The early money has been for Thomas Henry in the first two-year-old race of the Cape season at Kenilworth on Saturday. Glen Kotzen has booked Aldo Domeyer (who called off his rides yesterday) for the R580 000 purchase, a Querari half-brother to the good sprinter Dutch Philip, and this colt was quickly supported from 16-10 to 13-10 favourite

The Justin Snaith-trained Stuck On You originally headed the market but has drifted from 12-10 to 16-10. Richard Fourie’s mount is one of three fillies taking on the colts and the daughter of What A Winter is out of a half-sister to Champions Cup winner African Appeal. Greg Ennion’s Lady Catherine (Corne Orffer) has been nibbled at from 6-1 to 11-2 while stable companion Star Captain (Sean Veale) has come in from 11-1 to 8-1. You can get 12-1 and upwards about the other three runners.

Saturday’s fixture is the Western Cape Equine Trust meeting that raises funds for the rehoming of ex-racehorses. According to NHA statistics there are nearly 5 000 horses in training in South Africa at any one time. Some 1 200-plus are retired each year and, except for all but a select and ultra-talented few, the male 50% of the leavers have to be found a new life outside racing.

There have been some horrific stories of well known names reduced to little more than skin and bone, and in some cases abandoned altogether, but under the recently-introduced Rule 41.10 the owner remains responsible for the care and welfare of his or her horse for the rest of its life unless it is transferred to an approved rehoming facility like that of the WCET’s retraining operation at Polkadraai between Stellenbosch and the N2.

It takes two months to turn a racehorse into a riding horse and, even though some of the input comes from voluntary help, it costs money so sponsors have come forward to back Saturday’s races and raise further funds from the sale of stallion nominations (Captain Of All, Pomodoro and Coup De Grace are among those coming under the hammer in the Peninsula Room on Saturday), lunch and raffle tickets.

By Michael Clower

The Grade 2 WSB Ipi Tombe Challenge will be possibly the classiest race at Turffontein Standside on Saturday and it looks ultra competitive.

The Frank Robinson-trained Roy’s Riviera looks to be the value in the race. She is full of class and her fine turn of foot coupled with her sustained finish makes her ideally suited to the Turffontein Standside course. However, she unfortunately has a wide draw to overcome so Bernard Fayd’Herbe, who won a feature on her over 2000m in May, will have to be at his best to find some cover for her. If he manages to do that she has a chance as she is versatile and will be effective over this tough mile. Proof of how good her odds are is that she was just 0,40 lengths Vistula in the weight for age Grade 1 Garden Province Stakes over this trip at Greyville and now receives 1kg from the latter. Vistula has been priced up here as 22/10 favourite and Roy’s Riviera is way out at 22/1.

Vistula has come into her own this season as one would expect from a daughter of Ideal World. She has plenty of class and has a fair draw of seven. She might be at her best over 1400m, but she has won twice over this trip. In the Garden Province she had to do the donkey work out in front and ran out of steam in the latter stages. She will likely attempt to find a handy position this time and Warren Kennedy has become an expert in placing horses in the running.

In The Dance has a turn of foot to match her half-brother Capetown Noir’s and she wasn’t disgraced in her first attempt at this trip in the Charity Mile when a 7,25 length sixth to Barahin in heavy going. The weather forecast suggests the ground will be a lot faster on Saturday and she should be a big player.

Mill Queen is one of three classy three-year-olds in the race. She won the Grade 3 Starling Stakes over 1400m last time despite having had an interrupted preparation. She is described by her yard as immature, so will be improving all the time both physically and mentally and will strip fitter than last time. She has a plum draw and proved at the end of last season when a narrow second to the Equus two-year-old champion filly Gabor in the Grade 1 Thekwini that she enjoys this trip.

Wisteria Walk is a long-striding daughter of boom sire Vercingetorix who went down by just 0,30 lengths to Mill Queen in the Starling despite having to round horses from draw 14 of 14 in order to get to the lead. She should enjoy this step up in trip and with an easier passage than last time will be a big runner.

Snow Palace was well beaten by Mill Queen in the Starling but proved she is better than that with a good win over this trip last time. She led on that occasion and from a low draw here could attempt to do the same.  

Ronnie’s Candy has always possessed plenty of class and her three runs since an epistaxis suspension last March have been good enough to suggest she can produce her best here. She has an exceptional turn of foot but can race a bit strongly if not finding cover, so Luke Ferraris will have his work cut out from draw nine. 

Running Brave often slips under the radar despite her feature race consistency. She was thought by most to be best from 1400m to 1600m before winning the Grade 2 Gold Bracelet over 2000m under a fine front-running ride by Muzi Yeni on Gold Cup day. She could use the same tactics on this galloping course but on the downside she has not raced since the Gold Bracelet and she has a wide draw. 

Schippers is the highest rated horse in the race but has gained that rating from sprints and looks well held by Vistula on the grounds of her last two starts over 1400m and 1450m respectively.

