Plenty of choice for punters as three countries stage big races
There are feature events at home in SA, in Dubai and at Doncaster in the UK
24 March 2022 - 14:40
byDAVID MOLLETT
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This weekend’s racing fare could be described as “Worldwide Saturday”. There are important races in three countries giving punters ample opportunity to choose their bets.
Turffontein: Two four-year-olds, Shangani and Sparkling Water, who could clash in the Durban July in three months, go head-to-head in the grade 2 Colorado King Stakes. Mike de Kock’s filly gets the vote to notch the seventh win of her career.
Dubai: Prize money of $12m is up for grabs in the Dubai Gold Cup with Life Is Good the hot favourite to follow up his victory in the Pegasus at Gulfstream Park in January. Nevertheless, this column fancies the chance of the second choice in the market, Hot Rod Charlie.
Doncaster: In the first race of the Flat season trainer William Haggas is fancied to continue his excellent record in the Lincoln Handicap. His unbeaten favourite, Mujtabi, is worth taking on with Notre Belle Bete expected to go well in the hands of David Probert.
Trainer Paul Peter sends a 12-strong team to Turffontein and it is not beyond possibility that the stable could take five legs of the Pick Six. They look unlikely to capture the eighth race with Anne Boleyn with the Candice Bass-Robinson duo of Zarina and Chat Ching notable rivals.
Bookmakers have Peter’s five-time winner Shangani as 2-1 favourite for the Colorado King Stakes and the son of Soft Falling Rain is enjoying a marvellous campaign, which started with a maiden win back in August.
The latest win by this R250,000 buy came in the Aquanaut Handicap in which he spread-eagled his field by nearly four lengths. Nevertheless, a closer look at the opponents Shangani has beaten — including Barak and Kook Baikal — raises the question whether he will be able to give weight to Sparkling Water.
In addition, a line of form through Smoking Hot suggests Sparkling Water could come out on top and maintain his winning partnership with S’manga Khumalo.
Second Base — beaten seven lengths by Sparkling Water in the Victory Moon last November — could earn a stake cheque despite having the worst of the draw.
Sean Tarry’s duo of Zillzaal (33-1 winner of the Drum Star) and Shango can also get involved for the minor placings. The first-named is better off at the weights with his stablemate and has Richard Fourie in the irons.
Paul Peter and Warren Kennedy will be hoping to win both juvenile feature races, the grade 3 Protea Stakes and grade 3 Pretty Polly Stakes.
As the stable has a strong representative in the Pretty Polly in Blindedbythelights, it is a shrewd move by the Turffontein trainer to take on the colts in the Protea with his three-time winner River Queraress. Those victories mean the filly has to give 1.5kg to Karangetang but may be up to the task.
A study of the times for the latest wins by River Queraress (Ruffian Stakes) and Karangetang (Storm Bird) suggests we could get a dead heat. The former clocked 58.05sec for the Turffontein 1,000m while the latter’s time was fractionally faster at 58.01.
Interestingly, Winning Form has identical summations for the youngsters’ last two runs: “in touch, tad cosily”.
Aldo Domeyer will be at the meeting to partner Zarina in the Racehorse Owners Association Stakes and he will presumably have had the choice between Zarina and Fairview winner Chat Ching. It is no surprise it is the former, who was taking on the best females in the land in the Majorca Stakes in January.
SELECTIONS
1st Race: (9) Without Equal (2) Eye Of The Prophet (6) Shoemaker (4) Oathkeeper
2nd Race: (6) Littlemarysunshine (1) Miss Cool (8) Treaty (5) Lady Greensleeves
3rd Race: (2) Remember When (1) Marigold Hotel (5) Special Variety (6) Imbewu
4th Race: (8) Good Queen Bess (2) It’s About Time (4) Homely Girl (1) West Coast Lover
5th Race: (1) River Queraress (2) Karangetang (3) Magic Tattoo (5) Lord Of Light
6th Race: (2) Blindedbythelights (7) Rock The Fox (3) Galla Vanting (1) Strike A Match
7th Race: (10) Sparkling Water (9) Shangani (3) Second Base (2) Zillzaal
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Plenty of choice for punters as three countries stage big races
There are feature events at home in SA, in Dubai and at Doncaster in the UK
This weekend’s racing fare could be described as “Worldwide Saturday”. There are important races in three countries giving punters ample opportunity to choose their bets.
