A massive entry of 106 sprinting thoroughbreds, including the first three past the post in the recent Grade 1 Computaform Sprint at Turffontein, have been entered for the country’s biggest and most prestigious meeting for speed horses that features four Grade 1 events over 1 200m. It will all happen at the Tsogo Sun Sprint Racemeeting at Scottsville Racecourse in Pietermaritzburg on Saturday, May 26, where R3,25-million in stakes will be up for grabs for the four races that form the official Jackpot at the meeting.
Headed by the R1-million Tsogo Sun Sprint, the programme includes the R750 000 South African Fillies Sprint for fillies and mares at weight-for-age and the two R750 000 juvenile events at level weights, the Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion which is open to all two-year-olds and the Allan Roberston Championship which is restricted to the young fillies.
In the Tsogo Sun Sprint three fillies are among 33 entries where the Joey Ramsden-trained Western Winter gelding Attenborough will likely top the early betting after his impressive victory in the Computaform Sprint where he came on late under Richard Fourie to win by a length at an easy-to-back price of 16-1. The runner up in that race, Pinnacle Peak from the Dorrie Sham stable and Attenborough’s stable mate Speedpoint that finished third are also among the entries along with In Full Flight Handicap winner Bold Respect, the unlucky and often slow away Trip To Heaven, and others such as Sir Frenchie, Naafer, Sunset Eyes, Myfunnyvalentine, Always In Charge, Black Cat Back and Bishops Bounty.
Myfunnyvalentine has also been entered for the SA Fillies Sprint along with Sommerlied, Live Life that finished third in the Grade 1 Cape Flying Championship as well as Neptune’s Rain and Made In Hollywood that filled the first two places in the Strelitzia Stakes. Green Plains won the Camelot beating Myfunnyvalentine and Magical Wonderland is one of the many three-year-olds in the entries that won the Sceptre Stakes at Kenilworth in January.
Trainer Dennis Drier, who has an outstanding record in the Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion, has nominated three horses for the juvenile race – Immortelle, Crown And Country and Goliath Heron – in a bid to continue his domination of the race but faces some top-performing juveniles like SA Nursery winner William The Silent and runners-up Cirillo and Chimichuri Run. Cue The Music, Van Halen and Traces, first three past the post in the Godolphin Barb, are also among the entries.
The Allan Robertson Championship is not to be outdone in terms of a quality entry with the 22 fillies including the SA Fillies Nursery winner Ronnie’s Candy and runner-up Ghaalla along with top Strelitzia Stakes performers Inverroche, Canukeepitsecret, Petra and Star Flyer.
The Tsogo Sun Sprint meeting is the biggest held in the KwaZulu-Natal Capital and with the best sprinters in the country in thundering action it is a meeting that must not be missed.
– Journalist Richard McMillan – Gold Circle
ENTRIES
Tsogo Sun Festival of Speed
| Horse | Odds | Trainer | MR |
| Always In Charge | 16/1 | Vaughan Marshall | 109 |
| Amazing Strike | 25/1 | Alec Laird | 107 |
| Attenborough | 14/1 | Joey Ramsden | 114 |
| Billy Silver | 40/1 | Dennis Bosch | 97 |
| Bishop’s Bounty | 33/1 | Justin Snaith | 117 |
| Black Cat Back | 20/1 | Brett Crawford | 103 |
| Bold Respect | 7/1 | Brett Crawford | 111 |
| Captain’s Causeway |
20/1 | Sean Tarry | 108 |
| Doosra | 33/1 | J A Janse van Vuuren | 102 |
| Down To Zero | 33/1 | M G Azzie/A A Azzie | 98 |
| Finchatton | 40/1 | Gokhan Terzi | 100 |
| Graduation Day | 40/1 | Joe Soma | 101 |
| Green Pepper | 25/1 | J A Janse van Vuuren | 107 |
| Hard To play | 66/1 | Wendy Whitehead | 92 |
| Kasimir | 10/1 | Justin Snaith | 105 |
| Live Life | 25/1 | Candice Bass-Robinson | 115 |
| London Call | 14/1 | Mark Dixon | 117 |
| Myfunnyvalentine | 40/1 | Sean Tarry | 97 |
| Naafer (AUS) | 16/1 | Mike de Kock | 110 |
| Our Mate Art (AUS) |
40/1 | Candice Bass-Robinson | 109 |
| Pinnacle Peak | 8/1 | Dorrie Sham | 112 |
| Pure Blonde | 40/1 | Alec Laird | 104 |
| Rocky Valley | 25/1 | Candice Dawson | 107 |
| Romi’s Boy | 25/1 | Alec Laird | 106 |
| Sir Frenchie (AUS) |
20/1 | Justin Snaith | 106 |
| Speedpoint | 16/1 | Joey Ramsden | 109 |
| Sunset Eyes | 14/1 | Brett Crawford | 102 |
| Tandava (ZIM) | 33/1 | Gokhan Terzi | 101 |
| Tribal Fusion | 40/1 | Shane Humby | 95 |
| Trip To Heaven | 8/1 | Sean Tarry | 114 |
| Wonderwall | 33/1 | Sean Tarry | 101 |
| Wynkelder | 40/1 | Tony Rivalland | 96 |
| Zouaves | 33/1 | Geoff Woodruff | 98 |
Betting is subject to change. E&OE.
