Our runners on Champions Day

Betway Ambassador Mike de Kock won’t be at Turffontein’s Champions Day on Saturday as he is attending a Sale in Australia, but he is confident of a good day and has filed runner comments:

Race 1: Inqgwele is quite a nice Fire Away first-timer. But I think he is going to lack experience. It’s a fairly competitive field. He will be better off for the run.”

Race 4, 1400m: “I quite like Mujbar, he won all his races in the UK over 1400m. We haven’t really been too tough on him. I think he is still a run short of his best, but it would not shock me to see him flash home into a place. White Pearl has been most unlucky. She really deserves a good stakes win. I think this is her best trip and she is drawn well. I like where she is weighted. I think she is a huge runner. This filly is really, really well and she is over her best trip.

(A reminder to punters of the Pick 6 carryover, an R8-million pool is expected. Take your Pick 6 on the tote via the Betway portal and get your 6% betting tax refunded at month-end. Pick 6 starts in Race 4 @13:45.)

Race 5, 2450m: Silver Sanctuary has been on the go for a long while, but she is a tough filly. I don’t believe the diastance is a problem for her – by the way she kicks late one has to be confident of her staying. She has a good chance.

Race 6, 1600m: Gimme A Nother is fit and well, will run a good race. She is going to be overdue a rest after this. I keep seeing she’s getting better and better, there is always a step up. You squeeze her a little more and there’s another step up. She is quite straight forward, so I haven’t got to the bottom of her. I think she is on the way there, but I would still like to see her beat a bit more than she is at the moment. Humdinger is solid and sound. She has obviously got a bit to find on Gimme A Nother, but if Gimme A Nother fluffs her lines she will be all over them. At the ratings she looks second best, but she is really tough and well. A mile is not her best trip, but if she gets to the front and gets a soft lead, she just sees it out.

Race 7, 1160m: Iphiko is very quick. If the ground is on top she is going to rattle and there are not many who can go with her early. The question is whether she can maintain that all the way to the line. She is a filly who cannot be left out of anything. If it rains, the outside draws become even more important.

Race 8, 2450m: Marauding Horde is another who keeps rising with every race. I was in two minds whether to run him or not given the fact that he’s only rated 96 and we are up against horses that are 120 (Purple Pitcher) and 116 (Pure Predator and Hotarubi). The genuine G1 horse here is Purple Pitcher. It is Purple Pitcher’s race to lose. Marauding Horde has only won handicaps but he’s won them well. This is a huge step, but I think he is a horse who is stepping up quite well. Whether it’s too soon we will only know on the day, but he goes in to the race very fit. There’s no doubt he will stay the trip. The fact that he has this amount of speed and is able to win over shorter and accelerate the way he does is a very good sign. In theory he should be at his best here at a mile-and-a-half.

Race 9, 2000m:
Dave The King stayed the 2000m at Greyville but only just. He got run out of it late. I think he could be a little stretched here, but Piere rides him well and I also like the fact that since he’s been gelded he is not the aggressive front-runner of old. He’s more relaxed up front, so there is a chance he will now see out the 2000m at Turffontein. From draw one we’ve got options. He’s had a super prep. Aragosta had a similar prep last year and ran third. His good draw is a big advantage, he’s not under any pressure. On his day he is quite tough and consistent. He is worthy of inclusion. Safe Passage has a lot of class, but he picked up a fracture in his foot in Cape Town and we have struggled with him since, not in terms of soundness but in terms of consistency. That is his biggest problem at the moment. He can run you a cracker, he ran a great second in the Summer Cup last year. On weight for age terms, and in theory, he could be all over them if the Safe Passage of old arrives. You can’t leave a horse like this out. He is capable any day of the week of winning a race like this.

Race 10, 2850m:
Black Thorn has got one or two niggles we’ve got to keep working with, but he has improved and I don’t think he’ll be far off. This is a really open race.