David Thiselton

The Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas to be run at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday is the focus of SA Racing fans at present and the question is being asked whether the Highveld form or the Cape form will emerge on top.

The Mike and Mathew de Kock-trained Equus Champion colt Jan Van Goyen is the only representative of the Highveld, but he represents the form of the horse many view as the best three-year-old in the country, Trust, who has a devastating turn of foot and he used it to beat Jan Van Goyen in the Gr 2 Jackpot City Dingaans.

Jan Van Goyen arrived in Cape Town on Wednesday and hopefully he travelled well, which is not a given especially with there currently apparently being a lot of roadwork delays. The Dingaans did not pan out well for him as he was kept wide by Trust. It told late in the race as he was unable to match the latter’s late gear change and he also likely needed it as it was his first start since winning the Gr 1 World Pool Moment Of The Day Champion Stakes over 1600m at Hollywoodbets Greyville at the end of July in easy and impressive fashion. Nevertheless, Jan Van Goyen showed a tremendous burst of speed in the Dingaans and this will stand him in good stead in Saturday’s race from a great draw of four. He will have come on from the run and will be out to give the De Kock yard a sixth Cape Guineas victory.

Justin Snaith is going for a fourth Cape Guineas success and Happy Verse could be his best hope. This horse has always oozed class but has not always had the best of luck. He should be cherry ripe to deliver and should be turning it on in the straight.

Gimmie Rules also has a fine turn of foot as he displayed last time when toying with older rivals despite coming around them from last on the Old Course. This full brother to Gimme A Prince and The Real Prince possesses speed and class and should pass his acid test. He will be out to give Dean Kannemeyer a seventh Cape Guineas success and the Kannemeyer yard a tenth as Dean’s father Peter won it three times.

Good For You is a Gr 1 winner over 1200m but showed last time he gets this trip when winning the Gr 2 Race Coast Cape Punters Cup over 1600m. Some say he was lucky to keep the race as he caused interference late, but he was giving the rest of the field 2kg , so should beat them again. Against him is his wide draw, as opposed to draw two in the Punters Cup, and it won’t be easy to get into his front-running or handy position from there.

Vapour Trail will be out to give Vaughan Marshall a seventh Cape Guineas success and he will be out to repeat the feat of his half-brother One Stripe, who won it last year. He is not as good as One Stripe, but is on the up and can prove the mile is no problem for him.

Randolph Hearst was the narrow runner up in the Punters Cup when running on strongly and he could be a contender here as he is improving.

Aristocratic never really saw daylight in the Punters Cup and was beaten 3,35 lengths but he has given the impression that if having the room to unwind he could produce a powerful finish, so he can’t be ignored from draw six with the good tactician Muzi Yeni up.

Roland Garros has beaten Randolph Hearst over 1500m before and is not out of it under Andrew Fortune, although he has a tricky draw of nine.

Beware is well out at the weights but has caught the eye as one capable of making the step up to this class, but he does have a tough draw.

Star Major is held in good regard and was not disgraced in the Punters Cup, beaten 2,45 lengths into fifth, but he has a tricky draw again.

Pay The Palace plugged on into third in the Punters Cup and could earn again.

Absolutely Yes could be dangerous from a good draw as he is effective when things go his way in the front.

Aversator looks held but could help ensure a good pace.

Malmesbury Missile disappointed last time over 1200m and does look well held by Jan Van Goyen, but he is drawn in pole and has the ability to earn a cheque.

Fox On The Run is well regarded and can do better than he did in the Punters Cup, but he does have the widest draw of all.

Jan Van Goyen faces a tough task, considering the Dingaans was just two weeks ago, but he looks to possess a tremendous amount of class and he is taken to beat Happy Verse with Gimmie Rules, Good For You and Vapour Trail next best.

South African Quartet Pools with fractional betting offered at Chelmsford City and Newcastle (UK) – 11 December 2025.

 

Soccer10 Friday 12 December 2025. ADD-IN R200 000. Estimated Pool: R2 Million. Pool Closes at 21h00.Sport 8 and Pool 1.

