Winter Chill made a tardy start to her racing career when sent out a short-priced favourite on debut, blowing the start and finding one better on the day. Ant Mgudlwa is unlikely to let the colt make the same mistake twice and he rates the one to beat in the card opener at Hollywoodbets Scottsville today.

Winter Chill came out of the pens sideways and couldn’t quite get to terms with eventual favourite Candle Cove. Garth Puller’s charge caught the eye in his barrier trial, beating subsequent feature-placed Maiden’s Prayer and he was as short as 11-10 on the books yesterday ahead of the Johan Janse van Vuuren’s debutant Duke Of York.

Puller has strong hands in the first three races where he saddles the ante-post favourites. Miss Charlotte is as short as 17-10 for the Track & Ball Gaming Maiden after her close-up third to Montreal Mist on the Greyville poly. All of her best runs have been on the synthetic track and better value could lie with 5-1 shot Lady Caroline Lamb.

She has her first outing for Gavin van Zyl, after his son Chesney pulled up his stake and moved to Australia, but there was no shortage of support on debut as she started as short as 33-10.

She finished with just one behind her and was the subject of a vet’s examination, but she was just six lengths back to the useful looking Mary O.

The stable is in form as is jockey Warren Kennedy, and Lady Caroline Lamb could be worth a nibble.

Puller saddles even money chance Bay Tibbs in the third and he could be the best bet as a Pick 6 banker for the afternoon. The Bold Silvano colt had his first outing for Ormond Ferraris when friendless in the betting and with Ferraris handing in his trainer’s brief, the colt was moved to Puller He made marked improvement on his debut, coming from well back to finish second to Master Of Fire. With a good draw and an extra furlong, which should suit judged on his pedigree, he could prove more than a match for 2-1 second favourite Al Jazeera.

Kennedy and Van Zyl team up again in the fourth where Zerina has been supported in from an opening call of 1-1 to 7-10 favourite. However, Louis Goosen could have other ideas as he saddles Linnger Longer. The five-year-old has been winless in 22 starts but her last four outings have come against winners, her best recent effort when beaten less than a length by Flaming Desire over course and distance. She could finally get it right today and 7-1 in this line-up looks faire odds.

KZN champion trainer Dennis Drier could help out in the next two heats. He saddles first and second favourites in the fifth, stable rider Sean Veale presumably on the more fancied of the two. Escape Club is a lightly raced five-year-old but has won four of her six starts. She showed up well in her barrier trial, her first trot on a racecourse since November last year, but taking her fitness on trust, she could prove difficult to beat.

Drier goes one better in the sixth where he saddles the first three in the ante-post market, and again Veale appears to be on the ‘right’ one in 16-10 favourite In The Stars. She made a winning return from the Cape, stretching away in the finish to beat Cherry Pop by an extending four lengths and she has beaten stable companion and second favourite Dieci in the past.

The seventh has a wide open look about it with Roy’s Stingray favourite at 28-10 with a further four horses quoted at 5-1 and shorter.

Liquid Irish finally shed her maiden after a string of runner-up berths, and finished second again in her first start in handicap company. Wendy Whitehead’s filly is an 11-10 chance today and was caught late over a mile on the Greyville poly in that outing. Today’s 1400m should be right up her alley.

By Andrew Harrison

Gavin van Zyl clinched his eighth Grade 1 win on eLan Gold Cup day with the Kingsbarns filly Gabor and is now tentatively targeting the Drakenstein Stud homebred at the Grade 1 WSB Cape Fillies Guineas.

Van Zyl earned small black type with Gabor’s mother Se Agabor, who was by Trippi, and Drakenstein’s loyalty in sending Gabor to him has paid off.

Van Zyl said he and jockey Warren Kennedy knew Gabor was decent after her maiden win over 1000m on the Greyville polytrack on May 29 and this was confirmed when she ran third in the Grade 2 Zulu Kingdom Explorer Golden Slipper over 1400m on Vodacom Durban July day.

Kennedy went into the latter race saying he would have definitely predicted a top three finish for her if it had not been for her wide draw and it was indeed the draw which was her undoing. She was caught wide and yet still stayed on for a fine 2,20 length third.