Turffontein: Two four-year-olds, Shangani and Sparkling Water, who could clash in the Durban July in three months, go head-to-head in the grade 2 Colorado King Stakes. Mike de Kock’s filly gets the vote to notch the seventh win of her career.
Dubai: Prize money of $12m is up for grabs in the Dubai Gold Cup with Life Is Good the hot favourite to follow up his victory in the Pegasus at Gulfstream Park in January. Nevertheless, this column fancies the chance of the second choice in the market, Hot Rod Charlie.
Doncaster: In the first race of the Flat season trainer William Haggas is fancied to continue his excellent record in the Lincoln Handicap. His unbeaten favourite, Mujtabi, is worth taking on with Notre Belle Bete expected to go well in the hands of David Probert.
Trainer Paul Peter sends a 12-strong team to Turffontein and it is not beyond possibility that the stable could take five legs of the Pick Six. They look unlikely to capture the eighth race with Anne Boleyn with the Candice Bass-Robinson duo of Zarina and Chat Ching notable rivals.
Bookmakers have Peter’s five-time winner Shangani as 2-1 favourite for the Colorado King Stakes and the son of Soft Falling Rain is enjoying a marvellous campaign, which started with a maiden win back in August.
The latest win by this R250,000 buy came in the Aquanaut Handicap in which he spread-eagled his field by nearly four lengths. Nevertheless, a closer look at the opponents Shangani has beaten — including Barak and Kook Baikal — raises the question whether he will be able to give weight to Sparkling Water.
In addition, a line of form through Smoking Hot suggests Sparkling Water could come out on top and maintain his winning partnership with S’manga Khumalo.
Second Base — beaten seven lengths by Sparkling Water in the Victory Moon last November — could earn a stake cheque despite having the worst of the draw.
Sean Tarry’s duo of Zillzaal (33-1 winner of the Drum Star) and Shango can also get involved for the minor placings. The first-named is better off at the weights with his stablemate and has Richard Fourie in the irons.
Paul Peter and Warren Kennedy will be hoping to win both juvenile feature races, the grade 3 Protea Stakes and grade 3 Pretty Polly Stakes.
As the stable has a strong representative in the Pretty Polly in Blindedbythelights, it is a shrewd move by the Turffontein trainer to take on the colts in the Protea with his three-time winner River Queraress. Those victories mean the filly has to give 1.5kg to Karangetang but may be up to the task.
A study of the times for the latest wins by River Queraress (Ruffian Stakes) and Karangetang (Storm Bird) suggests we could get a dead heat. The former clocked 58.05sec for the Turffontein 1,000m while the latter’s time was fractionally faster at 58.01.
Interestingly, Winning Form has identical summations for the youngsters’ last two runs: “in touch, tad cosily”.
Aldo Domeyer will be at the meeting to partner Zarina in the Racehorse Owners Association Stakes and he will presumably have had the choice between Zarina and Fairview winner Chat Ching. It is no surprise it is the former, who was taking on the best females in the land in the Majorca Stakes in January.
SELECTIONS
1st Race: (9) Without Equal (2) Eye Of The Prophet (6) Shoemaker (4) Oathkeeper
2nd Race: (6) Littlemarysunshine (1) Miss Cool (8) Treaty (5) Lady Greensleeves
3rd Race: (2) Remember When (1) Marigold Hotel (5) Special Variety (6) Imbewu
4th Race: (8) Good Queen Bess (2) It’s About Time (4) Homely Girl (1) West Coast Lover
5th Race: (1) River Queraress (2) Karangetang (3) Magic Tattoo (5) Lord Of Light
6th Race: (2) Blindedbythelights (7) Rock The Fox (3) Galla Vanting (1) Strike A Match
7th Race: (10) Sparkling Water (9) Shangani (3) Second Base (2) Zillzaal
8th Race: (1) Zarina (2) Chat Ching (9) Bon Vivant (5) Sentbydestiny
9th Race: (7) Danilo Danilovitch (2) Val D’Orcia (8) Kuuma (1) Visiway
DUBAI WORLD CUP
1 Hot Rod Charlie
2 Life Is Good
3 Country Grammar
4 Midnight Bourbon
LINCOLN HANDICAP
1 Notre Belle Bete
2 Mujtaba
3 United Front
4 Saleymm
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