Sporting Post columnists share their opinions and insights into horse racing from South Africa and around the world. They are experts who have a deep understanding of the sport of kings, enjoy their thoughtful and fresh articles.
There are two schools of thought about what transpired over the last 200m of the July and the outcome of the objection. I have been asked for my view and let me start by saying that I don’t envy the Stipendiary Stewards
Saturday’s Vodacom Durban July meeting at Greyville confirmed a few likely Equus Award winners for the 2013-2014 season.
Having been coming up here for as long as I can remember, it really has been like a second home for me. It is a rather sobering thought, when looking at those lovely big grandstands, to think that they will be no more…
If it could be possible, I think that second July win was even better than the first.
Reader’s predictions: old hand William Milkovitch shows his colours, and invites others to follow suit
Our alleged biggest race of the year should not have come down in effect to it being a lottery – not a lottery where people put their hands in a drum and pull out a number – but one which involves an awful lot of the human element, opinion, feelings and dare I say it, financial interest ante-post. Why is it so hard not to have a pre race field of 16 runners and stick with it? If they thought the draw was a big surprise, when it came to the final horse being announced, I did not hear too much surprise in the room!
Danehill Dancer’s reputation as a sire has grown in 2014 with his sons, and sons of sons making in the winners box at Royal Ascot
The racing world I knew and wrote about is no longer there. Racing is turning into a brand new thing. It’s becoming a niche industry geared to the big breeders, the big owners and the big trainers.
This season, there have been a number of feature races, where progeny of one stallion have completely dominated the finish.
Sales, big race entries, regulatory issues, race day meds, Tellytrack, you name it – why is it all so complicated? Jockeys are particularly vulnerable, because they are frequently put on horses that they have never seen before and have no idea of the horse’s medical or even psychological history. Throwing a whole bunch of them together, at speed, with a tar road next to them – well, that just doesn’t seem like a good idea…
It will be interesting to see which way the panel goes with Futura being one of the earlier fancies and not winning. Will they pick him as one of their lucky picks? Either way it makes no difference to me but they might as well make a farce of the whole situation…
It will be good news for South African racing fans that, despite a number of offers from abroad, Gerald and Karen Kalil’s multiple champion Quid Pro Quo will continue her 3yo season on African soil
The son of Twice Over has been gelded and will be aimed at the Betway Gr1 Summer Cup, the L’Ormarins King’s Plate and the WSB Cape Town Met
Former SA Champion jockey Andrew Fortune’s six month quest to be relicenced to ride again reaches something of a watershed
The Ridgemont’s Kieswetter and Drakenstein’s Rupert families are major players in our horseracing and the Monmouth Park feature thus held more than a passing interest for many of us
