Early birds to score at Vaal
Tenjiku and World Tour stand out in races 2 and 3 respectively
Punters will have to contend with a competitive 10-race card on the Vaal Classic track on Thursday, with a number of low-level handicaps on the day.
However, there look to be some decent opportunities early on the card for racing fans to build up a kitty. This Pick 6 appears to be quite tricky but the rewards will be great for anybody who can catch it.
In Race 2, Tony Peter-trained Mighty Eagle and Alec Laird's runner Tenjiku square off over 1500m after recent victories over slightly shorter distances.
The former, a Danon Platina colt ridden by Gavin Lerena, won by four lengths in open company last time over 1450m and could have more to offer over the extended trip against two-year-old opposition.
Tenjiku, on the other hand, beat Whispering Death last time and that has turned out to be a very strong form line. Since then Mike and Mathew de Kock-trained Whispering Death has gone on to win twice and once again that form has been franked. He was sent off a 4-10 favourite after that second on debut and beat Chronicle King, a winner of his next start by 2.25 lengths.
ALSO READ: Snaith sextet top entries for Daily News 2000
Whispering Death, a half-brother to Grade 1 SA Derby winner Aragosta and six-time winner Mrs Browning, went on to win his next start as well, going off at 4-10 in that field over 1600m and beating Ideal Summer by 2.40 lengths. Even that form was franked as the Alec Laird-trained runner-up went on to win his next start by 3.25 lengths.
For the record, Whispering Death is among the entries for the Grade 1 Gold Medallion over 1200m at Hollywoodbets Scottsville on 31 May.
Laird has a good line of form through Ideal Summer and that should make Tenjiku very hard to beat.
In Race 3, a Maiden Plate for fillies and mares over 1800m, Mike and Adam Azzie send out three-year-old World Tour. This daughter of One World has run four times, and there was a lot to like about her last run when third behind City Lights.
It was her first attempt at 1800m and she did suffer some interference at the start, so it was a promising effort. World Tour is a half-sister to Sheela, a six-time winner from four 12 starts, also trained by the Azzies. Diego de Gouveia took the ride last time and he will be back on board this time.
ALSO READ: Callan puts Dave back on throne
The Azzies could also be in on the mark in Race 10, a MR 66 Handicap over 1000m, where they send out promising two-year-old and last-start scorer One Tiger. The One World colt opened his account at just his second time of asking and should improve appreciably with race experience, especially with blinkers fitted for the first time.
He makes his handicap debut and looks good value to get the better of his older hard-knocking rivals. The father-and-son training team have engaged Craig Zackey to take the ride.
Value Bet of the day could lie with James Crawford-trained Sorceress Supreme in Race 8, a MR 96 Handicap over 1000m. The last seven of her eight races have been in a feature race company and this three-year-old daughter of Erupt takes a drop in class for the first time in quite a while.
While her recent form has not been all that encouraging, her last start, which was in the Grade 3 Poinsettia Stakes over 1200m at Hollywoodbets Scottsville, saw her finish just 3.20 lengths behind Mai Sensation. That form looks strong enough to make her a contender in this field.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Citizen
28-05-2025
- The Citizen
Eight On Eighteen floating to July winning post
The colt is rated tops but will get weight from all his rivals. Eight On Eighteen winning the Cape Town Met at Kenilworth earlier this year. Picture: Peter Heeger/Gallo Images The phrase 'weighted win' is guaranteed to turn any punter's head. Well, if colt Eight On Eighteen competes in the Hollywoodbets Durban July in six weeks' time, he will be weighted to win – and easily at that. The Justin Snaith-trained prodigy has been given a two-point merit rating rise for his facile victory in the past weekend's Daily News 2000 – from 127 to 129. That's a giddily high number for a three-year-old horse but is justified by three Grade 1 wins in just 10 outings, with a Grade 1 second thrown in, too. It makes him the highest rated of the 48 remaining entries for the July, with five-year-old See It Again in second position on 127. MRs are for determining imposts in handicap races, but the July isn't a pure handicap; it's a 'conditions' race, with a bit of this and a bit of that in terms of make-up. Though the race rules set the top weight at 60kg, they also limit the maximum weight for three-year-olds to 57kg. Theoretically, See It Again will lug 60kg and Eight On Eighteen will have to carry only 57kg, despite his two-point higher MR. Knowledgeable Turf Talk puts this advantage at a nett 4kg. It's 'theoretically' as the line-up for the country's biggest race is a long way from being finalised. Uncertain for July Indeed, Eight On Eighteen's connections have maintained for weeks that their star is by no means a definite July runner. He is hot property value-wise – for racing in the near future and for stud purposes in the long term – and, as Snaith stated on Saturday, the July is always a rough affair with everyone involved hell-bent on getting their names into the history books. 