Ante-post betting rules apply.
| Horse | Odds | Trainer | MR |
| Anime | 33/1 | Dennis Drier | 91 |
| Call To Account | 40/1 | Joey Ramsden | 96 |
| Casual Diamond | 25/1 | Justin Snaith | 102 |
| Exquisite Touch | 10/1 | Sean Tarry | 109 |
| Gimme Six | 16/1 | Justin Snaith | 106 |
| Green Pepper | 7/1 | J A Janse van Vuuren | 107 |
| Green Plains | 11/2 | Sean Tarry | 108 |
| Hoist The Mast | 40/1 | Andre Nel | 90 |
| Jo’s Bond | 14/1 | Justin Snaith | 107 |
| Live Life | 12/1 | Candice Bass-Robinson | 115 |
| Made In Hollywood | 33/1 | Joey Ramsden | 97 |
| Magical Wonderland |
4/1 | Candice Bass-Robinson | 110 |
| Myfunnyvalentine | 25/1 | Sean Tarry | 97 |
| Neptune’s Rain | 10/1 | Duncan Howells | 110 |
| Princess Peach | 40/1 | Glen Kotzen | 101 |
| Rose In Bloom | 16/1 | Joey Ramsden | 106 |
| Sommerlied | 12/1 | Dennis Drier | 108 |
| Statute | 16/1 | Michael Roberts | 98 |
| The Secret Is Out | 8/1 | Vaughan Marshall | 112 |
| Too Phat To Fly | 14/1 | Glen Kotzen | 105 |
| Winter’s Forge | 33/1 | Stanley Ferreira | 96 |
Betting is subject to change. E&OE.
Ante-post betting rules apply.
| Horse | Odds | Trainer | MR |
| Affranchi | 33/1 | Tony Nassif | 0 |
| Chimichuri Run | 8/1 | Sean Tarry | 0 |
| Cirillo | 9/2 | Sean Tarry | 0 |
| Crown And Country | 20/1 | Dennis Drier | 0 |
| Cue The Music | 7/2 | Dennis Bosch | 0 |
| Di Me | 40/1 | Ivan Van Wyk | 0 |
| Eastbrook | 40/1 | Greg & Karen Anthony | 0 |
| Gentleman’s Way | 40/1 | Kumaran Naidoo | 0 |
| Goliath Heron | 20/1 | Dennis Drier | 0 |
| Immortelle | 16/1 | Dennis Drier | 0 |
| In Cahoots | 20/1 | Sean Tarry | 0 |
| Opensea | 25/1 | Gavin van Zyl | 0 |
| Rule The Night | 40/1 | Tobie Spies | 0 |
| Sulka | 20/1 | J A Janse van Vuuren | 0 |
| Top Of The Class | 16/1 | Vaughan Marshall | 0 |
| Topmast | 33/1 | Dorrie Sham | 0 |
| Traces (AUS) | 7/1 | Brett Crawford | 0 |
| Twist Of Fate | 7/1 | Joey Ramsden | 0 |
| Van Halen | 14/1 | Tobie Spies | 0 |
| William The Silent |
7/1 | Robbie Sage | 0 |
Betting is subject to change. E&OE.
Ante-post betting rules apply.
| Horse | Odds | Trainer | MR |
| Arianos Shadow | 12/1 | Yogas Govender | 0 |
| Be Happy | 33/1 | Michael Roberts | 0 |
| Canukeepitsecret | 16/1 | Vaughan Marshall | 0 |
| Celtic Sea | 4/1 | Sean Tarry | 0 |
| Dagmar | 8/1 | Mike de Kock | 0 |
| Elle Va | 33/1 | Dean Kannemeyer | 0 |
| Ghaalla | 7/2 | Mike de Kock | 0 |
| I Like It | 66/1 | Stephen Moffatt | 0 |
| Inverroche | 14/1 | Mark Dixon | 0 |
| Mazari | 50/1 | Tobie Spies | 0 |
| Mighty High | 12/1 | J A Janse van Vuuren | 0 |
| Miss Calypso | 20/1 | Gavin van Zyl | 0 |
| Outlandos d’Amour | 20/1 | Dennis Drier | 0 |
| Petra | 16/1 | Robbie Hill | 0 |
| Purest Bliss | 16/1 | Glen Kotzen | 0 |
| Ronnie’s Candy | 9/2 | St John Gray | 0 |
| Runaway Gal | 25/1 | Brett Crawford | 0 |
| Star Flyer | 40/1 | Tobie Spies | 0 |
| To Woo | 50/1 | Michael Roberts | 0 |
| Vivir | 25/1 | Ormond Ferraris | 0 |
| Western Angel | 25/1 | Candice Bass-Robinson | 0 |
| Wildly In Love | 50/1 | Duncan Howells | 0 |
Betting is subject to change. E&OE.
Ante-post betting rules apply.
