Andrew Harrison

The Conditions Plate that was the headline race at Hollywoodbets Greyville yesterday was always going to be something of a guessing game with most of the runners being prepared for races further down the road.

It didn’t help that warm favourite See It Again was scratched before the start for refusing to load which didn’t go down well with the gelding’s supporters who expected a little more effort  from the starter’s assistants.

That will all be up for debate but title chasing Craig Zackey took advantage for his third win of the afternoon as Madison Valley made short work of his rivals, Frank Robinson’s charge accelerating past the opposition to win uncontested with well-back tote favourite On My Honour not getting the best of passages but a well-beaten fourth putting paid to a host of exotic bet tickets.

I don’t think the handicappers will read much into the race as far as penalties go but it was certainly a smart run from Madison Valley who would appreciate it a touch further but circumstances going his way.

A Betway Summer Cup entry, On My Honour was not disgraced and should come on from this run while it will have been a huge relief for the connections of former Summer Cup winner Royal Victory to see their champion behaved impeccably and doing his best work late over a distance well short of his best.

Oklahoma Girl and Saudi Sweep tangled in a not quarters given in the card opener. Both were out in a flash with replacement rider Muzi Yeni winning the battle for the lead on Louis Goosen’s filly. Saudi Sweep led into the straight but Tristan Godden took the inside route home on Mike Miller’s filly and it was head-and-head to the line with both runners giving it their all.

Ashburton Training Centre, when an open training establishment, always provided a steady stream of winners from trainers with mostly runners of limited ability. They did provide a Hollywoodbets Durban July ‘winner’ in Wiley Hall who lost the race in the boardroom.

Now the private domain of Hollywoodbets, head trainer Vengi Masawi, on the recommendation of Mike de Kock, and his assistant Megan Trot are taking fully advantage of the upgraded facilities. So it was a touch of irony as Mfethu got the better of the Mike and Mathew de Kock-trained favourite Bombardier Boy but giving Hollywood Racing a deserved one-two with pacemaker Amber Alert staying on to hold off the filly Mystic Dancer who should not be long in winning if Robbie Hill can keep the lid on her temperament.

The first leg of the PA turned into a disaster for hot favourite Annie’s Song who could only manage fourth. A tardy start saw her stuck in midfield as Yeni dictated a modest gallop on Cool Wind and Sean Veale was left swinging onto a filly that refused to settle. It was a tough run to the wire for  Paul Lafferty’s filly but she kept firing to hold her lead with Aurelian and Ms Galore doing the chasing and Annie’s Song all over the place on the wrong hymn sheet.

Tienie Prinsloo harks back to the days of Flamingo Park where the sick, lame and laziest found their way into his yard after those in the bigger centers had given up on them. So he knows how to keep an old horse interested, not to mention that Global Movement was dropping in class. Craig Zackey gave the grey a patient ride, midfield for the early exchanges, but once asked the question, Global Movement responded smartly to put the race to bed in a matter of strides.

Spectacular made the transition to turf in smart fashion as he quickened out of the pack under Serino Moodley to win the fifth as he liked. Glen Kotzen and his Summerveld assistant John Buckler had kept him on the poly since his arrival from the Cape to good effect but the gelding obviously enjoy the switch in surface and could well pay to follow. Second-placed Continental Express ran out of runway and 2400m is more his forte.

La Maddalena had never gone beyond a mile before but under a smart ride from Yeni, his second winner of the afternoon, Gareth van Zyl filly muscled her way through the pack  to get the better of a tight finish with Out Lady Fate to deny title-chasing Craig Zackey  his third winner of the afternoon.

Treaty Of Paris, once on a sales list, paid his way as he finished off his race in fine style to win the seventh. He looked to have got himself in a bit of a tangle early in exchanges but Godden gave him a confident ride to weave his way through the traffic to hold off a late-charging Lions Eye.

Taking the plunge to go on your own in a tough sport, Darryl Moore is getting his head above water. The former assistant to top trainer Charles Laird, Moore is slowly working his way up the ladder and Tara Star went back-to-back when making most of the running under apprentice Mxolisi Mbuto to round off the Pick 6 that paid over R276k.

 * It was a sad afternoon as the flags flew half-mast for the passing of Champion Eastern Cape trainer Gavin Smith and it was also the birthday of the late larger-than-life Tony Jelinski who had shares in first race winner Oklahoma Girl.