Perfect Tigress is 1kg better off with Vistula for a 1,50 length beating over 1450m and has won up to 1800m so is an interesting contender here. There is a reversal in draw fortunes with Vistula that is not in her favour but she does have a good turn of foot and a sustained finish. She was well beaten by Roy’s Riviera in heavy going last time over 1800m but she was perhaps too handy and with the fine judge of pace Callan Murray now aboard she has a shout.

Chitengo is a progressive sort who should come into her own this season and she comes off a good second to the champion filly Celtic Sea in a 1400m event. She has won over course and distance and has a plum draw with Gavin Lerena aboard, so is yet another one who can’t be ignored. 

Pretty Border has run some gallant races against the best and beat Ronnie’s Candy over this trip at level weights when they last met. However, the latter was returning from her epistaxis suspension then and might have needed it.

By David Thiselton

Kilindini can book his Guineas ticket by winning the Cape Town Summer Of Champions Handicap at Kenilworth today.

Corne Orffer’s mount is on a hat-trick after winning a Durbanville maiden and readily following up in a handicap at the first time of asking. The way he came away in the closing stages last time suggests he will relish this extra furlong and that a five-point increase in the ratings is unlikely to stop him.

He was fractionally odds-on yesterday, with the bookmakers and the form book both suggesting that the danger is likely to come from Beach Beauty’s small son Wild Coast (33-10). Richard Fourie’s mount was beaten just under a length when third to Super Silvano (9-2 here) over this course and distance 18 days ago and should be able to reverse the placings on 2kg better terms.

Fourie is favourite at 13-10 to take the opener on Warrior Tiger for Piet Botha and this gelding, unusually for a maiden, has already run in a handicap and in a Listed race. “He is one of the hardest horses to work with that I have ever come across and I ran him in those races to keep him fit,” explains Piet Botha. “But I think he has a big chance here.”

Indeed he does and on the book he should win. Loyalty rather than logic – plus a wish to avoid that sickening feeling when he wins and I have finally gone against him – makes me tip our old (and rather expensive) friend Al Bragga instead. Last time he led, was headed at the 200m marker and fought back but then didn’t seem to realise he was expected to go on again. He was only beaten a neck and Mike Stewart’s post-race verdict was that he needed more racing.

The bookies are still a bit wary and are quoting him at 33-10 but Aldo Domeyer, now really putting his Hong Kong experience to profitable use, saw enough to make him ring for the ride and he has ridden work on the horse.

Also worth noting in this race is 7-1 newcomer Hello Tomorrow, not least because the Dynasty filly is a Ridgemont horse. “She is quite speedy, a little bit temperamental but not without a chance,” says Eric Sands. “I would have preferred to start her in a fillies race but there was no suitable maiden.”

Whatever his fortunes with that one, Sands should take the Tabonline.co.za Maiden (race three) with Still Tappin in the same colours. Greg Cheyne’s mount is 28-10 favourite, was only a short head behind the much more experienced Retail Therapy (4-1) on debut and that run alone suggests she will reverse the form. A bigger danger is probably 7-2 shot The Vow who was nearly two lengths behind the selection four weeks ago and lost at least that at the start.

By Michael Clower

Mike de Kock has a fine chance of ending his longest ever drought in the Grade 1 Gauteng Chris Gerber Summer Cup on Saturday as his powerful team of five includes the first four in the betting.

De Kock will be attempting to land his tenth Summer Cup, but hasn’t won it since 2010.

Half of the 20 runners in Saturday’s 2000m event on Turffontein Standside are under sufferance, so this will make topweight Soqrat’s task a touch easier.

This De Kock-trained Australian-bred is the ultimate professional and can be easily switched on and off. He should therefore have a chance of finding cover from a wide draw of 14, especially with Anton Marcus up, but if he doesn’t it won’t be a train smash as he is likely to relax anyway. 

His best wins have been over a mile, although he should stay the trip. 

Stablemate Barahin, who carries 59kg, has a good draw of eight and will relish this course and distance as one with a resolute finish who can come from a handy position or from off the pace. He impressed with a going away victory in the Grade 2 Peermont Emperor’s Palace Charity Mile last time carrying 58,5kg with second time blinkers on. He was given a nine point raise but is progressive. He did enjoy the testing going in that last win and will have to contend with faster going on Saturday according to the weather forecast.

The third topweight Infamous Fox carries only 53,5kg. He has a fine turn of foot but will need to be ridden cold as he has a stamina doubt and his best form is also on tighter tracks. 

Camphoratus won the Grade 1 Empress Club Stakes over a mile here last year and proved she stays this rip with a fine sixth in the Vodacom Durban July. She needed her comeback run at Greyville badly and was well below her best in the Charity Mile too. She should be cherry ripe, but does have a tough draw to overcome. She is likely to be left alone, but she is capable of making up ground with her lovely, big action.  

Last year’s winner Tilbury Fort carries 53kg and has a plum draw of three. He is effectively four points higher in the merit ratings than he was last year. He doesn’t take much racing to reach his peak, so will improve on his seven length fifth in the Charity Mile, especially as he is 4kg better off with Barahin. 

The big De Kock-trained mare Cascapedia finished a 0,80 length third in this race last year and not only has the same draw but is effectively two points lower in the merit ratings. She comes off a staying on third in the Charity Mile and these days should enjoy the step up in trip. 

