David Thiselton

The strength of Cape racing is shown in the class of horse that has been appearing at what is supposedly their lesser centre of Hollywoodbets Durbanville and there were a number of impressive performances in the Saturday meeting in which both Justin Snaith and the stallion he used to train, Gimmethegreenlight, had four-timers.

The star of the day was Eight On Eighteen’s half- brother by Futura, Future Free. The Justin Snaith-trained three-year-old colt was having his fifth career start having won last time out carrying 58kg off an 81 rating in an open maiden over 1400m. He relished the step up to 1800m on Saturday in a Class 5 handicap. He might have been running off only an 82 rating in a seven horse field, but it takes a good horse to come from last, then be switched wide for a run and end up winning going away by 2,50 lengths in effortless fashion. Justin Snaith and Craig Zackey were not getting carried away, but the latter summed it up well by saying he was a really nice horse and was still soft so there was plenty of scope for improvement. The Drakenstein homebred is part-owned by Bernard Kantor and runs in his familiar yellow colours with blue epaulettes, which are among the colours on Hollywoodbets Greyville’s Wall Of Honour as they were carried by the great dual Hollywoodbets Durban July-winning Do It Again. The latter was in fact the last horse in the Snaith yard to run in the Kantor colours. July watchers would have earmarked Future Free as a candidate for next year’s big race after Saturday’s performance, although with Drakenstein being the part-owners, thus meaning breeding potential is foremost, a classic route is more likely this season than a weight-protecting July-targeting campaign. Future Free was always going to be a late bloomer being by stamina influence Futura and a half-brother to Eight On Eighteen, who got better and better throughout his three-year-old season. Future Free will get better with another step up in trip and has exciting potential.

One of Snaith’s other winners was also particularly eye-catching. The Varsfontein Stud-homebred Gimmethegreenlight filly Gimme What I Want was having her third start, having won in good style second time out over 1200m. In Saturday’s 1250m Class 4 event she ran off an 84 merit rating and jumping from a good draw of four she found cover one wide in midfield. She turned it on impressively after being switched to the outside of her nine opponents and won going away by 0,75 lengths under JP van der Merwe. She is a half-sister to the like of Graded winners Bunker Hunt (Dynasty), My Soul Mate (Master Of My Fate) and Salvator Mundi (Dynasty) and as the latter pair have both won over 2800m she should get a mile at least. This three-year-old could also be a classic contender.

The Greg Ennion-trained Arctic Wizard could take in a feature sprint this season as he quickened superbly late in the day, after sitting handy from draw three, to win a Middle Stakes event over 1000m by half-a-length under Muzi Yeni, carrying 61,5kg off a 101 merit rating. The four-year-old What A Winter gelding was bred by the partnership of Marsh Shirtliff’s Greenacres Trust and Hemel ‘N Aarde Stud and is out of a Bold Silvano half-sister to two Listed winners. He was a bargain R110,000 purchase.

The Snaith-trained four-year-old Gimmethegreenlight gelding Scottish Kiss also turned it on nicely in a 1250m event, coming from the back of an eight horse Class 3  field to win by half-a-length under Callan Murray off a 90 merit rating.

Snaith and Gimmethegreenlight had a treble together. The first of them was the progressive Klawervlei Stud-bred Lyrical Gangster, who won a 1000m maiden by 2,25 lengths for the partnership of Greg Bortz and Gina Goldsmith and Sandy and Eugene Arundel’s Itssa IT and Business Solutions, ridden by JP van der Merwe.

The Candice Bass three-year-old gelding Astronomical Boy was the other Gimmethegreenlight winner on the day and got his maiden out the way third time out, winning by a length under Craig Zackey. He was the second top priced lot at the Race Coast Sales Cape Premier Yearling Sale, going for R2.2 million. The half-brother to Gr 1 winner Cosmic Speed (Querari) was bred by Maine Chance Farms and is owned by Khaya Stables.

The Ricky Maingard-trained Wilgerbosdrift and Mauritzfontein-bred The United States four-year-old colt Pinot Grigio won the Remembering Barry Donnelly Middle Stakes over 1600m under champion apprentice Bevan Plaaitjies and could have a minor feature in him.

Glen Kotzen and Chad Little combined for a double on the day with Legislate filly Sesame exiting the maidens in her eighth career start at 33/1 odds over 1600m and One World gelding Worldly winning a 1250m Class 5 handicap off a 72 merit rating.

Please Note: South African Quartet Pools with fractional betting offered at Kempton and Thirsk (UK) – 15 September 2025.

