot when winning the WSB 1900 in fine style pulling away from the field. Anton Marcus said “This horse is special”, from the reception he got when he came into the winner’s enclosure. He is a crowd favourite and has done the connections and his supports proud.

Silver Darling landed the Woolavington 2000 (Grade 1) for Justin Snaith and jockey Grant Van Niekerk. She caught the eye in her previous start and cruised into the lead winning convincingly.

The combination of Mike De Kock and jockey Muzi Yeni, who was aboard the talented Safe Passage, smashed the opposition in the Daily News 2000 (Grade 1). He came to KZN with a reputation and showed his class in scintillating style. Stable companion Aragosta ran a cracker finishing third in the big race.

Sean Tarry dominated at Hollywoodbets Scottsville wining both the Allan Robertson Championship (Grade 1) with Sweet Pepper and the Gold Medallion (Grade 1) with Thunderstruck who looks to be super star in the making. Calvin Habib was thrilled with his feature race double and he is certainly becoming a rider to follow.

The star filly Captain’s Ransom showed her rivals a clean pair of heels when winning the South African Fillies Sprint (Grade 1) in superior style with her electric turn of foot, demolishing the opposition into the closing stages with yet again another peach of a ride from Richard Fourie. She went on to win the Mercury Sprint (Grade 1) which was a fantastic race to watch. The manor in which she won just give’s one goosebumps. She beat all of the country’s top sprinters and is sure to be voted Equus Sprinter of the Year.

The Corrie Lensley-trained Alesian Chief reined victorious in the Golden Horse Sprint (Grade 1) getting up to win in the last 100m with a strong ride from Muzi Yeni.

The Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge (Grade 1) attracted a top-quality field of 12 runners and was set to be a thriller. Team De Kock were to fore once again landing gold status by winning the race in fine style. This time Richard Fourie brought home Al Muthana with a perfectly timed run from the back end and glided past them once he found top gear.

All roads let to Hollywoodbets Greyville on the first Saturday of July. With lockdown restrictions being lifted in was amazing to see the crowds back on course not to mention the exciting atmosphere. The entire racecourse was lit up in purple as Hollywoodbets was welcomed as the new sponsor of the “Hollywoodbets Durban July”.

The crowd roared home Ameena in The Zulu Kingdom Golden Slipper (Group 2) for trainer Glen Kotzen and jockey Richard Fourie. She fought off the opposition in a gusty manner and looks to be a very nice filly in the making. It didn’t end there for Kotzen as Cousin Casey romped home in the Durban Golden Horseshoe (Group 2) and went on to win the Premiers Champion Stakes (Group 1) on Marshalls World Of Sport Gold Cup Day.

He is a horse with tons of ability and is definitely a horse to follow during the Cape summer season. Grant van Niekerk spoke highly of him and no doubt he could be one of the top three-year olds come the new season.

Smanga ‘Bling” Khumalo’s name went up lights together with Mike De Kock and owner Mary Slack when Sparkling Water trounced a star-studded field in the Hollywoodbets Durban July (Group 1). She had the run of the race and things just seem to map out for her during the running. When it came to the business end of affairs, she quickened up brilliantly much to the excitement of the approximately 32000 capacity crowd.

Young KZN trainer Gareth Van Zyl claimed the Brentford FC Garden Province Stakes (Group 1) with She’s A Keeper under a top ride from jockey Warren Kennedy. She is a really smart filly and loves Hollywoodbets Greyville. Her trainer and jockey were absolutely delighted with the victory and she looked to be in top nick prior to the race. It was really a memorable race for the connections as she is now off to stud as Warren Kennedy mentioned in his interview “She’s a filly so close to my heart”.

The curtain came down on Champions Season on the last Saturday of July with Marshalls World Of Sport Gold Cup Day. The race programme of events was once again a mouth-watering line up of top quality equine athletes.

Canadian Summer gave trainer Darryl Moore, jockey Jason Gates and owner Preggie Somasundram their first group one winner when she reigned victorius in the Thekwini Stakes (Group 1) winning by a whisker. To see the delight and excitement on the winning connections faces was just something to behold. This is what racing is about and these are moments to savour.

