LANCE BENSON: Flamboyant former Cape and country course Champion trainer Joey Ramsden has started the new season in low-key fashion, but upped his game with a dazzling win in the Gr3 Matchem Stakes on Sunday 9 October.
LANCE BENSON: It is refreshing to see Phumelela doing some out-of-the-box marketing when it comes to their innovative new Rugby 5 bet through the sponsorship of a student beauty pageant.
LANCE BENSON: The growing popularity of external income streams such as the soccer and rugby exotic bets have to some extent removed the flashing red light above horseracing’s front door.
LANCE BENSON: Words and fragmented good intention aplenty. In twenty years from now, the horseracing landscape will look very different to the way it looks today.
LANCE BENSON: When they are not censored or edited, the Tellytrack post-race interviews serve as a ready medium of entertainment and information. Whether it be the eloquent and vocal Trainer Ian Jayes championing the cause of the oppressed and unheard, or a jilted and frustrated owner using the platform to speak his mind, the interviews make for an important unscripted conduit of information.
LANCE BENSON: The legalisation of Dog Racing was discussed in parliament last week. As usual there are two opposing lobbies and the debate has a long road to walk still
LANCE BENSON: There are just too many unanswered questions and uncertainties. Couple this thought with the economic outlook for the next twelve months looking a touch rockier than the past year. Against this backdrop one can understand that this weekend’s National Two Year Old Sale could provide an orgy of life-changing opportunity for those folk with the emotional and financial backbone to raise their hands and buy that four-legged lucky dip.
LANCE BENSON: It is good to observe a touch of innovation from Tellytrack. The introduction this week of Neil Andrews’ Betting World show in three new live slots, including Saturday and Sunday morning, should lift the quality of the sparse magazine programme line-up on the racing channel.
LANCE BENSON: Taking the freakish dominance of Mike De Kock out of the equation, the national trainer leader board tells a very positive story about the effectiveness and performance of Cape trainers
LANCE BENSON: Horseracing’s poor relationship with the independent media was highlighted by the recent Vodacom Durban July tragedy. The sport was made to look stupid and cruel and even though the dust has settled briefly until the next round, the indirect cost and impact will never be quantified.
LANCE BENSON: Prestige, ego or a career booster? It definitely is not the money! What else could really be motivating established successful sportsmen like Anthony Delpech and Anton Marcus to be sacrificing their families and comfortable lifestyles for cramped aircraft seats and the personal injury risks and boredom that go with racing in our backwaters?
Ironically, it was a colt which provided Alan with a first Gr1 success, this being Alec and Gillian Foster’s homebred Cereus, who landed the 2001 Gold Cup at Hollywoodbets Greyville, his victory completing a momentous double on the day, with the Gr2 Golden Slipper having gone the way of juvenile filly Tatler, a great-great-great grandaughter of Sun Lass!
JP van der Merwe is not the only guilty party in the matter. In simple terms, he is the only rider to have exercised the NHA’s offer of an Acknowledgement Of Guilt and moved on with his life
Andrew Fortune made it three winners on the Family Day public holiday as Tenango breezed home to win the Gr3 feature
The son of Master Of My Fate will likely side-step stablemate Eight On Eighteen in the Daily News and go via the Greyville 1900 and Cup Trial into the big one on 5 July