Andrew Harrison

Callan Murray is a tall ‘reed’ of a figure. Turned sideways you would hardly notice that there was anyone inside of the breaches and racing silks.  But what ever he eats, or doesn’t eat, has little to do with his performance in one of the most demanding jobs in sport.

Privy to his start at the South African Jockey Academy when cutting his teeth at the then Ashburton Training Centre where most apprentices, make that all, got their first taste of the system, Murray looked destine for an early exit given his stature.

He started off well enough in South Africa after coming out of his time before a stint in Australia where he has obviously honed his tactical skills and managed his weight.

He was in top form at Hollywoodbets Scottsville yesterday, posting three winners, two for the Mike and Mathew de Kock partnership for whom he is attached and one for Duncan Howells.

The first of his De Kock winners came on Buddy Boy who looked to be a set-up for the yard. Stable companion Sunny Bills Ferrari set a solid gallop up front with Buddy Boy biding and Murray biding their time in the pack. But when all had cried enough, Murray brought home Buddy Boy with a storming run down the outside fence that caught all by surprise, cruising home by the best part of six lengths.

Runner-up was Dean Kannemeyer’s colt Green Glow, making his debut, who came from well back to snatch the minor money.

Given that Buddy Boy finished four lengths back to Hah Lah Lah, when both were making their debuts, Kannemeyer’s charge is definitely one for the notebook.

Murray had to work a little harder in the next but time his challenge to perfection on the De Kock- runner Officer In Command who kept rolling off a moderate early gallop.

Murray’s first winner was a romp for Perfume Power, the Duncan Howell-trained filly posting the exacta in the second. Perfume Power was off and gone from the jump and not for the catching with stable companion Austrian Beauty, having only her second run for Howells, trailing a distant second.

A rating drop and an exceptional ride by Kabelo Matsunyane saw Papa C score a second win for Howells. Turning for home with only two runners behind him in an eleven-horse field, Papa C’s chances of winning looked remote. However, Matsunyane kept the sick off of his mount who responded with a sustained finish to win going away with Ragnar The King finishing best ahead of the scrum.

 It was a bitter-sweet weekend for Duncan Howells with the news of the death of Andre Hauptfleisch, joint owner and breeder of the Howells-trained star Via Africa, and yesterday’s two winners.

Howells and regular rider Kevin Shea were instrumental in the success of the daughter of Var who was crowned SA Champion Sprinter in 2013, and whose 10 wins included the Gr1 Cape Flying Championship and Gr1 SA Fillies Sprint twice.

Via Africa’s first foal was Pleasant Endeavour by champion stallion Redoutes Choice who won six races in Hong Kong and HK$7.1m (R15,2m). The second was the extremely fast sprinter In The Congo by another champion sire Snitzel who won the Gr1 ATC Golden Rose Stakes and A$1,7m (R19,5 million) and is now a stallion, covering 160 mares in his first season at a fee of A$27,500 (R300,000) each.

The third was a filly named Protea who was by Golden Slipper winner Vancouver but did not race.

And then came Saturday’s undefeated winner Autumn Glow, who topped the Sydney Easter Yearling Sale at A$1,8 million (R20,2 million) selling to Arrowfield and Hermitage Thoroughbreds out of the Silverdale Farm draft, and is unbeaten in her first six starts and five Stakes races.

Via Africa has now become one of the most important broodmares in Australia!

Howells and Gary Rich were ‘stable companions’  before the closure of the Ashburton Training centre and it was possibly fitting that the pair had winners on the day. It was a close run-thing for the Rich-trained Dawn Surprise who held on just long enough under Mxolisi Mbuto with his 2.5kg claim to hold off a late-charging Jame Lihaba on Double Olympic, a nose separating them at the line.

Terry Fripp has been the ‘shadow’ behind the Candice Bass operation during last Champions Season but he was too the fore for the stable yesterday as Turbo Twenty made short work of the opposition in the last of the day. Apprentice Dezahan Louw has been earmarked as an apprentice to follow although he did little more than a steer his mount through traffic as Turbo Twenty lived up to his moniker and sped away from his opposition inside the last furlong.

David Thiselton

One Stripe had his first race overseas in the Gr 1 Woodbine Mile in Canada and ran a great race for fifth place, considering he likely needed it and suffered a terrible trip.

In other overseas news Kaidan Brewer rode a winner in Malaysia, but unfortunately took a fall in the Gr 1 Selenagor Gold Cup, although fortunately he was well enough afterwards to continue riding at the meeting.

At Sha Tin in Hong Kong Lyle Hewitson got off the mark for the season.

The Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas and L’Ormarins King’s Plate-winning One Stripe was having his first run for six months and was a bit edgy in the preliminaries.

He jumped inward as the gates opened and interfered with the favourite and eventual winner, the English 2000 Guineas winner of last year, the Dubawi colt Notable Speech.

The Drakenstein Stud-bred One World colt likely needed it as he was then a little bit keen when going into a handy position early under Hall Of Fame jockey John Velazquez.

However, the early pacemaker My Boy Prince appears to put the brakes on and One Stripe,  caught in a three wide position. was unable to get clear of the horse inside of him, because the widest horse carried another horse inward on to One Stripe. Velazquez had no option but to take a hold on the cramped One Stripe, who ends up wide and right near the back of the ten horse field.

Velazquez manages to get cover down the back straight, but only behind the biggest outsider.

Velazquez switches inward off the heels of the slow horse to get a rails run on the final turn, but had to drop back to second last to do it.

One Stripe then runs on remarkably well under the circumstances to be beaten four lengths.

Notable Speech was also cramped early but gets a rails run and with a ton in hand turning for home William Buick manages to steer the Charlie Appleby-trained Godolphin runner from midfield into clear space on the outside. The four-year-old colt then turns it on in style and mows them down to win by 1,75 lengths.

The run would have brought One Stripe on well in his preparation for the Gr 1 Breeders Cup Mile, where he will likely get another crack at Notable Speech.

The Breeders Cup Mile is on November 1 and Appleby, Buick, Godolphin and Dubwai will be attempting the Woodbine Mile/Breeders Cup Mile double for the third time having done it with Modern Games in 2022 and Master Of The Seas in 2023.

in the Gr 1 Selangor Gold Cup over 1600m at Selangor Turf Club in Malaysia the favourite Platinum Emperor was lying in the box seat on the rail in fourth place nearing the final turn when the horse outside of him comes inward and bumps him on to the rail. This caused Platinum Emperor o spook and throw the jockey off.

The loose horse then falls back out of control and badly hampered to other horses, including Brewer’s mount, the S. Dunderdale-trained Valois. Both jockeys of th hampered horses fell off.

The jockeys were apparently not seriously injured.

Brewer was reported to have just “a small headache” and was able to ride his final two mounts.

Kaidan had earlier won on the Dunderdale-trained Thunderous, despite jumping from draw 14 over 1200m. The horse had about eight lengths to make up in the straight and despite traffic problems late on Brewer finds the right gaps and just gets up in what was a fine ride and an unlikely win.

At Sha Tin In Hong Kong Lyle Hewitson had his first win since a bad fall on 25 June.

It was his third meeting this season and in his 12^th ride of the season he brought home the David Hayes-trained 16/1 shot Metro Power. He bounced the gelding out in to a clear lead in the 1000m contest down the straight and never looked like being caught, winning by a comfortable 2,75 lengths.

Warren Lenferna

Astronomical Boy was given a magical ride from the deepest draw by the red-hot, in-form rider Craig Zackey to win the second race at Hollywoodbets Durbanville on Saturday. Astronomical Boy is by champion sire Gimmethegreenlight and was bred at Maine Chance. He has clearly got gears and could end up being absolutely anything. He is trained out of the Candice Bass yard at Milnerton for heavily invested owner Khaya Stables. He hit the line running after being rushed up to race handy and won with something in hand. It was a smart ride from the owner’s retained rider. He must be followed.

Talking of being followed, the winner of the Class 5 fifth race over 1,800m, Future Free, fits into that category. He is brilliantly related, by Futura out of a Captain Al mare, Sempre Libre, which makes him a half-brother to the top-class Eight On Eighteen. It was the same rider as Astronomical Boy who steered this progressive talent to victory. Another superb ride from the deepest draw. Zackey had the Snaith-trained, good-looking Future Free right at the back of the field, switched off. As they swept for home, Zackey set sail and ran away from the opposition near the wire. He certainly caught the eye and was impressive, winning first time out of the maidens. He looks set to have a competitive season ahead.

Prince of Tibet looked the likely winner close to home in the eighth race, but Chad Little had other ideas with Worldlyfrom the Kotzen stable. One has to have been impressed with the way this gelded son of One World quickened and raced away to victory. Chad Little is riding supremely well. It was a success full of merit, as winning with a hefty weight of 62.5kgs is no easy task. He had absolutely zero luck up the straight last time but got a smooth passage home this time, which found him in the winner’s enclosure. Gimme What I Want was a gutsy winner of the last race when fending off the challenges from American Ultra. Both these horses look progressive, useful, and are set to have bright futures.