TAB customers have a glittering menu of international fare to bet on this Saturday, starting early with Day One of the Championships at Royal Randwick in Sydney and followed in the afternoon by two of the greatest events on the global horseracing calendar – the Dubai World Cup extravaganza at Meydan and the Randox Grand National at Aintree in Liverpool.
For the second weekend in a row TAB customers will have an array of opportunities to bet into the Hong Kong World Pool tote.
TAB Win, Place, Quinella and Swinger pools on Races 4 to 9 at Randwick will be commingled into the enormous Hong Kong pools with Exacta, Quartet and Double bets commingled into Tabcorp pools in Australia as normal.
TV coverage of the Randwick action on channel 240 DStv will kick off with Race 2 at 04h00 and it’s a cracking meeting well worth getting up early for.
There are four Grade 1 races, notably the Doncaster Handicap over 1600m. This is one of Australia’s major races and the full field of 20 includes 13 individual Grade 1 winners. Randwick Guineas hero Linebacker is the early favourite and, as in the Guineas, the New Zealand-bred gelding will be ridden by Zac Lloyd, whose father Jeff was one of South Africa’s most successful jockeys.
Champion Australian rider James McDonald will not be at Randwick for the big day because he’s in Dubai, where he will partner Hong Kong champion Romantic Warrior in the Grade 1 $5-million Dubai Turf, one of the big three at a $30.5-million nine-race spectacular headlined by the $12-million Dubai World Cup.
Romantic Warrior cruises along Meydan’s home straight (Pic – HKJC)
Romantic Warrior was outgunned late by Ever Young in an epic duel in the recent Saudi Cup, but the two will not be renewing rivalry at Meydan because the Japanese champion goes for the Dubai World Cup on dirt.
Both are short-priced favourites in their respective races and the only worry for their backers is whether they have recovered from their slugging match in the sand in Riyadh.
TAB Win, Place, Exacta, Quinella and Swinger pools on Races 3 to 9 at the Meydan meeting will be commingled into the Hong Kong World Pool. Total World Pool turnover on Dubai World Cup day a year ago was a staggering R900 million, which included bets on four Australian races.
Race 1 at Meydan jumps at 14h35 and that’s just 15 minutes after the start of the third and final day of the Grand National Festival at Aintree in England.
The Grand National, a gruelling 6940m marathon over 30 fences, was first run in 1839 and is steeped in history. Love it or hate it, this is Britain’s biggest horseracing event and it’s a breath-taking spectacle watched by more than 600-million viewers in over 100 countries.
A field of 34 runners is carded and 2024 winner I Am Maximus is favourite at around 6-1 to score an historic double under rider Paul Townsend. He’s one of six runners from genius Irish trainer Willie Mullins’ yard.
TAB will offer the usual range of bets on the race with Win, Place, Exacta, Swinger and Trifecta pools commingled into the UK Tote. Pools on the National will be huge and it’s a race in which how a horse reacts to the crowd noise in the preliminaries and whether it finds a steady rhythm in running are key, plus of course the usual luck in running. So if you fancy an outsider, have a dip because this is a contest to look for eachway value.
TAB retail customers are reminded that TAB betting forms show only 30 runners so any bets including number 31 and higher must be called to the teller.
