The South African All Stars Series for 2006/2007 is entering
the final stage with Saturday’s Vodacom Durban July Racemeeting
at Greyville Racecourse hosting races in four categories including
two in which the chase for a R1-million bonus in the Turfstar
category is still alive.
Three of the categories in the series have already been
completed with Emperor Napoleon winning the SA Triple Crown
Category, Sun Classique winning the SA Triple Tiara Category
and Pocket Power winning the SA Golden Mile Series.
The SA Juvenile Championship with two legs to go is being
led by Seventh Rock on 18 points. Argonaut and Profit Report
are in joint second place with six points. Seventh Rock
is not running on Saturday but both Argonaut and Profit
Report are.
Also running is Hit Song who is in line to take another
step forward to the R1-million bonus if he wins. He won
the opening leg, the Nursery at Turffontein.
The SA Debutante Series is a lot closer with State Factor
on 16 points just four ahead of Rat Burana with Glenrossal
and Kiss For Kate next on six points each. In this category
State Factor is still in line to qualify for the R1-million
bonus if she can win on Saturday and at Clairwood later
in the month.
The SA Sprint Championship is being led by Mythical Flight
on 30 points from Kildonan on 12 and Rebel King on eight.
The final race in this category will be the Mercury Sprint
at Clairwood on July 15.
Another category that will be decided on Saturday is the
SA ladies Mile Series. Sun Classique is the joint leader
of this category with Little Miss Magic on 12 points with
Soft Landing on seven and Festive Occasion on six.
The final leg on Saturday is the Garden Province Stakes
where Little Miss Magic, Soft Landing and Festive Occasion
are engaged while Sun Classique contests the Vodacom Durban
July.
The final category is the big one, the Champion Of Champion
Series. J&B Met winner Pocket Power and Gommagomma Challenge
winner Pick Six are joint leaders with 12 points each with
joint third place on six points being held by Lion Tamer
and Emperor Napoleon. This category carries a bonus of R2.5-million
for any horse winning the J&B Met, Gommagomma Challenge
and the Vodacom Durban July in succession.
At this stage, Gommagomma Challenge winner Pick Six is
the live candidate and a win on Saturday would put him in
line for the crack at the J&B Met in January and the
bonus.
TIPSTAR
The country’s media tipsters have been battling it out
throughout the season and the tipster who has maintained
his lead at the top throughout is Henk Steenkamp of Die
Burger. He currently leads on 266 points from the Beeld
on 234 with Phil Drake of The Witness and Brendan Pather
of the Cape Argus close behind with 232 points each.
Lionel Derbyshire of the Sowetan and Chad Cooke of The
Daily News are also doing well with 230 points each.
TOPSTAR
The Topstar series for jockeys is getting tight at the
top with Anton Marcus closing in on Jeff Lloyd at the top
of the log. Lloyd has 87 points and Marcus has 82 but the
man who has really been on the move is Brett Smith who has
shot up from 53 points to 77 points after wins in the Daily
News 2200 and the Gold Challenge.
Mark Khan on 65, Glyn Schofield on 64 and Weichong Marwing
on 60 points are still in the hunt.
The four races counting towards the series on Saturday
are the Vodacom Durban July, the Garden Province Stakes,
the Golden Horseshoe and the Golden Slipper.
For more information visit www.tabgold.co.za.