The Marshalls World Of Sport Gold Cup went to the Paul Peter trained Shangani with Warren Kennedy aboard. Kennedy stated, “it was a plan that came together, this was always his mission and we delivered”. It was great to see all the wining connections who were absolutely ecstatic leading Shangani into the winners enclosure.

Jet Dark showed a spectacular turn of foot when winning the HKJC Word Pool Champions Cup (Grade 1) and fought off the challenge from Kommetdieding all the way to the line in one of the races of the season. Jet Dark is a horse with a lot of heart and sheer determination under another world class ride from Richard Fourie who posted his ninth Grade 1 success of the season.

Marina glided passed the opposition in the Gold Bracelet (Grade 1) in fantastic style. At one stage she looked well out of her ground, however once Aldo Domeyer pulled her out, she quickened up extremely well to spread eagled the field for trainer Candice Bass-Robinson.

All in all, it was a fantastic Champions Season for all the sponsors involved as well as the operator Gold Circle and the entire team. Hollywoodbets have done a fine job throughout the season and also managed to get there 100^th winner for the season with the Peter Muscutt trained Isivunguvungu in the last race of the season which was a magnificent achievement. Former jockey Anthony Delpech, who is now Hollywoodbets Racing Manager, was very emotional in the post-race interview with tears of joy.

The curtains have now officially closed and the planning begins for the next as we look forward to another highly successful 2023 Champions Season.

The involvement of the Hong Kong Jockey Club and being able to bet into their World Pool was the icing on the cake for a successful Marshalls World of Sport Gold Cup raceday at Hollywoodbets Greyville last Saturday.

It was without doubt the best racing day on the South African racing calendar and a defining day when it came to the country’s premier racing awards.

The World Pool gave South African punters the opportunity to bet into massive tote pools on local races and added much to the occasion.

“Gold Circle’s turnover on the day more than doubled from last year’s pandemic-hit event which saw limited public attendance on-course and at tote outlets,” said Gold Circle’s CEO Michel Nairac. “Gold Circle looks forward to continuing the fruitful relationship with the Hong Kong Jockey Club and would like to thank them for affording the Gold Cup meeting World Pool status. We will be eternally grateful to the Hong Kong Jockey Club for the assistance they provide to the South African Horseracing industry” he added.

Fenyxx Gaming Consultants, Manging Director Dean Sawarjith, who has been responsible for the simulcast and World Pool initiative into Hong Kong, added,  “the increased liquidity in the tote pools provides punters with the confidence to place their bets on the tote without materially affecting the dividends.

The gross turnover on the nine races simulcast in Hong Kong reached HKD 394,7m a 17% increase on the 2021 meeting, which reinforces the quality of South African racing on the global stage. It was fitting that this meeting achieved the highest turnovers for a World Pool meeting in Hong Kong.”

“The Champion’s Cup meeting turnover was a remarkable effort and truly highlights the universal appeal of World Pool. It has reinforced the brand objectives of promoting the best international racing events and maximising returns to the industry for prize money and other strategic investment benefits.” added  Michael Fitzsimons, Acting Executive Director Customer & International Business Development for the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

The Mercury Sprint was again the top performing race, with turnovers reaching HKD51m

Three of the Grade 1 winners on the day will have cemented their place as the leading contenders in the country’s Equus Awards and the stretch duel between Jet Dark and Kommetdieding in the Gr1 HKJC World Pool Champion Stakes brought a fitting end to a record-breaking South African season with champion trainer Paul Peter breaking the record for the most number of winners in a season.

4Racing and Gold Circle reach interim agreement to air KwaZulu-Natal content on Racing 240

Johannesburg, 2 March 2022

4Racing and Gold Circle would like to advise that they have reached an interim agreement that KwaZulu-Natal racing will be available on Racing 240 with immediate effect.

The parties are committed to continuing their engagements to conclude an equitable and sustainable long-term agreement for a unified broadcast platform, for the benefit of the South African horseracing industry.

For any media inquiries contact Jermaine Craig at JermaineC@4racing.com or on 0832010121.