The Cape Racing authorities’ improvisation and determination to race were sadly upstaged again by Mother Nature on Wednesday when the Hollywoodbets Durbanville racemeeting was abandoned after the running of the third race.
The first racemeeting at the Country Course since 21 November 2023 was abandoned after underfoot conditions deteriorated due to persistent rainfall and the surface had become unsafe for racing.
Hollywoodbets -sponsored Brett Crawford saddled a winner on the day (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)
Jockeys also expressed concerned about the visibility and the official track conditions were amended to ‘soft’ during the fixture. The Thursday meeting at the same venue must be in the balance.
Gavin Lerena made his late call-up from Gauteng worth the trip when he steered the Drakenstein bred Once World colt Please Be True to a comfortable victory in the opener.
Grant van Niekerk gave the Glen Kotzen trained Talk Of The Town a perfect ride from the front to win the second race at his sixth start.
This was Avontuur’s well-bred stallion Talk Of The Town’s third first-crop winner and the handsome colt joins Gr3 TAB Pretty Polly Stakes runner-up Famous Lady and Sakurajima as first crop winners for the lightly raced sire.
Bred by Avontuur Thoroughbred Farm in partnership with Zenzele Stud (Pty) Ltd, Sound Of The Sea is out of the Quiet American mare Sea Of Calm.
Artiste (Gareth Wright) storms to victory – the meeting was abandoned after this race (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)
The smashing grey Canford Cliffs filly Artiste won impressively at her second outing at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth in May, and showed that her last run was all wrong with an eyecatching win in the third race.
The Ridgemont bred galloper is raced in partnership by the leading Robertson breeders and Devin Heffer, and was allowed to use her flowing action by Ridgemont rider Gareth Wright.
Turned out in fighting trim by Brett Crawford, she went off at 13-2 and beat the 7-2 In The Green Zone by 1,25 lengths, with the fancied 17-10 Sahara Cat a further 2,25 away in third, and not appearing to relish the underfoot conditions.
With a sunny Hollywoodbets Scottsville running alongside the Cape meeting, exotic pools appeared to be very limited on the afternoon, with the PA and Bipot both under R100 000.
Dividends were declared on the Bipot, with the Place Accumulator and Pick 6 generating refunds. Races 4 to 9 were abandoned.
Watch this space for news of Thursday’s Hollywoodbets Durbanville fixture.