On Gold Cup day she landed a good draw in the Grade 1 Thekwini over 1600m and duly started favourite.

During the race she had her heels clipped which took off a hind shoe and nicked her coronet band and she also twisted a front shoe.

Yet she still managed to dig down deep to catch the leader Mill Queen and win going away.

“It was a win full of courage,” said Van Zyl, who now knows she is better than just “decent.” 

He added, “Se Agabor wasn’t a champion, she was just decent, but the combination with Kingsbarns has worked. I am glad I have another Kingsbarns in the yard too and we are also very excited about him.”

The other Kingsbarns he was referring to was the gelding Walnut, who finished fourth on debut over 1000m on the Greyville poly on May 1.

Unfortunately Kingsbarns, who won the Grade 1 Racing Post Trophy for two-year-olds in England, passed away in May 2018.

Van Zyl said he would likely use the Grade 2 Western Cape Fillies Championship over 1400m at Kenilworth in late October as Gabor’s springboard into the Cape Fillies Guineas.

His yard have started this season where they left off last and have had three winners with just four runners.

They have feature race hopes too.

He said the Grade 1 Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion third-placed Wave had not stayed the mile on Gold Cup day and would be kept to shorter.

The Grade 1 SA Derby third-placed Marchingontogether is a scopey sort who should come in to his own this season and they are expecting a decent campaign from the like of Blackball.

They also have a number of promising youngsters to look forward to.

By David Thiselton

The processes pertaining to jockey suspensions came under scrutiny last week at the conclusion of the South African Jockeys championship and there was criticism from various quarters about a rider’s ability to use these processes to delay a pending suspension.

However, a closer look at our National Horseracing Authority’s system compared to others around the world shows it is like comparing apples to pears and, furthermore, it is not unusual in other parts of the world for cases pertaining to riding fouls to be dragged out for a long time.

Anthony Delpech revealed over the weekend a case of his in Hong Kong involving a serious charge was dragged out for three months.

There has been criticism out here for inconsistencies in the time it takes for an appeal board to sit from case to case.

However, Delpech said when he was riding in Hong Kong the date on which an appeal board sat was dependent on the availability of both representative lawyers. i.e. it was subject to the same delays which happen in South Africa and there was no consistency from case to case. 

It should also be pointed out Lyle Hewitson initially pleaded guilty to the charge of a contravention of Rule 62.2.3 in April.

This arose on 12 April 2019 at Fairview Racecourse, he failed to ride Believethisbeauty out to the end of Race 8, thereby prejudicing his chances of obtaining 3rd position.

However, he appealed the severity of the 14 day sentence and it is this process which did not reach its conclusion before the end of the season.

Likewise, S’Manga Khumalo’s pending 60 day suspension in 2014 stretched even beyond the appeal board process when he took it to the high court.

In Hong Kong the initial inquiry is held on the same day as the race, which speeds the process up.

Over here it is usually only done the following week, but it must be remembered that in Hong Kong all jockeys not only live in Hong Kong but also live in the same apartment block compared to here where a number of them fly in from other cities.

In South Africa after an inquiry the jockey may opt for the Inquiry transcript to be considered by the Inquiry Review Board, that meets from “time to time”.

In Britain the “Disciplinary Panel” sits regularly. It holds inquiries under the Rules of Racing and, where appropriate, imposes penalties where breaches of the Rules have been committed and hears appeals from Stewards’ decisions, A number of cases are done in one sitting. However, it should be seen in the light of there being numerous racemeetings every day in Britain, meaning a number of misdemeanours will happen every week.

In South Africa, with just one or two meetings per day, there could be a week where there are no misdemeanours at all, so it would therefore not be economically viable to have such a panel sitting at regular intervals.

Jockeys are entitled to use the system to their advantage and it would seem the ability to delay pending suspensions in South Africa will continue to be part of the riding playing field.

By David Thiselton

The Equus Awards voting panel submitted their final selections following the Greyville meeting on 27 July 2019.

The voting panel comprised of Matthew Lips, Alistair Cohen, Lennon Maharaj, David Thiselton and RA chairman Larry Wainstein as non-voting chairperson.