'Committing to the July, we've had a lot of horses go wrong in the race,' said Snaith after Saturday's Daily News 2000 at Greyville in Durban. 'It's the most interesting race in South Africa as, when the starting stalls open, the jockeys completely lose their heads and their brains. Its importance, history … there's so much at play in a race like that and you also have to think about his wellbeing. It's a decision that will be made a little later, but when you have a horse of this ability it's very hard not to go for a race like that. We will put it all in and make the call.' Many a racing fan would lay short odds on owners Nick Jonsson and Johan Rupert going for it. The two gentlemen are in the game for the thrills and there's no bigger thrill than winning a July. Durban July odds In terms of laying odds, July sponsors Hollywoodbets have chopped Eight On Eighteen's big-race ante-post odds by half – from 5-1 last week to 5-2. July defending champion and second favourite Oriental Charm has eased from 6-1 to 7-1. In adjusting merit ratings after Saturday's Daily News 2000, the handicappers made runner-up Spumante Dolce their line horse, keeping her rating at 117. Okavango, who finished third, was pushed up sharply from 105 to 120, having finished 0.25 lengths behind Spumante Dolce while conceding 2.5kg in weight. Native Ruler, who finished 0.3 lengths behind Okavango, also got a big bump: 103 to 119. Little Suzie, winner of the Tote Woolavington 2000 – also for Snaith – had her rating raised from 106 to 108.
The Citizen
21-05-2025
- The Citizen
Vintage crop for Daily News 2000, but the sips are rather small
Good horses are dodging superstars at Greyville this weekend. Every year racing people pass personal judgements on the quality of the current three-year-old crop of horses. Are the sophomores better or worse than usual? There's seldom consensus; it's 'stronger' or 'weaker' on the spectrum. Occasionally, the young guns are 'exceptional' – like this year. Champion trainer Justin Snaith even went as far as to say the class of 2025 was the 'best ever'. Old gits point out that 1972 saw mighty clashes between Elevation, In Full Flight and Sentinel, but young Snaith's 'ever' was probably within the confines of the 21st century. It is indeed a brilliant crop for any era. From Snaith's yard alone, Eight On Eighteen, Sail The Seas and Okavango are already making marks in the history books. Count in other stables' stars like One Stripe, Fire Attack, Quid Pro Quo, Confederate, Fatal Flaw, Spumante Dolce and My Best Shot and you can't not be impressed. So, then, why are fields for the three-year-old Classic races so tiny? Seven horses for Daily News 2000 Only seven horses are due to line up for the Daily News 2000 at Greyville on Saturday. This is arguably the premier three-year-old contest in the country, with the prestige of Grade 1 status, a total purse of R2-million and valuable merit rating points on offer that could open doors to other important races. A couple of months ago, the Grade 1 Splashout Cape Derby only got five takers, prompting officials to reopen entries and scrape together another two participants. Earlier, the storied WSB Cape Guineas had six runners, and before that the Gauteng Guineas and SA Classic in Joburg had 11 horses each – dismal for a generation of horses just coming to the peak of their abilities. There have been some high-profile injuries reported, such as to Fire Attack and Sail The Seas, but one would then expect a clamour of wannabes for their places. South Africa's merit rating system has been blamed for the problem. There might be some truth in the argument that the Daily News 2000 is positioned close to the Hollywoodbets Durban July on the calendar and owners and trainers of up-and-coming horses prioritise that glamour event and are reluctant to incur heavy MR penalties that might disadvantage them in their quest for immortality. If that's true, and owners and trainers are eschewing the chance to win big money and big trophies, our racing scene is in a strange moment. Rich owners and top-level trainers are vitally important in keeping the game going, but perhaps we have reached the stage when stakes on offer have fallen so far behind the game that they've become of little consideration to the ultra-wealthy among us. Durban July The Durban July itself is also blamed