Bela-Bela will end her great racing career in the World Sports Betting Champions Cup at Greyville on Saturday week.

Bela-Bela VDJ 2017 (Nkosi Hlophe)`

Owners Varsfontein indicated in the stud’s newsletter at the end of last week that the triple Grade 1 winner will be retired to stud at the end of the season and Snaith Racing, successful with Futura two years ago, yesterday confirmed her a Champions Cup runner with Anthony Delpech again in the irons.

The four-year-old is 11-2 third favourite with the sponsors and if she wins she will be the first of her sex to land the Champions Cup in at least the last 16 runnings.

Goodtime Gal, unplaced behind Bela-Bela in the Maine Chance Paddock Stakes in January but beaten less than three-quarters of a length when third in the Klawervlei Majorca three weeks later, heads the 12 runners for the Final Fling Stakes at Kenilworth on Saturday. Mike Robinson has booked Greg Cheyne for the four-year-old.

Justin Snaith, who has won three of the last four runnings of this 1 800m Grade 3, will be double-handed with A Time To Dream (Bernard Fayd’Herbe) and Harvard Crimson (Corne Orffer).

By Michael Clower

An investigation has been completed into the malfunctions at the start during the Vaal race meeting last Thursday and Phumelela’s maintenance team submitted a report to Racing Executive Clyde Basel and the stipendiary stewards’ board yesterday.

It is believed a problem was found in the trigger that opens the stalls and simultaneously starts the clock. The trigger has apparently been rewired and there should be no such issues at today’s meeting.

In Races 4 and 6, the starting gates opened without starter Solly Ngcobo pressing the button and in Race 9, the false start siren sounded shortly after the start was affected without being activated.

Seven Sovereigns bolted the course in Race 4 and was withdrawn by the veterinary surgeon, while Singaswewin and The Great Duchess were pulled up quickly and passed fit to race. The race was won by well-backed first-timer Yaas. Singaswewin (59-10) finished third with The Great Duchess (37-10) sixth.

The stipendiary board questioned Ngcobo, who could offer no explanation.

The same thing happened in Race 6. When the gates sprung open for no apparent reason, Vulcan bolted the course and had to be scratched, while Tandava (Zim), Angelic Appeal and Rain Shadow were restrained, returned to the start and passed fit to race by the veterinary surgeon.

Tandava (Zim) (10-1) finished second to Trading Profit, while Angelic Appeal and Rain Shadow finished sixth and seventh respectively.

According to Chief Stipendiary Steward Lyle Anderson’s report, two different banks of starting stalls had been used for Races 4 and 6.

“It was deduced that the problem was with the cabling and/or the release trigger, and not the starting stalls themselves. It was decided that the remaining races would be started by means of a manual start,” the report read.

Ngcobo’s woes did not end there, though. In Race 9, won by 4-1 chance Quebec Queen, the actual start went without a glitch, but then the false start siren went off without the button being pressed.

Two riders, Gavin Lerena (Queen Anne) and Craig Zackey (All Done) could not restrain their horses. They galloped the course and were scratched. The others pulled up their mounts and returned to the start. The horses were passed fit to race and reloaded.

The question many racing fans are asking is whether if this was not a false start, should Queen Anne and All Done not have been declared the winner.

However, Anderson’s report stated: “In light of the fact that all the jockeys reacted to the siren and made an attempt to pull up their horses, the stipendiary board, in the interest of racing, decided to treat this as a false start even though the starter had not activated the siren and it had gone off accidentally.

– TAB News

The battle for the KZN Champion Trainer’s title is down to the wire and with just five meetings left to the end of the current season it is still touch-and-go between Duncan Howells and defending champion Dennis Drier. The title is decided by number of wins in the province. Howells currently leads on 68 with Drier a close second on 64. Third on 56 wins is Dean Kannemeyer.

Dennis Drier(Nkosi Hlophe)

Leading KZN trainer by stakes won is Sean Tarry on R5.56 mllion, just over R1million ahead of Howells who is R200k ahead of Drier.

Howells had edged ahead by five going into Saturday’s Greyville meeting but Drier cut that back to two with a treble on the day before Howells came back with a double.

Drier kicked off with Lady In Black in the first, another promising filly by Dynasty and now unbeaten in two starts, and Premier Dance cut the Howells lead to three. But the Ashburton-based trainer countered with Accidental Tourist winning the fourth.

Rocky Valley defied top weight in the sixth to give Drier a treble but Howells fired back with Russian Speed holding on narrowly to win the ninth.