The panel submitted their first round of nominations after Vodacom Durban July Day and voting for the finalists took place after the Gold Cup race meeting.

The categories and finalists are:

Champion Two-year-old Colt – distance immaterial: Eden Roc, Got The Greenlight

Champion Two-year-old Filly – distance immaterial: Gabor, Miss Florida

Champion Three-year-old Colt – distance immaterial: Chimichuri Run, Hawwaam, Soqrat (AUS)

Champion Three-year-old Filly – distance immaterial: Celtic Sea, Clouds Unfold, Front And Centre, Return Flight, Silvano’s Pride

Champion Older Male – distance immaterial: Do It Again, Kasimir, Pacific Trader, Rainbow Bridge

Champion Older Filly/Mare – distance immaterial: Camphoratus, Oh Susanna (AUS)

Champion Sprinter – (1000 – 1200m; age/gender immaterial): Celtic Sea, Chimichuri Run, Kasimir, Pacific Trader

Champion Miler – (1400 – 1600; age/gender immaterial): Celtic Sea, Do It Again, Soqrat (AUS)

Champion Middle Distance – (1800 – 2200; age/gender immaterial): Do It Again, Hawwaam, Rainbow Bridge

Champion Stayer – (2400 and up; age/gender immaterial): Dynasty’s Blossom, Magnificent Seven, Return Flight, Samurai Warrior, Walter Smoothie

Voting Criteria

The awards are based on graded races and in particular Grade 1 races. As regards the stayer category, the winning horse will be at the discretion of the voting panel. This decision was taken as the only Grade 1 race in SA is the SA Derby, which would mean that this should be the obvious winner based on a single run. This would also have excluded fillies and mares.

Breeder Awards:

Stallion of the Year
Broodmare of the Year
Breeder of the Year

The Thoroughbred Breeders Association may include outstanding and/or international achievement awards.

Individual Awards:

Champion Apprentice
Champion Jockey
Champion Owner (based on stakes earned)
Champion Trainer (based on stakes earned)

Horse of the Year Award

The awards are a glittering black-tie gala event that takes place at the Convention Centre at Emperor’s Palace on Tuesday, 13 August. Clyde Basel will be the master of ceremonies for the evening and guests will be treated to an array of entertainment. There will also be an after party at the same venue.

A limited number of seats are available, the cost is R650 per person, should you wish to book, please contact Penny Morsner on (011) 683-3220.

Rainbow Bridge will have a different early campaign this season as Eric Sands gears the Sun Met and WSB Champions Cup winner towards achieving owner Mike Rattray’ lifetime ambition of winning the Vodacom Durban July.

Sands said: “Last season he wasn’t guaranteed to get a run in some of the big races so I had to put him in things like the Matchem and the Cape Mile. This time I would like to go 1 200, 1 600m and 2 000m although there is no obvious 1 200m race for him – he would have a very big weight in the Cape Merchants.”

Rainbow Bridge’s performance in beating Soqrat just under half a length in the Champions Cup was apparently better than it looked as Sands reported: “Richard Fourie’s saddle slipped over the side of the horse’s withers and as a result he couldn’t ride him out properly.”

Now Rainbow Bridge is back with Julia Pilbeam enjoying a working holiday on the Soetendal Estate near Wellington. “He enjoys three meals a day, trots in the mornings and spends the rest of each day in a paddock where he gallops around giving himself a fair workout. He will be there for at least a month.”

“What am I going to do with him? Maybe the handicappers can help,” was Justin Snaith’s reply when asked when General Franco is going to run.

This is the Frankel colt who looked a potential superstar when winning on debut in mid-April only to finish plumb last when odds-on for his only subsequent start the following month; slightly sore shins was the only plausible reason to emerge.

The root of Snaith’s present quandary is that the handicappers have given the colt a rating of 102 (97 under the old system plus the August 1 all-round five point increase), a mark which he considers far too high.

“Just have a look at what he beat (only two of the ten that finished behind him have won since) – they have handicapped him on reputation and on what appeared in the papers. I can’t run him in a handicap off that mark – it would break his spirit.”

By Michael Clower