Golden Horse Sprint (Group 1)

Gold Medallion (Group 1)

South African Fillies Sprint (Group 1)

Allan Robertson Championship (Group 1)

SEAN Tarry and the all-conquering Richard Fourie are hoping to complete an ambitious Group 1 double with Lucky Lad in the Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge at Greyville in Durban today.

At Scottsville last Saturday, the Varsfontein-bred son of Gimmethegreenlight got up in the final stride to justify favouritism in a blanket finish to the six-furlong Golden Horse Sprint Handicap. Today’s race is over an extra two furlongs and is on weight-for-age terms. In other words it is a much tougher assignment.

But Tarry, five times champion trainer, said: ‘The Scottsville engagement was the real worry but the horse came through that with flying colours, emptied his manger on Sunday and looks a million dollars. Richard said before last Saturday that he would like to ride Lucky Lad in both races and so we are thus on track.”

The bookmakers are quoting 5/1 about the gelding in today’s race with Main Defender the 3/1 favourite.

Fourie and Tarry were also on the Group 1 Scottsville mark with another son of Gimmethegreenlight, Proceed, in the Gold Medallion despite the 33/10 favourite losing valuable ground by swerving as he came out of the stalls.

He was one of the backmarkers until his rider pressed the button two furlongs out. He got to the front just over 100 yards out to beat 20/1 stable companion Cosmic Speed by three-quarters of a length.

Looked ugly

“There were a lot of traffic problems and it looked ugly at the 300m mark,” said Tarry who was winning the race for the third year in a row. “It was also a lovely run from the second horse. We paid a lot of money for him and I’m glad he has redeemed himself.”

Four of the nine races were Group 1s over six furlongs on the course’s traditional Day of Speed and perhaps the classiest race was the South African Fillies Sprint won by the Cape Town-based October Moon (by Trippi out of a Var mare), ridden by Raymond Danielson and trained in Cape Town by Candice Bass-Robinson.

“She had a bit of a rushed preparation to bring her up here as she had a break after the Cape season,” the trainer reflected. “As a result she was very underdone but luckily for me she is a filly who doesn’t take a huge amount of work.”

Ex-jockey Barend Botes had his first Group 1 success as a trainer when Quid Pro Quo (by Lance) came from well back under S’Manga Khumalo in the Allan Robertson Championship for two-year-olds.

THE South African Tote has secured an important and potentially rewarding victory in the courts in its battle for what it believes to be racing’s share of the betting levy.

Until 2019, 3% of punters’ winnings with bookmakers went in tax and a further 3% went to the Tote for the benefit of racing.

In December 2021, 4Racing took over from Phumelela and intervened in the latter’s review application to be given its 3% once more. The Gauteng Gambling Board opposed this but the courts overruled the Board and ordered that 4Racing should receive its half of the betting levy once more. Furthermore, the order was made retrospective.

Quite how much racing will receive has not been specified but the financial impact is reckoned to be considerable.