We Are The Champions
Good morning all, and I hope you’re enjoying a relaxing Easter break.
We’ve woken up to some very sad news from the Vaal, where Jannie Bornman was tragically murdered last night. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends during this difficult time.
We’re still in KZN and unfortunately couldn’t attend the Champions meeting at Turffontein. I did follow the action on Channel 240, and it looked a spectacular day of racing. From what I could see, though, attendance didn’t quite match the quality of the card, which is surprising given the calibre on show.
That said, well done to the visiting stables. It’s encouraging to see top horses travelling, which is a positive sign for the future of South African racing.
The World Pool received plenty of attention, but from a punter’s perspective, the tote payouts were disappointing. While there may have been value elsewhere in the fields, favourite-backers were left frustrated:
Double Grand Slam: 14/10 fixed vs evens tote
Buffalo Storm Cody: 9/10 fixed vs 3/10 tote
See It Again: 13/10 fixed vs 7/10 tote
Curious Girl: evens fixed vs 5/10 tote
These are just a few examples, but the difference in multiples was striking — roughly 20/1 with fixed odds compared to around 6/1 on the tote. It does raise the question of how the tote continues to attract punters under these conditions.
On the track, however, there were some exceptional performances:
Double Grand Slam
A top-class performance — does she head to stud next, or are there more targets?
Buffalo Storm Cody
A true superstar sprinter. The big question now is what comes next.
See It Again
Now a 6/1 favourite for the July — and rightly so after that effort.
Curious Girl
A historic win for MDK, with his filly landing the Derby. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen that.
Enflame
Looked every bit a future Gold Cup winner.
Hazy Dazy
Unlucky — thoughts with the connections. Well done to Littlemissmillion.
African Prince
One of the most unlucky outcomes you’ll see — right up there with the worst.
After the last race, “Better Never Ends” summed it up perfectly. A 40/1 shot paying just R8 on the tote tells its own story.
Craig Zackey and Richard Fourie once again showed why they sit at the top, delivering confident and perfectly timed rides throughout the day.
All in all, it was a strong showcase for horse racing, and hopefully we’ll see more Champions-calibre meetings going forward.
Good punting.
