Gary Lemke looks at the weekend that was in sports as Arsenal moved to the top of the EPL, the Hollywoodbets Sharks turn a corner in URC and many more from the sporting world!
SA TEAMS ENJOY HOME COMFORTS
What a difference a week in sport makes. The Hollywoodbets Sharks were unrecognisable from the team that limped to five successive defeats on the road in the United Rugby Championship, to look more like the force of old as they manhandled the Dragons at Kings Park, winning 69-14. They were visibly buoyed by their returning Boks as well. At Loftus the Bulls also ran up 53 points, while across the Jukskei the Lions smashed Zebre 61-19. Those results also highlighted how tough it is to travel in this competition, although a trip to South Africa seems particularly daunting for visiting teams. The Stormers were the only South African team to lose, at Cardiff, leaving them 11th on the table, but they have the comfort of returning home this week where Zebre look like being sacrificial lambs.
Three big wins and 29 tries in a good weekend for the SA sides in the @Vodacom #URC - scorers, highlights and more here: https://t.co/TZhhImEPMF 💪#UnitedWeRise pic.twitter.com/xlWSeojPNQ
— Springboks (@Springboks) November 26, 2023
CAPE RACING UNVEILS THE FUTURE
Hollywoodbets Kenilworth re-opened on Sunday for the first time this season and racegoers were blown away by the transformation from last season, Cape Racing chairman Greg Bortz and “Mr Hollywoodbets” Owen Heffer must be applauded for saving the port in the region. Although it’s still very much a work in progress, the vision is to make Kenilworth one of the most spectacular venues in the world in which to race. The Grade 2 Punters Cup was the main event on the card and Hluhluwe stuck up his hand as a possible Cape Guineas winner when he beat a useful field of three-year-old contemporaries.
Kenilworth race course capetown pic.twitter.com/PjV2sdVwcw
— Wallin Mushunje (@Sir_walyns) November 26, 2023
OUTSIDERS DOMINATE SUMMER CUP
The big race of the Gauteng season, the R5-million Betway Summer Cup, was won in some style by the outsider Royal Victory. But the punters knew something. He shortened from 50-1 to 33-1, followed by Safe Passage, who also came in from 14-1 to 11-2. The quartet (first 4) paid R25 000. The favourite ended up being Atticus Finch, who placed ninth, a head behind Hollywoodbets July winner Winchester Mansion. However, the day was soured by the news that top trainer Tony Peter’s horses were all scratched from the meeting, after he had won the first race. An unsavoury incident at his stables on Saturday morning led to the NHRA suspending Peter from racing horses pending a full investigation. By Monday they had lifted the suspension.
Race 7 #turffontein || ROYAL VICTORY (Pathfork - Kailani) WINS the 2023 BETWAY SUMMER CUP for trainer N Kotzen and ridden to victory by @MuziYeni, congratulations to winning owners P J Victor, B J Wiese & Natasha Sturdy as well as winning breeders Dr M Thomson, Ambiance Stud. 🏇 pic.twitter.com/Qm6tLPKKBm
— 4Racing (@4RacingZA) November 25, 2023
GUNNERS MOVE TO TOP OF EPL
Arsenal went to the top of the English Premier League with a hard-fought 1-0 win at Brentford and led by one point over Manchester City and two clear of Liverpool. City and Liverpool faced off in that dreaded Saturday lunchtime kick-off slot and as we have said many times, the favourite so often fails to win. That was again the case when Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold’s second half goal cancelled out Erling Haaland’s to share the spoils. Haaland meanwhile became the fastest player to 50 EPL goals, coming in just 48 games. Next fastest is Andy Cole – in 65 matches!
Mikel Arteta 🆚 Arsene Wenger in their first 𝟮𝟬𝟬 Arsenal games 🔢👀 pic.twitter.com/d8rAElAobG
— LiveScore (@livescore) November 27, 2023
END OF THE ROAD FOR F1, MOTOGP SEASONS
Those who like the smell of burning rubber and motor fuel had plenty to feast on this past weekend. The curtain came down on both the 2023 Formula One and the MotoGP seasons. In Valencia Pecco Bagnaia crowned the season with victory in the final race to become the third rider to win back-to-back world titles, the others being the great Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez. South Africa’s Brad Binder finished fourth on the table. Bring on 2024! At the season-ending Abu Dhabi GP, Max Verstappen (who else) surged to an Abu Dhabi Grand Prix victory by 17 seconds. It was his 19th win from 22 races. It marked the milestone of being the first driver to lead for 1,000 laps in a season. It was, simply, one-way traffic. Bring on 2024?
AND STILL! 💪
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) November 26, 2023
It's back-to-back glory for @PeccoBagnaia, your 2023 #MotoGP World Champion!🤩
#BACK2BACKgnaia 🏆🏆 pic.twitter.com/xAXnKdH7t9
