Latest news with #OnEighteen
IOL News
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- IOL News
Eight On Eighteens' victorious gallop in the Daily 2000 Grade 1 race at Hollywoodbets Greyville
Daily News' editor Ayanda Mdluli presents jockey Richard Fourie with an award for his winning ride on board Eight On Eighteen in the Grade 1 Daily News 2000 race at the Hollywoodbets Greyville Racecourse on Saturday. Image: Leon Lestrade/Independent Media ANOTHER segment of KwaZulu-Natal's programme of horseracing in winter, also known as the Champions Season, galloped to life on Saturday with the running of the Grade 1 Daily News 2000, which drew a large gathering of punters and socialites to the Hollywoodbets Greyville Racecourse. From the moment the entry gates opened early on Saturday, the atmosphere was electric. Fans eagerly placed their bets and anticipated an afternoon of world-class racing. The highlight of the day was the main race, where Eight On Eighteen, a horse owned by Nick Jonsson and trained by Justin Snaith, galloped to victory and drew a roar of approval from the crowd. The win marked a significant milestone for all involved and highlighted the event's continued legacy of excellence in the South African horse racing calendar. Looking dapper in a blue suit, the Daily News' editor, Ayanda Mdluli, took to the podium to hand over the trophies to the triumphant jockey. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ In an interview before the big event, Mdluli reflected on the significance of the occasion and expressed his gratitude to those who made it possible. 'As the Daily News editor, I am proud to be part of this prestigious event. I would like to thank everyone who has supported me, especially my mother, and of course, our loyal readers. We've recently launched the new Berliner-formatted Daily News, and the response has been phenomenal,' said Mdluli. The main race commenced promptly at 15:18, triggering a surge of excitement throughout the racecourse. Punters rose to their feet, clutching tickets, shouting the names of their favourite horses as the action unfolded on the turf. An elated Jonsson expressed his appreciation for the Daily News' long-standing partnership with the event. 'It's incredibly exciting that Eight On Eighteen clinched the main race. We're grateful to the Daily News association with this event for 20 years. It's a wonderful experience to own a share in a winning horse, and now we're focusing on preparing our horses for the Durban July,' said Jonsson. The winning jockey, Richard Fourie, shared on his emotional connection with the horse and his pride in the result.
The Citizen
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Citizen
Local jockeys good enough for world league
Riding excellence a highlight as KZN's new era dawns. It was a joyous occasion when the KwaZulu-Natal Champions Season cavalcade got rolling at Greyville at the weekend. It marked operator Gold Circle's first race meeting under the new ownership of Hollywood Sportsbook, the saviour of horse racing in the province. Appropriately, Gold Circle boss Michel Nairac, wearing his horse owner hat, led in a feature winner in the shape of the redoubtable Gladatorian. There were plenty of other positive aspects. For example, Justin Snaith declared the present three-year-old crop the best he'd seen – minutes after two of his star sophomores, Sail The Seas and Eight On Eighteen, had completed the Exacta in the WSB Guineas (Grade 2) and sounded a warning that the champion trainer's raiding party from Cape Town would be formidable opponents over the next few months. The excellence of jockeyship was another feature of the day. Muzi Yeni wins on Sail The Seas Local jocks have been guilty of all sorts of silly behaviour lately, but most of them remain, on the whole, very good riders of racehorses. As has been proven many times, South African jockeys can hold their own anywhere in the world and the best of them are the equal of anyone in a saddle. In the East Coast Cup over 2000m, underrated Serino Moodley showed off his good judgement of pace and conditions in bringing Mascherina from near the tail of the field, in heavy going, to win going away up the inside rail. Next, it was Sean Veale with a well-timed challenge on Gladatorian, nabbing highly rated See It Again in the last strides of the Drill Hall Stakes. Then champion jockey Richard Fourie was at his hard-driving best in landing the WSB Fillies Guineas on Mon Petit Cherie. Perhaps the ride of the day came from Muzi Yeni as he kept Sail The Seas sailing to hold off determined challenges from Eight On Eighteen and Cosmic Speed – two of the exemplars of Snaith's golden crop of three-year-olds. The wealth of talent in South African saddles was pulled into focus by the announcement of an international jockeys' super league that will start next year. The 12 riders signed for the new global competition are superstars: Frankie Dettori (Italy/UK/US), Ryan Moore (UK), William Buick (UK), James McDonald (New Zealand/Australia), Joao Moreira (Brazil/Japan/Australia), Zac Purton (Australia/Hong Kong), Christophe Lemaire (France/Japan), Mickael Barzalona (France), Yutaka Take (Japan), Irad Ortiz Jr (Puerto Rico/US), Flavien Prat (France/US), Vincent Ho (Hong Kong) Top SA jockeys South Africa, a relative global racing backwater, would not have expected representation in such company. Yet they wouldn't have been outclassed. The likes of Michael Roberts, Douglas Whyte and Jeff Lloyd flew the flag with honour in the past, while Luke Ferraris, Warren Kennedy and Ryan Munger are current emissaries. Organisers of the new league plan up to 10 fixtures of six-race contests, with Ascot and York in England, Leopardstown and the Curragh in Ireland and Longchamp and Chantilly in France mentioned as possible venues. 'The franchise-based league structure allows a range of commercial and investment opportunities to be progressed and we firmly believe the concept we've developed with our foundation jockeys can help revolutionise global horseracing in the coming years,' said Lachlan Fitt, one of the founders, adding that other jockeys will be drafted into the league as it develops. Female jockeys will probably be the first additions. South African racing fans wouldn't be deluded in thinking of their sole female rider Rachel Venniker as a candidate.
