A collection of opinions and thoughts on all aspects of horse racing from around the world.
There is no doubt that we saw a future star of South Horseracing at Fairview on Friday 15 July. The much-hyped Western Cape youngsters sportingly arrived to take their chances against the local stars and Gavin Smith’s Windrush colt sent them home with tails between the legs. Not that we are even thinking about that objection that almost spoilt the party though…
Champion jockey title or not, Messrs Delpech and Marcus will share the horseracing newsmakers of the year award. Their influence on and dominance of the run-of-the-mill meetings particularly, has been overwhelming. It must be tough being an ‘ordinary’ jockey and competing with the talented glamour boys.
Selecting a winning racehorse can sometimes be less of a science and a lot more about emotion. He may not yet be another JJ The Jet Plane, but the Surging River first-timer River’s End was chosen on just as much gut-feel.
Anthony Delpech rode his 200th winner in the opener of the Greyville night meeting on 12 July. A hat-trick on the night meant that he edged four clear of a hounding Anton Marcus in the Jockey Championship title race…
All is not well down Flamingo Park way it seems. The track was severely criticised on Monday 11 July by trainer Vernon Rugg who termed it a disgrace. At the end of the day punters are left carrying the can for the ineptitude. We agree with Mr Rugg. A disgrace and thankfully somebody is willing to open his mouth,
Jockey Anthony Delpech a ‘little tired’? Is the stress starting to count after a tough season and will this give the cucumber-cool Anton Marcus a chance to pounce and cut back the deficit? This could be a watershed week and a turning point in the jockey championship puzzle…
The grandstand jockeys who punted Made Of Steel would have been cursing MJ Byleveld about 200m from home in the first leg of the Pick
The winds of change or a harmless breeze off the ocean of everyday life? We have been spoilt this week by a Phumelela press release and the reporting of a few sensitive issues in the Racegoer pages. This follows an eventful and dramatic Vodacom Durban July and there might be some light at the end of the tunnel after all!
A great display of jockeyship!Glen Hatt and Richard Fourie grabbed seven winners on the nine race card at Durbanville on 6 July and demonstrated the vast gap between the haves and have-nots…
Jockey Robbie Fradd made a winning return to race riding at Scottsville on 5 July after a three month absence from the saddle. The 46
Horseracing has been betrayed yet again by the mainstream media. The picture of the tragic end of former Vodacom Durban July winner Big City Life moments after they passed the post on the front page of the 3 July edition of…
The R1 million Gr1 Douglas Whyte Stakes Grade is the opening leg of the projected R15 million Pick 6 pool at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Sunday
Cape Racing’s ongoing tussle with Mother Nature in what has been a wet July to beat all July’s, produced a fairytale at a sunny, but very chilly, Hollywoodbets Durbanville on Thursday
A Cape jockey has told of the enormous relief and the burden lifted from his shoulders on Friday after two well-known racing men took the cudgels up on his behalf some months ago to defend the father of four against an NHRA charge
A Pick 6 carryover of R2 million is set to take the exotic pool to R15 million, while the World Pool Gr3 Gold Cup sees a Quartet carryover of R1 million and a likely pool of R5 million