Divine Odyssey is a big striding horse who should be cherry ripe. His sustained finish coupled with his weight of just 52,5kg make him one of the chief threats to a De Kock win.

Atyaab scrapes into the handicap with the minimum weight of 52kg but is the least fancied of De Kock’s charges. He won a weak renewal of the Cape Derby last season over this trip and judged on his last run might prefer further now.

Dawn Assault is a courageous horse who finished a 0,60 length second last year after being used up to get to the front from a wide draw and then having no cover. He is effectively only one point higher in the merit ratings this year and sneaks into the handicap with the minimum weight. He does have another wide draw, although last year’s rider Karl Zechner is back aboard. This galloping type can be ignored at one’s peril.

Marchingontogether is a classy type who finished third in last year’s SA Derby. He has improved since gelding and is only half-a-kilogram under sufferance. He has been targeted at this race and the blinkers are off after a disappointing run in the Charity Mile. He has a good draw and is another one capable of winning. 

Roy Had Enough sneaks into the handicap with the minimum weight and off a mark effectively three points lower than last year has a chance from a good draw. He is course and distance suited and has a plum draw on the back of a perfect preparation.

Zillzaal, who is 1,5kg under sufferance, disappointed last time in the Charity Mile after a good first run as a gelding. He has been running handy without success for some time so might be tried from off the pace considering he stayed on well in last year’s Gauteng Guineas. 

Queen Supreme is officially 4,5kg under sufferance but looks to be full of class and could still be anything. She has in-form Callam Murray aboard and this lovely-actioned filly will have many supporters over an ideal course and distance. 

Green Haze is 5kg under sufferance and will have to improve considerably on his staying on 2,25 length second in the Victory Moon.

Shenanigans is 4,5kg under sufferance but will be cherry ripe and from pole position is capable of running on into the money. 

Bize is 5,5kg under sufferance and this is tough although she has class and will be staying on from a high draw.

Flying Wonder is 5,5kg under sufferance but might improve over this trip having stayed on well for third from way back in the Charity Mile. 

Sunshine Silk is 5,5kg under sufferance and has a tough task from a high draw, although she is capable of staying on well.

Al Mutakawel is officially 7kg under sufferance but he has not had much opportunity to prove himself and this full-brother to SA Derby winner Al Sahem could do well from a plum draw as he has a sustained finish and will relish the course and distance. 

By David Thiselton

SUPREME COURT OF APPEAL OF SOUTH AFRICA MEDIA SUMMARY – JUDGMENT DELIVERED IN THE SUPREME COURT OF APPEAL

FROM The Registrar, Supreme Court of Appeal
DATE 25 November 2019
STATUS Immediate

Please note that the media summary is intended for the benefit of the media and does not form part of the judgment of the Supreme Court of Appeal.

Tellytrack v Marshalls World of Sport (Pty) Ltd & others (971/2018) [2019] ZASCA 153.

Today the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) upheld an appeal against an order of the KwaZulu-Natal Division of the High Court, Durban. The appeal was lodged by Tellytrack, a partnership between Phumelela Gaming and Leisure Limited, Gold Circle (Pty) Ltd and Kenilworth Racing (Pty) Ltd. In the court below, as in the SCA, Tellytrack claimed that Marshalls World of Sport (Pty) Ltd and six other respondents, who all run bookmakers businesses, infringed Tellytrack’s copyright in cinematograph films by allowing the viewing by the public at their places of business live national and international horse racing events, on Tellytrack’s DSTV channel 239.

In denying infringement of copyright, the respondents submitted that what was being shown on the Tellytrack channel was not a cinematograph film, but a broadcast. The respondents further contended that the images shown on channel 239 were not fixated or stored, inter alia, on film or any other material of data, and therefore did not satisfy the definition of a cinematograph film in terms of s 1 of the Copyright Act 98 of 1978. They contended that what Tellytrack was displaying on its channel, was a live broadcast, which had not been stored.

In determining whether what Tellytrack was displaying on its channel was a cinematograph film, the court considered the work done by Tellytrack’s employees before the live races were viewed by the public on channel 239. It found that the images from the race events were recorded on more than one occasion to allow for the adding of enhancements like audio and graphics.

The court found that what the bookmakers allowed the public to view at its business premises on the Tellytrack channel were:

‘[A] sequence of images seen as a moving picture constituting in the main horse racing events. Those images and others, including those of studio interviews and the overlay of all the items imposed by way of the computer program, have indisputably been reduced to material form by way of the recordings on the aforesaid occasions. First, in relation to domestic races, two recordings were made at the OB van, second at the Tellytrack control room. In respect of international races, the recording is made of the complete product, including enhancements, at the Tellytrack control room. What is seen on channel 239 is what has already been recorded and stored at the OB van and the Tellytrack control room. At the time that a race event is seen on channel 239 is has already been recorded and stored. . . .’

The SCA found that there had been an infringement of copyright and the appeal was cosequently upheld with costs, including the costs consequent upon the employment of two counsel and the order of the court below was set and substituted with an appropriate order.