David Thiselton

Brett Crawford clinched his third win in Hong Kong on Sunday to boost an already decent strike rate and it was his former South African stable jockey Karis Teetan who delivered for him, while back in South Africa Chad Little and JP van der Merwe both scored trebles at Hollywoodbets Durbanville and Craig Zackey reached the 50 winner for the season mark on Sunday.

It was an exiting weekend of racing globally as Hong Kong superstar Ka Ying Star proved himself the world’s best sprinter by winning the world’s richest turf race, The Everest at Randwick in Sydney, while Jamie Melham became the first woman in history to ride the winner of the Caulfield Cup and Arc-winning trainer Francis-Henri Graffard completed a memorable season by landing the Champion Stakes with King George winner Calandagan

The Hollywoodbets Durbanville results sheet looked unusual after six races on Saturday, because Chad Little had won three of the races and JP van der Merwe the other three. Chad Little’s guv’nor Glen Kotzen gave him two of his wins and that included a first-timer by Legislate called Midnight Lady. Legislate is also the sire of Kotzen’s Gr 1 Gold Medallion winner Good For You. JP van der Merwe’s won one of the highest rated races on the day, a Progress Plate for fillies and mares over 1250m, as the Candice Bass-Robinson-trained Horizon filly Scarlet Macaw bounced back to the form of her Gr 1 WSB Cape Fillies Guineas runner up finish. The other highly rated race of the day was an A Stakes race over 1400m and it was won by the Dean Kannemeyer-trained gelding Outlaw King, which gave the increasingly prominent sire Rafeef yet another winner, and he was ridden by Craig Zackey.

Zackey and Richard Fourie ended Saturday locked together on 49 wins apiece at the top of the national jockeys log, but Zackey claimed a double on Sunday at Hollywoodbets Greyville to go two ahead on 51.

Earlier on Saturday at Randwick in Sydney the naysayers said Ka Ying Rising had just been beating the same horses in Hong over and over again and didn’t deserve his tag of world’s best sprinter. However, that did not stop him from starting favourite for the Aus$20 million The Everest over 1200m and he then made it look like another Hong Kong race as he easily claimed the box seat in the running under regular rider Zac Purton before taking over in the straight in effortless fashion to win by a comfortable 1,2 lengths. The David Hayes-trained New Zealand-bred Shameexpress gelding has now won his last 14 races in succession.

Meanwhile, at Caulfield racecourse in Melbourne, Jamie Melham (nee Kah), who was the first ever jockey to ride 100 wins in a Melbourne Metropolitan season, had her 17th career Gr 1 win and first major race win when scoring in the Caulfield Cup. She became the first woman jockey to win this big race and gave the $2.50 favourite, the Tony and Calvin McEvoy-trained Half Yours (St Jean), a magnificent ride.

In the UK at Ascot on Saturday, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner, the Irish-bred Gleneagles gelding Calandagan, gave the Arc-winning combination of trainer Francis-Henri Graffard, jockey Mickaël Barzalona and owner Aga Khan Studs SCEA yet another major race winner as he fended off the challenge of market rival Ombudsman to win the Gr 1 Qipco Champion Stakes.

On Sunday at Sha Tin in Hong Kong Brett Crawford won the first race, a Class 5 event over 1400m, with the New Zealand seven-year-old 24-rated Showcasing gelding Double Show. Karis Teetan had the gelding handy on the rail from pole position and he quickened well and went on to win by 1,75 lengths converting 12/1 odds. It was the horse’s second career win and Crawford’s third win in Hong Kong with just his 19th run. That gives him a strike rate of 15.7%. Teetan went on to claim a double and Lyle Hewitson also rode a winner. That put the top jockeys respectively on eight and seven wins for the season.

Luke Ferraris is also on seven wins for the season. Yesterday he not only had a blank but had to also see his biggest feature horse, the Mark Newnham-trained My Wish (Flying Artie), winning the Gr 2 Sha Tin Trophy with another rider, Alex Badel, aboard because he could not make the feather weight of 115 pounds.

Keagan de Melo has yet to have a winner this season, but he finished second on Copartner Prance in the HK$5.35 million Sha Tin Trophy and it was his second runner up in a Group race on this horse this season.

Andrew Harrison

Can See It Again finally get an eighth win under his belt? He lines up in a Conditions Plate over 1400m that heads the turf card at Hollywoodbets Greyville today.

It is a race that has attracted many Gr1 Betway Summer Cup contenders over a distance well short of their optimum trip, however, class will always out.

See It Again shoulders top weight and is struggling for his next win, however, he is effective over this trip and is never far back at the highest level. Michael Roberts sent him up for the Summer Cup last year and he was far from disgraced, finishing fifth behind Atticus Finch, beaten just over two lengths but giving lumps of weight to the four in front of them.

