Welcome to the Hollywoodbets horse racing preview for the upcoming weekend. We look at the South African race meetings taking place from Friday 24th to Sunday 26th August, covering Fairview, Turffontein, Kenilworth and Greyville.
Of Turf & Tradition!
The first stakes feature of the brand-new SA racing season is hosted on the turf at Fairview on Friday where 15 fillies and mares line up in the Listed Jockey Club Stakes.
The 2000m headliner celebrates a piece of turf history – the Jockey Club, known in the 21st century as the National Horseracing Authority – was founded in Port Elizabeth almost 130 years ago.
The topweight in the race, Alan Greeff’s smart Gimmethegreenlight mare Beataboutthebush, looks poised to register her ninth win and could be one of the best bets on the eight-race programme. In prime form, the equine ATM looks ready to atone for a rare below-par performance in the corresponding event last year. Cape champion Aldo Domeyer takes the reins and she will be a popular first choice.
While the high-class action is in the Northern Hemisphere, with the £500 000 Gr1 Ebor Handicap rounding off the four-day York Ebor Festival in the UK, Turffontein and Kenilworth share the Saturday local double billing.
Liberado can get punters off to a flyer on the Turffontein inside track nine-race programme. The New Zealand-bred gelding is now overdue to break the ice and brings good form into the 1450m Maiden Plate under Mark Khan.
Mike de Kock’s multiple stakes placed Noble Secret returns to racing in an Assessment Plate (7th race) after a 16 week break. A classy sort, he can go close if anywhere near race fitness – and the stable suggested earlier this week that we can expect a bold showing from him.
Our Hollywood Syndicate has two runners at Turffontein on Saturday. Seventh Son comes back from a 21 week break in the sixth race, a MR65 handicap over 1000m. He has struggled since winning his maiden and we are hopeful that the rest has turned things around for him. Whiteleaf Hills has his first start for the connections in the ninth race and according to our conditioner Clinton Binda, he is short of a grass gallop and will thus need the outing. Nonetheless, we expect him to give a decent account of himself.
While the eight races at Kenilworth on the same afternoon don’t boast the biggest of fields, the racing at the Southern Suburbs venue looks very competitive – and the short-term weather outlook suggests the going could also play a role.
The Andries Steyn-trained Power Grid stands out in the seventh race. The gelding – a galloping veterinary miracle on four legs – has an ungainly action but knows exactly where to find the winning post and has won 5 of his 21 starts on pure heart and ability. He could be bumping the right kind of field in the 1200m contest and must go close.
Winning Form’s Personality of the Week Sandile Mbhele goes for his third straight win on Secretariat’s Girl in the eighth and final race. The daughter of Captain Al is in good form and will benefit from the 2,5kg claim of the promising young rider.
Sunday racing reverts to Greyville on a welcome return to the City turf track where the bang in-form Anton Marcus has six decent rides on the eight-race card.
‘Superman’ can get things rolling in the second where he partners Canadian Bolt for Robbie and Shannon Hill. The Pathfork gelding made a smart poly debut earlier this month and he steps up to the 1400m.
Louis Goosen’s speedy Bonnie Dawn has the advantage of a rails draw in the fifth, where her six opponents could be under pressure to peg her back under the 2,5kg full value claimer Khanya Sakayi.
A reminder that your chance to drive away in a brand new VW Polo Trendline courtesy of our latest promotion ends next Friday! Read more here.
Have a big winning weekend.
Till next time.
By James Everett, Hollywoodbets.
