Boots and All. Soccer betting is showing growth.
Not bad for a close to midmonth Sunday! R3 million was wagered on the Scottsville meeting exotic bets held in beautiful sunshine on 21 August, while the new Soccer Ten option also soared in popularity with the pool on that bet soaring to well over the R1 million advertised target.
The soccer bet benefitted from a first ever carry-over although three games were cancelled due to a strike in Spain. There is no denying that sectors of the horseracing fraternity may bemoan the intrusion of the soccer sideshow in our daily equine diet. But the fact remains that the huge popularity of this sport makes it a valuable crutch.
Thinking about it, we are frankly though not quite sure what value it represents in rand terms to horseracing. That is, how much money makes its way back into the stakes pool? But it doubtless boosts coffers and certainly brings third-party traditionally non-racing punters into the tote and one hopes there is a plan to cross-sell and bring them on board and into the world of the Pick Six and Jackpot. Credibility is also vital and Tellytrack soccer presenter Shane Mcgregor didn’t help the cause when sowing confusion on the channel on Saturday morning by reducing the carry-over amount from R413 000 to R313 000. This was rectified later, but boy we sure don’t need to trigger the conspiracy theorists again. Particularly when the Soccer product and its spin-offs in the Phumelela financial model is so vague for many of us.
Hard-fought win. Pianette is led in by Assistant trainer Frikkie Greyling.
Jockey Sean Cormack took the riding honours on the Scottsville afternoon with a well taken treble. He is riding with a lot of confidence in both the Western Cape and KZN this season and his burgeoning partnership with Paarl-based Glen Kotzen looks like developing into a profitable relationship. Cormack rode two of his three winners for Kotzen, which included a display of power and determination on Robin Scott’s three year old filly Pianette in the first leg of the Pick Six, a Maiden Plate over 1600m. She was yet another winner for Sadler’s Wells stallion Hinton Wells and showed tremendous maturity at just her second start here. She got the better of the very fancied Alec Laird runner Dazz Al, who was given every chance by Stuart Randolph. In spite of running green, the Kotzen filly showed hearty fight and ability, and she looks a promising sort in the making.
The fifth race was an Apprentice MR 70 Handicap run over 1000m and it produced a rousing and tight finish with Keegan De Melo outgunning ‘Doctor’ Sifiso Lembethe. De Melo got the Bart Rice filly All Summer Long to lift her game and she got the better of the consistent Friar Tuck, who looked a winner just 50m from the post. The fancied Cash Lord under the relatively far more experienced JP Van Der Merwe was slow away and well beaten into third place.
Brandon Lerena is happily back amongst the winners after returning from Mauritius recently and he rode a great double – winning both his races narrowly. He got the best out of the Tony Rivalland–trained Share The Silver to get the better of the fantastically consistent Flowers Of Spring, who failed by a nostril under a visibly disappointed Corne Orffer in the MR 90 Handicap (F&M) over 1000m. Lerena then closed the day on the Wendy Whitehead-trained Tukudswa, who robbed the Kotzen and Cormack partnership of a treble. The young jockey rode a grandstand finish on the mercurial 66-1 shot, who put his best foot forward here after usually losing his races at the start. Cormack must have been gutted to lose this one after seemingly riding a perfect race on the fancied Master Plan.
In the pink. Delpech is back and trainer Neil Bruss is all smiles.
Last season’s jockey championship runner-up Anthony Delpech has ridden four winners in just two meetings this season since returning from his annual holiday. He has achieved this with some average rides and no help from the largely resting De Kock string. He has certainly signalled his intentions of making a serious bid on the silverware and the recently introduced R250 000 cash incentive. Delpech, who recently spent four days courtesy of Mike Rattray at the fantastic Mala Mala Game Reserve, followed up his treble at Turffontein on Saturday with a smooth win on Sally Jourdan’s Adobe Pink in the third race,a Maiden Plate over 1600m. The daughter of Go Deputy, a Lammerskraal bred of course, has improved at every start and she gave trainer Neil Bruss his first winner from only five runners in the new season.
Yogas Govender and Sean Veale have built up a good relationship and they opened the day with a facile win for the consistent but luckless Lizard’s Passion. The four year old has earned at every one of his five starts but has not put it all together before today. His past jockeys include Anton Marcus(twice) and Kevin Shea, but today a drop in distance and blinkers appeared to do the trick and he won by a mile. The well-bred Pomodoro made a good debut by running on well in second, and this Jet Master colt should win soon. Sean Cormack rode the second race winner when the Captain Al filly Reason To Believe won the Maiden Plate for Three Year Old Fillies over 1200m with ease. She was up with the pace all the way and Wendy Whitehead was understandably relieved in the post-race interview. She said that Anton Marcus was ‘horrified’ to have been beaten at her last start at 13-20. Punters may remember her mother Crown Ridge, a consistent and talented seven-time winner who raced with great popularity in the same silks for the same trainer some years ago.
At last! Cormack steers Arabian Empire to a fluid second victory.
Cormack rode his third winner of the day when he steered the talented Anabaa gelding Arabian Empire to a fluent and gutsy win in the Novice Plate over 1400m. It is difficult to believe that this fellow was recording just his second win and the drop down in distance may have done the trick – although he did finish just 2,65 lengths off Top Seller in the Gr1 Investec Cape Derby run over 2000m. He showed great resolve to come again and beat the luckless filly Legal Account, while the fancied Tarry horse Always Al did not have the easiest of passages for his level of racing experience and he deserves another chance. This was Arabian Empire’s thirteenth run and he looks like he could fulfil his early promise, now that he has learnt to win.