He will no doubt prefer it further but he has enough class to pull this off.

Former Summer Cup winner Royal Victory. A class act on his day and something of a Turffontein specialist he has had some mental issues, sometime refusing to go to the start and was subsequently suspended. Nathan Kotzen has called in the services of  ‘horse whisperer’  Glyn Redgrave and Royal Victory has since been passed fit to race. He falls into the same category as See It Again but you take his behavior on trust.  Licence To Thrill has been in excellent form down the Hollywoodbets Scottsville straight for Mike Miller and the form of his last win has been franked. Although in mustard form he takes the turn over an extra furlong and does look to be held given the weight conditions of the race. Adam Azzie has his first runners after his move to Summerveld from the Highveld and saddles the filly Gimmefabulous. She has not been out since May but has obvious ability given that she was pitted against the best on the Highveld. She has a light weight to boot and Azzie will be more than happy to get off the mark first up.

An interesting runner on the day will be Gareth van Zyl’s charge Wild Justice in the last leg of the Pick 6. The son of Vercingetorix has a blue-blood pedigree and is unbeaten in two. He appears to have a touch of class but steps into the unknown in a useful field. Hierkommiebokke has been a national rallying cry over the past couple of months but the equine version has her first run for Dennis Bosch. She comes off some patchy Highveld form but is very well in at the weights and from the best of the draw could be the one the Wild Justice has beat. Icy Blast followed up on his good second to Licence To Thrill by winning next time out and appears to have appreciated the drop to a sprint and Muzi Yeni stays with the ride. Super Fast had his consistency rewarded last outing after a string of runners-up berths. He is up in class but has a light weight and can feature again.

In the seventh, many eyes will be on Treaty Of Paris. Mike Miller’s gelding has a hefty merit rating to live up to with but he is down in class from his last run and if running up to his rating he could be hard to peg back.

If he does fluff his lines, the consistent Duncan Howells-trained Dapper will be there to pick up the pieces. He is also down in class and gets 2.5kg relief from the saddle. He has not been out of the money in his last four and can go one better. Town Crier is lightly raced but started favourite first up in handicap company. He is up in class but has a light weight and the Stuart Ferrie stable is in good form of late. You have to get up early in the morning to catch MJ Odendaal as one is never quite sure  what is the optimum distance for his horses. El Dante showed up well over a distance that appeared to be well short of his best last Sunday but should prefer this trip.

One of the better bets on the card could come in the first leg of the Bi-Pot in the Mike and Mathew de Kock gelding Bombardier Boy. He was a touch disappointing in an Open Maiden last run carrying top weight after making his debut on the poly. He takes on this field on equal terms and can make amends. Mfethu was a little disappointing last run after a smart effort behind the promising Exocet. Sean Veale should have had the pick of the rides and is aboard Bombardier Boy. Danger could be the filly Mystic Dancer. Robbie Hill’s filly comes off a lengthy break and takes on males but she made a smart debut and then ended her season a beaten odds-on favourite when finding Quickstepgal in the maidens. If not short of a run she will be competitive. Amber Alert found long-shot market support last start and showed some improvement.

In the first leg of the PA Annie’s Song is lightly raced but just needed her last run after returning from a lengthy break. She meets modest opposition. Lemon Thyme has shown some ability and the step up in trip should suit. Ms Galore raced too handy last run. Allowed to settle and run on she has a smart turn of foot and will be dangerous.

The Pick 6 races have a decidedly open look about them. In the first leg, Send Me has been up against stronger at recent outings on the poly. He gets relief from the saddle in a 2.5kg claiming apprentice and from the best of the draw should be competitive. Lou Lou The Legend is reunited with Sean Veale after winning a sprint three runs back. He steps up to a mile this time around but will have no trouble seeing it out.

The second leg is also wide open but has come well of late winning his last two over 2400m. This shorter trip could find him out but the stable is in good form and he should put in another good effort. Judged on rider bookings, French Trip looks to be the pick of the Duncan Howells pair. His recent form is not inspiring but the step up in trip could be what brings out the best. Stable companion Papa C has been consistent of late and can follow up on his last win although he is 1.5kg worse off with Riccardo who made sudden improvement last run.

In the next, La Maddalena steps up in trip but has been holding form well. She has a handy galloping weight and looks the part in another wide open race. Our Lady Fate is joint top weight but has also been in good form of late and stays the trip well. Princess Palace is a game front runner and was outpaced late over shorter last outing. She can do better this trip.

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