Devonne Govender

Racing action takes place at Hollywoodbets Scottsville this Sunday featuring a competitive eight-race programme.

Gotta Go Eddie, trained by Mathew and Mike De Kock, he is selected as the best bet of the day. Although he faces some formidable rivals, the gelding appears to be progressing well and is expected to be fighting out the finish. Narrowly beaten in his last outing, Gotta Go Eddie finished strongly, which caught the eye, and with his light weight, he should run a big race.

The main danger to him is African Dusk, trained by Garth Puller, who has performed admirably in his last two starts. Expect a bold showing from the latter, as he remains a serious contender.

The day’s value bet comes in the lucky last, where Darryl Moore’s charge Danube is poised to challenge. With apprentice Mxolisi Mbuto claiming 2.5kgs, Danube is expected to be a major player, especially since he hasn’t had the best luck recently.

Known for his ability to dictate pace, if he can secure an easy lead, he could prove difficult to catch. Moore commented, “He is extremely well within himself, and if things go according to plan, he should be right there at the finish.”

In race 3, Poetic Princess from Candice Bass’s yard stands out hence she is the top selection. With apprentice Dezahn Louw aboard, who has previously ridden her at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth, she’s expected to go very well, given her good form in Cape Town.

Another runner with a lively chance is Rafa’s Boy, trained by Gareth Van Zyl. He races well at Hollywoodbets Scottsville, and with apprentice Savanna Valjalo claiming 4kgs, a strong performance is anticipated from the son of Rafeef.

In race 5, Paul Matchett’s Two Miles West, drawn on the inside, is expected to be competitive. The gelding’s recent form has been consistent and his last victory was impressive when pulling clear of his rivals.

Uzwano, from Dean Kannemeyer’s yard, could also feature prominently. Having performed well at Hollywoodbets Scottsville, he’s capable of producing a strong finish and should be included in all bets.

Overall, the card promises plenty of competitiveness and value, making for an exciting day of racing.

RACE 1

5) Dungeon Master is the only raced runner in this compact field, with experience under the belt he will have the advantage however his form certainly doesn’t stand out with all due respect. The best guide could be the market as there are some well bred horses in this line up. Keep a close eye on the betting market, listen to trainer comments and watch these runners move down to start. (Devonne Govender).

RACE 2

(5) LOU LOU ran well in the last start and is expected to build on that hence she is the top choice. (8) CAPTAIN VENTURA is another who is likely to improve with a run under the belt and will get closer. (3) PERFUME POWER is holding form and will be in the firing line. (4) AUSTRIAN BEAUTY ran a cracker at huge odds, a repeat will see her in the finish. (Devonne Govender 5-8-3-4).

RACE 3

(8) POETIC PRINCESS is holding consistent form, although she takes on the boys from a tough draw she has the claimer up which makes her a serious contender. (7) TRIPPING THUNDER ran well in the last start and will be in the firing line if repeating that performance. (1) RAFA’S BOY goes extremely well at this track, he gets the claimer aboard and will go very close here, include in everything. (2) BLESS ME FRED ran well to finish 3rd in his last start and will be in the mix. (Devonne Govender 8-7-1-2).

RACE 4

A race where many are expected to improve after making decent enough debut efforts. (8) BUDDY BOY ran well on debut and should appreciate the step up in trip so must be respected. (3) HAMILTON HERO is another who performed well on debut and is open to any amount of improvement over this 1600m trip. (4) SUNNYBILLS FERRARI ran well over 1400m on debut and big improvement can be expected now with the extended trip, another with a massive winning chance. (1) TEE DOG has never been far back and has the benefit of the ace draw so will be in the mix. (Devonne Govender 8-4-3-1).

RACE 5

(1) TWO MILES WEST will jump from the best draw and will have every chance, huge runner here. (3) UZWANO has been racing in good form and another bold showing is expected, include in all bets. (6) GIMMEANOTHERCHANCE has always shown ability and on best form will blow this field away. (5) ACTOR ran a cracker in the last start and will be there again, respect. (Devonne Govender 1-3-6-5).

RACE 6

(5) GOTTA GO EDDIE ran a cracker in his last start, he certainly caught the eye as a progressive type and should take some beating here hence he is the firm first choice. (9) AFRICAN DUSK has been racing extremely well and a decent run can be expected. (3) PAPA C seldom runs a bad race, he will contest the finish on best form. (2) LEXICAN POINT is capable of better, one of these days he will pop up. (Devonne Govender 5-9-3-2).

RACE 7

(5) DAWN SURPRISE is holding good recent form, she is expected to go very close under the in-form apprentice. (2) GOLDEN ASPEN represents good Highveld form and put in a decent run in her last start, a must include in all bets. (1) WILLIAM WEST is capable of much better, he is capable of running a big race here and represents value. (4) BOARDWALK BREEZE has scope to go well, he won his maiden easily and should be respected. (Devonne Govender 5-2-1-4).