Howells and Drier saddle eight runners each at Greyville tomorrow which adds some needle to the afternoon’s racing as Howells goes into the final fortnight of the season with a four-win lead hoping to clinch his second title.

By Andrew Harrison

Anthony Delpech is a shoo-in for the National Jockey’s championship and with just a fortnight to run to the end of the current season he is 38 winners ahead of nearest rival Gavin Lerena and is likely to add to his tally at The Vaal tomorrow.

Being so far ahead in the championship race one could forgive him if he called time on his mid-week trips to the Highveld until at least the start of next season.

Anthony Delpech (Liesl King)

However, Delpech is also first call jockey to Wilgerbosdrift and Mauritzfontein and will be aboard Dalley for his sponsors and Lucky Houdalakis in the Middle Stakes over 2400m, seventh race on the card. The daughter of Ideal World has developed into a useful stayer and was hardly off the bit when winning over course and distance last time out. She was given a six-pound penalty for the victory but that does not look to be enough given the quality of tomorrow’s field.

Dalley looks head-and-shoulders above the opposition, the only possible danger being top weight Bandola. Weiho Marwing has a way with staying horses and although Bandola has only won a work riders maiden she will improve on her last effort and has a pedigree that suggests that she will be at home over the extra ground.

Delpech can round off his afternoon aboard Sess for Mike Azzie. The Australian-bred son of Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Pluck, was touched off over course and distance last time out and looks set to go one better this time around.

While Dalley and Sess look the pick of Delpech’s four rides, his other two are far from out of it. He teams up with Ice Art for Azzie in the All To Come Maiden plate and after two promising sprints the daughter of Querari is set to shed her maiden at third time of asking although you will probably have to take skinny odds.

More difficult could be Nordic Rebel for Erico Verdonese in the www.Itsarush.co.za Handicap. The three-year-old was an easy maiden winner two runs back but was expected to do a lot better in his handicap debut where he finished tailed off behind Minnesota. That run was obviously way below expectations and Verdonese has given him an even stiffer task in this MR82 Handicap.

A better proposition could be St John Gray’s filly Shimmering Sea. She is a seasoned campaigner and was full of running when beating Spring Wonder over course and distance last time out.

Also in the hunt is Golden Man from the Grant Maroun yard. He has been close-up in his last two and was narrowly beaten by the speedy Riverine last time out. A repeat of that effort will see him in the mix.

By Andrew Harrison

If there was racing for disabled horses Power Grid would now be on the shortlist for next month’s Equus Awards.

The Andries Steyn-trained three-year-old throws out his off-hind at an unnatural angle and, when he gallops, the end of it swings loose as if it was broken at the fetlock joint – yet he took his score to three wins from nine starts when beating two class acts in the GA Mac Lachlan Incorporated Pinnacle Stakes at Kenilworth on Saturday.

“Mike Barnard at Daytona rang me one day to say that, if I wanted him, I could have him,” Steyn related. “He was going to be put down and I got him almost from the grave.

Andre Nel (Supplied)

“Andrew Brand, Surina de Villiers and my wife Jennifer took on the ownership but when the physiotherapist first looked at his leg there was no muscle on it. She said one side was like cement and the other like jelly.

“Every time I took him to work at Durbanville the jockeys said he was leaning this way and that but one day Lucien Africa got on him and said ‘This thing can go.’

“I now never gallop the horse and that’s why he needs a run to come right but the moment the rains arrive he is a few lengths better.”

Anthony Andrews had the mount on Saturday and, after the first furlong, he went to the front. For a few anxious moments the 12-1 chance looked like throwing it away as Tevez and hot favourite Silicone Valley tried to come up his inner but Andrews quickly got him back on an even keel and the race was his, despite a stipes’ review.

“I thought I would give him a chance but they were going so slowly,” he related before adding drily: “I didn’t realise there would be two of them brave enough to come up the inside. But my horse would have won away.”

Andrews, who was given an official warning to take more care, has had a frustrating – and at times demoralising – season, often sitting in the weighing room wondering why trainers were not making more use of his talents. But seemingly things are about to change because he also won the previous race on Dalibhunga for Andre Nel.

“Anthony rode a superb race, doing exactly what I asked and sitting still on the horse,” said Sabine Plattner’s trainer. “He is now riding work for us. This was only his second race-ride for the stable and he has won on both of them. I will let him keep the rides.”

Victories for Dollar Tractor and Captain Courteous provided fitting tributes after Captain Al’s sad passing and Grant Knowles, who long promoted the horse in his Klawervlei PR role, said: “Captain Al was an absolute legend – and his name will reverberate for some time to come through the achievements of his offspring and their offspring.”

By Michael Clower