Soccer6 Saturday 13 December 2025. ADD-IN R100 000. Estimated Pool: R600 000. Pool Closes at 17h00.Sport 3 and Pool 2.

Soccer10 Saturday 13 December 2025. ADD-IN R200 000. Estimated Pool: R2 Million. Pool Closes at 14h30.Sport 12 and Pool 1.

Soccer Any 13Xtra Saturday 13 December 2025. C/Over: R100 000. Estimated Pool: R500 000. Pool Closes at 15h00. Sport 13 and Pool 1

Soccer SCORES C/Over: R 99 911. Saturday 13 December 2025. Pool Closes at 15h00. Sport 73.

Soccer CORNERS C/Over: R 7 479. Saturday 13 December 2025. Pool Closes at 16h30. Sport 74.

David Thiselton

The small yard of Tienie Prinsloo triumphed in the Gr 1 WSB Cape Guineas with Vercingetorix filly Quickstepgal and it was a triumph too for the Wernars family and Harry Willson, who made the astute decision to buy her in training with the help of bloodstock agent Justin Vermaak.

Jockey Gavin Lerena’s strategy played a big part in the victory.

He said, “I always had it in mind to go to the front, but then I was hearing there were a couple of pacemakers in. I was quite happy to go forward to be in behind the pacemakers, but they didn’t come, so I was pretty happy to alone in the lead. She has got such a good action it would have been detrimental to have her in behind a slow pace and not using her action. As long as she was using her stride I was happy, whether it was in behind a fast pace or the pace I was at. She was very sensible in front, her ears came up very soon. She was just free-wheeling, she enjoyed it, she absolutely cruised around the course. From halfway around the turn I thought it was going to take a good one to beat me. She had cruised around so easily that I wanted the others to come off the bit early so I gave her a squeeze at the top of the straight. She lengthened beautifully and I felt I still had a lot of horse in hand, so if they were going to come at me, she was going to give me another kick.”

Lerena said Stormwatch had begun challenging, but he kept his mount in the hands until the 300m and then squeezed her again.

He said she responded superbly.

It was virtually race over at that point as she kicked away.

However, Reet Petite did produce a tremendous turn of foot when given a smack by Richard Fourie and Quickstepgal’s supporters had to hold their breaths again.

However, when Lerena gave her a smack at the 150m mark she found the necessary extra to keep the big-actioned Reet Petite at bay by three-quarters of a length.

James Crawford is trainer of Reet Petite and Crawford Racing were narrowly denied a win in the Gr 1 Classic for the second year in succession and for the third time in the last four years.

It was a first win of the Cape Fillies Guineas for Gavin and there can not be many Gr 1s around the country now that he has not won.

It was a first Gr 1 win for Tienie Prinsloo, who used to train in the backwater centre of Kimberley and he currently only has 13 horses in his yard.

Wish List ran on well from near the back of the field for a two length third.

She had sat behind Gr 2 Western Cape Fillies Championship winner Princess Of Gaul in the running and overtook the latter late in the race.

Princess Of Gaul ran on well initially, but appeared to not quite see it out and was beaten 2,50 lengths with Lowveld Lily 0,30 lengths further back in fifth.

The race was a nightmare for the hot favourite Golden Palm, the East Cape Equus Champion raider from the Alan Greeff yard.

She came out of stall seven hesitantly and and after the pack had been shuffled she ended up on the rail in midfield. With Quickstepgal dictating in front, and with there being just a narrow 1,5m false rail, she looked up against it from a long way out. However, it was not all down to luck in running. When she switched outward in the straight her usual kick was just not there. She took a long while to pick up, but did manage to do some good work late and finished a 3,80 length sixth. Time will tell whether she can bounce back. This was a filly being touted for superstardom and she started at odds of 91/100. Her next start will tell whether the bubble has burst. It must be remembered that a former East Cape star, Bold Silvano, bounced back from an unplaced run in the Cape Derby to win the July.

Gavin said in the winner’s enclosure that himself and Tienie had gone back a long way and he recalled being given some rides by him in Kimberley when  chasing the championship ten years ago and he said he had always called upon him along the way during his career.