RACE 8

(4) DANUBE is capable of much better and represents the value here. He has a decent enough draw with the in-form apprentice aboard and a huge run is expected. (2) VOLDEMORT is never far back and another honest run can be expected. (10) DOWN BY THE RIVER flashed up to run third and is capable of winning this, include in all bets. (12) INTREPID ran a cracker at huge odds and a repeat of that will see him finishing in the money. (Devonne Govender 4-2-10-12).

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South African Quartet Pools with fractional betting offered at Doncaster (UK) and Curragh (Ireland)  – 14 September 2025

David Thiselton

 

One aspect of horseracing that the public often appear to have a misunderstanding of is the lodging of objections, with particular reference to who lodges the objection.

 

A regular lament heard in racing circles, in the case where a jockey, trainer or owner lodges an obvious looking objection, is, “Why did the stipendiary stewards not lodge the objection? They must have been sleeping.”

 

The common misconecption is that trainers, jockeys and owners only object if the stipendiary stewards do not object.

 

This is false.

 

The relevant rules on the lodgement of objections state:

 

67.7.1 An OBJECTION shall be made in WRITING and signed by the PERSON lodging it, within the time limits laid down in RULE 68.2. Except when lodged by a LICENSED OFFICIAL, such confirmation shall be accompanied by the prescribed fee, which may be refunded at the discretion of the OBJECTION BOARD.

 

67.7.2 An OBJECTION may only be lodged by the following PERSONS: 67.7.2.1 LICENSED OFFICIALS; 67.7.2.2 the OWNER and/or TRAINER, or their AUTHORISED AGENT, of a HORSE which participated in the RACE concerned; 67.7.2.3 the RIDER of a HORSE in the RACE concerned.

 

68.2 Notification of intention to object on any of the grounds referred to in this RULE shall be given verbally to the Clerk of the Scales and/or the Chief Stipendiary Steward of the SB prior to the ALL CLEAR being announced in terms of RULE 66.3.3. The notification of an OBJECTION must be confirmed in WRITING and the prescribed fee paid, or the OBJECTION withdrawn within a further 3 minutes from the expiry of the time referred to in 86 this RULE. There will be no penalty if the notification of intention to object is withdrawn within the stipulated time. In the event that any OBJECTION referred to in this RULE is not confirmed, such OBJECTION shall lapse.

 

 

 

The stipendiary stewards, upon seeing obvious interference in a race that might have affected the result, will immediately announce a “race review”. This is relayed to the commentator, who announces it publicly.

 

The stipes will then have a look at the race replays and decide whether there are grounds for an objection or not.

 

Close races are usually accompanied by emotions and this is particularly the case when a horse who should have won is hampered and loses narrowly.

 

The end result is that a trainer, jockey or one of the other connections, will sometimes burst into the boardroom and lodge an objection.

 

The stipendiary stewards might still be reviewing the race when this happens.

 

They cannot stop one of the connections from objecting.

 

As the rule states any one of the following may lodge an objection: a licensed official, the trainer or owner or their authorised agent, or the jockey.

 

The only difference when one of the connections objects, as opposed to one of the licensed officials, is that the former will have to pay a prescribed fee in order to lodge the objection.

 

This fee is forfeited if the stipes consider the objection to have been unwarranted. In addition, they may in rare cases impose a fine not exceeding R3000 on the PERSON lodging the OBJECTION.

 

The question then is why would one of the connections risk the fee when a stipendiary steward could object?

 

The answer could be that in an obvious case they would know there is no chance of the fee being forfeited, but they might believe the time in which the objection has to be lodged could lapse and would not want to risk that. An objection being lodged might also simply serve as an emotional release.

 

Tied in with the first common misconception mentioned is the belief that if the stipendiary stewards do not object, the objection has less chance of being upheld. The likely reason for this is due to the misconception that if the stipes decided not to object then they must have believed there were no grounds for it and they were thus unlikely to change their minds in the ensuing objection inquiry.

 

The other common public belief is that if the stipendiary stewards object there is more chance of the objection being upheld.

 

There is an inkling of truth in this, because the stipes will generally view the interference from all angles and in much more detail than the connections would have been able to. Obviously that takes a bit of time and the stipes will get a good idea of the nature of the interference during the review.

 

Likening this to football, when VAR suggests to the referee that he or she should come and have a look at the VAR replay, the decision is usually reversed because VAR would have been able to look at the incident in a lot more detail.

 

In horseracing the longer the review takes, the more chance there is of one of the connections objecting. This is why in the 50/50 cases it is often one of the connections, rather than a licensed official, who objects.

 

However, it is not necessarily the case that an objection lodged by the stipes will be upheld, because the first part of the process is just to ascertain whether the objection is warranted and there then has to be deliberation on whether the interfered with horse would otherwise have won the race.

 

Furthermore, only one stipendiary steward lodges the objection and he or she is then not allowed to be on the ensuing objection board.

 

If there are not three stipes to do it when one of them steps down then another licensed official is co-opted on to the objection board.

 

The officials on the objection board might well disagree with the official who lodged the objection.