The Blitsboks will look to break their Cape Town hoodoo, Premier League goal glut to continue and more from the sporting weekend ahead by Gary Lemke!
BLITZBOKS LOOKING TO DOUBLE UP
The Blitzboks are fresh from winning the opening leg of the World SVNS Series when they impressed in going all the way in Dubai last week. They were lifting the trophy for the fifth consecutive time and arrived in Cape Town full of confidence and expectation that they double up on the success.
A word of caution though: They did the same thing last year and disappointed, losing to the USA in the Cup semi-finals, showing that when it comes to Sevens it’s never straightforward.
Samoa went on to win the Cape Town leg, but you have to think the Blitzboks should win their group consisting of Great Britain, Ireland and the USA and then go through to the knockouts with a spring in their step.
They will also benefit from a crowd still high on the Springboks’ World Cup success. The SA women’s side is also in action and will be looking to kick on from the promise they showed in Dubai last week as well.
Blitzboks squad for the Cape Town Sevens:
— Dylan Jack (@dylmjack) December 7, 2023
Just one change to the side that won the Dubai Sevens, with Tiaan Pretorius in for the injured Christie Grobbelaar. pic.twitter.com/vp1NkDJraZ
THROW A DART TO FIND THE WINNER
I always have a very small bet and it’s generally because of some simple format. It’s the one race of the year where I pay no attention to form or reputation, or the betting.
It’s the annual WSB Grand Heritage race on the turf at the Vaal on Saturday, and it’s the biggest field of runners on the annual calendar. There are 23 horses making the dash down the 1475m straight and to win it, as a connection or a punter, you need all the luck to go your way.
So, for this year, I’m going with the combination of jockey and trainer with the best percentages together for the season. That puts Cabinet Shuffle (33/1) ahead for me, followed by Silent War (9/2), Black Egret (20/1) and Pyromaniac (10/1).
Anyone who can tip the winner, let alone the quartet, is going to have bragging rights for the entire holiday season. Check out the 2021 edition of the race below:
STONE COLD (Soft Falling Rain - She's So Cold @Moutonshoek1 ) finished best under @NathanKlink1 to win the R300,000 @WorldSportsBet Grand Heritage at the #Vaal for @ckhorseracing and Vicky Veeramootoo pic.twitter.com/akmsbYvH4V
— Racing Guru (@RacingGuru) December 11, 2021
COUNTDOWN OFFERS VALUE FOR MONEY
The big race on Sunday’s card at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth is the Grade 2 Cape Merchants over 1200m. This also has a big field of 16 and during midweek the middle outside of the track seemed to be where the going was best.
Trainer Justin Snaith sends out three runners, but two of them – Without Question and Double Superlative – are being aimed at bigger events this summer.
King Regent beat Horse of the Year Princess Calla over 1250m last time, but an interesting booking is Richard Fourie aboard the 8/1 chance Countdown, who comes right into the race now that he is carrying 54.5kg. Overall, it looks like a tough card. Last year’s edition was won by Gimme A Prince:
🏆 Cape Merchants (G2)
— 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙𝙍𝙖𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜 (@WorldRacing1) December 11, 2022
1200m, 450.000 ZAR, for 4yo+
🇿🇦Kenilworth
Gimme A Prince (SAF)
(4C Gimmethegreenlight - Real Princess, by Trippi)
J : K. De Melo
T :Dean Kannemeyer
O : Khaya Stables (Pty) Ltd pic.twitter.com/78R9g1Lh95
MORE GOALS ON THE WAY IN PREMIER LEAGUE
The goals keep on coming in the Premier League – and so do the upsets. There have been only three goalless draws in that league this season, compared with 15 already in South Africa’s top-flight.
In fact, 5-0 has been as common as 0-0 in England’s topflight, and there have been more 4-1’s and 3-2’s too. In my bets during the week my best bet was the double on Fulham and Brighton – and it was a case of ka-ching.
This weekend, I think the 7/2 acca on wins for Wolves (vs Nottingham Forest), Brighton (vs Burnley) and Man United (vs Bournemouth) might be the way to go. The big game sees Aston Villa host Arsenal.
Don't try this at home 😬 pic.twitter.com/ZimOkWw9OS
— Premier League (@premierleague) December 7, 2023
BULLS AND STORMERS FLY SA FLAG
Excuse me for admitting that I don’t quite know what’s going on in rugby at the moment. Just as we were getting used to the United Rugby Championship, along comes the Investec Champions Cup this weekend.
Apparently, this is the premier competition in Europe, 24 teams coming together from the URC, the English Premiership and the French Top 14. So, I assume this is the trophy that most clubs want in their cabinet. There are four pools of six teams each.
Let’s start with that for now. In SA’s interest, the Bulls host Saracens, while the Stormers face a tough visit to Leicester. And that’s the complete representation from the land of the World Cup holders.
WE’RE BACK! ⭐️#InvestecChampionsCup action returns on Friday night, 24 teams but only one champion, it’s #WhereExtraordinaryHappens 🔥 pic.twitter.com/bZH3syqjeo
— Investec Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) December 4, 2023
PSL ALREADY A ONE-HORSE RACE
There are five matches from Friday to Sunday in the aforementioned DStv Premiership, although log leaders Sundowns aren’t in action. To show how dominant they are, they have won all 10 games and have only conceded three goals so far this season.
They are five points clear of Cape Town City and still have three games in hand. Sundowns are 27 points ahead of bottom-placed Cape Town Spurs who have one win and 12 defeats. This round sees Kaizer Chiefs (8th) play Polokwane City (10th), Chippa United (13th) against Golden Arrows (5th), Pirates (6th) vs TS Galaxy (11th) and Royal AM (14th) vs Richards Bay (15th)
Thank you to all of our supporters who showed up in KZN and inspired us to victory! 👆💛#Sundowns #DStvPrem pic.twitter.com/H8UMuMKFI6
— Mamelodi Sundowns FC (@Masandawana) December 7, 2023