He added, “It means so much to me to ride a Gr 1 winner for him. He’s always been a great trainer. He’s come from humble beginnings and it’s never been easy for him, but he keeps showing up and I am so elated he has got this Gr 1.”

He also thanked caretaker trainer in Cape Town, Eric Sands, and also the deserving owners, the Wernars family and Harry Willson.

Tienie said Quickstepgal had always quickened from the front and she knew she would have no problem with the 1600m trip. He said he could see Richard Fourie was off the bridle on Reet Petite after Quickstepgal had given her kick and “then I said there you go that’s our race!”

It was a double triumph for KZN-trained horses because the Gr 3 WSB Southern Cross Stakes was won by the Hollywood Racing-owned What A Winter mare Asiye Phambile, who thus retained her crown under Sean Veale. Lucinda Woodruff is her current trainer, but her home is Duncan Howells’ Summerveld yard and she will return to him after the Cape Summer season.

The Listed WSB Cape Prive Summer Stayers over 2500m saw a courageous victory for the Glen Kotzen-trained Holding Thumbs, who just got up by the narrowest of margins under Chad Little. The Vercingetorix gelding started at 16/1 as he was giving the runner up and favourite Ahead Of The Facts a whopping 11kg.

The phenomenal Vercingetorix had three winners on the day, two of them for the Kotzen/Little combination.

Gavin Lerena was booked off for yesterday’s meeting at Turffontein after an incident in the parade ring before the first which caused whiplash and a neck spasm, but he was treated and will be back for his next scheduled meeting.

Andrew Harrison

It was a big weekend for apprentice Damyan Pillay. Announced as Head Boy of the South African Jockey Academy at their year-end awards ceremony at the Summerveld Clubhouse on Friday morning, he rode out his 4kg claim just a few hours later. Riding a superbly judged race on Soho Star for Yogas Govender he scored the 20^th win of his fledgling career in the Middle Stakes that headed the card at Hollywoodbets Greyville.

The form was there to see, Soho Star finishing a close-up third to Gr1 winning Gladatorian, but a wide draw was always at the back of many punters minds. However, Pillay managed to navigate a handy position as Tara Star set sail from the jump.

For a long way up the straight and barely moving a muscle, Pillay looked to be ‘no good’, as the saying goes, but once he put his foot on the gas 250m out, Soho Star accelerated in a matter of strides with the apprentice timing the gelding’s run to perfection to get the better of Magic Surprise.

Ladyofdistinction has always shown a touch of class as her name and six-figure purchase price suggested and she ran out a smart if narrow winner of the Progress Plate for fillies in the second.

Michael Roberts has always held the filly in high regard and she showed plenty of intestinal fortitude to get up and touch off a game Sonata Samaritan, a nose separating them at the line.

It was not all plane sailing for the winner as Rachel Venniker had to steer the filly through a narrow gap before going on to tackle Sonata Samaritan. The two fought a nose-to-nose battle over the final 50 m with Ladyofdistinction getting her nose down to snatch it on the line.

Double Causeway touched 7-10 in the first race on the card before drifting late and crossing the subway the drift appeared to be significant with Callan Murray hard at work. However, Gareth van Zyl’s charge gradually got it all together and eventually got to the line with some to spare over Good Omen and Hammerhead who came from near last to finish a close-up third.

Salani Kahle built on a solid debut effort when putting the opposition to the sword in the opening leg of the Place Accumulator. Well supported in the betting, Sean Veale started to scrub away on the turn, making up ground to hit the top of the straight in touch with the leaders. From there on it was a matter of how far as Salani Kahle said good bye under hands and heels to win by the best part of six lengths with Intro finishing best of the balance.

Four rides back from an aborted stint in Hong Kong and former Champion Jockey Keagan de Melo was back in the winner’s box as he got Alyson Wright’s diminutive gelding King Bavarian home in a finish worthy of a Hong Kong scramble. Always travelling comfortably in the D Stakes over 1800m, De Melo showed his Hong Kong experience as he pulled off the rail for a clear run at the line. He only made his move just over a furlong out with Councillor chasing hard and Power Star refusing to throw in the towel. It was touch-and-go at the wire but King Bavarian just had his nose in front to deny Power Star with Councillor a neck back in third.