by some. The fact that the country's biggest race is a handicap – with qualifications – is also cited as a reason for connections shying away from Classic clashes with highly rated opposition. No-one is yet suggesting the July change its essential DNA. Nonetheless, there is an argument for the July's conditions to be tweaked to make it a wee bit tougher for three-year-olds. Eight of the last 20 renewals have gone to three-year-olds and a high proportion of the remainder to lightly raced four-year-olds with low weights. Everyone is trying to get their nag selected for the final line-up with the lowest possible MR – and therefore a feather weight. That's clearly a major factor in the outcome and you'd imagine powers-that-be would want to even up the contest a bit and bring some of the country's top older horses back into the July reckoning. There might only be seven horses lining up at Greyville's 2000m mark on Saturday, but they will not be short on ability. Cape Town Met and Cape Derby winner Eight On Eighteen will be a banker for many punters. However, it should be remembered that young horses can improve quite suddenly and rivals such as Okavango, Spumante Dolce and Confederate could be ready to spring a surprise. Daily News 2000 betting 5-10 Eight On Eighteen 6-1 Confederate, Okavango 7-1 Spumante Dolce 10-1 Native Ruler 14-1 Parisian Walkway 40-1 Makazole
The Citizen
21-05-2025
- The Citizen
Early birds to score at Vaal
Tenjiku and World Tour stand out in races 2 and 3 respectively Punters will have to contend with a competitive 10-race card on the Vaal Classic track on Thursday, with a number of low-level handicaps on the day. However, there look to be some decent opportunities early on the card for racing fans to build up a kitty. This Pick 6 appears to be quite tricky but the rewards will be great for anybody who can catch it. In Race 2, Tony Peter-trained Mighty Eagle and Alec Laird's runner Tenjiku square off over 1500m after recent victories over slightly shorter distances. The former, a Danon Platina colt ridden by Gavin Lerena, won by four lengths in open company last time over 1450m and could have more to offer over the extended trip against two-year-old opposition. Tenjiku, on the other hand, beat Whispering Death last time and that has turned out to be a very strong form line. Since then Mike and Mathew de Kock-trained Whispering Death has gone on to win twice and once again that form has been franked. He was sent off a 4-10 favourite after that second on debut and beat Chronicle King, a winner of his next start by 2.25 lengths. ALSO READ: Snaith sextet top entries for Daily News 2000 Whispering Death, a half-brother to Grade 1 SA Derby winner Aragosta and six-time winner Mrs Browning, went on to win his next start as well, going off at 4-10 in that field over 1600m and beating Ideal Summer by 2.40 lengths. Even that form was franked as the Alec Laird-trained runner-up went on to win his next start by 3.25 lengths. For the record, Whispering Death is among the entries for the Grade 1 Gold Medallion over 1200m at Hollywoodbets Scottsville on 31 May. Laird has a good line of form through Ideal Summer and that should make Tenjiku very hard to beat. In Race 3, a Maiden Plate for fillies and mares over 1800m, Mike and Adam Azzie send out three-year-old World Tour. This daughter of One World has run four times, and there was a lot to like about her last run when third behind City Lights. It was her first attempt at 1800m and she did suffer some interference at the start, so it was a promising effort. World Tour is a half-sister to Sheela, a six-time winner from four 12 starts, also trained by the Azzies. Diego de Gouveia took the ride last time and he will be back on board this time. ALSO READ: Callan puts Dave back on throne The Azzies could also be in on the mark in Race 10, a MR 66 Handicap over 1000m, where they send out promising two-year-old and last-start scorer One Tiger. The One World colt opened his account at just his second time of asking and should improve appreciably with race experience, especially with blinkers fitted for the first time. He makes his handicap debut and looks good value to get the better of his older hard-knocking rivals. The father-and-son training team have engaged Craig Zackey to take the ride. Value Bet of the day could lie with James Crawford-trained Sorceress Supreme in Race 8, a MR 96 Handicap over 1000m. The last seven of her eight races have been in a feature race company and this three-year-old daughter of Erupt takes a drop in class for the first time in quite a while. While her recent form has not been all that encouraging, her last start, which was in the Grade 3 Poinsettia Stakes over 1200m at Hollywoodbets Scottsville, saw her finish just 3.20 lengths behind Mai Sensation. That form looks strong enough to make her a contender in this field.
