Jet Force has emerged as an exciting horse to follow after proving he can mix it with top Weight-For-Age performers. His authoritative Listed Jet Master Stakes victory suggests he can make a bold bid in Monday’s Grade 3 Variety Club Stakes over 1600m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth.

His standout effort came in the Grade 2 Green Point Stakes, finishing close behind Dave The King and just behind future Grade 1 Cape Town Met winner See It Again, while beating Durban July hero The Real Prince home. Despite a tough draw in the Grade 1 L’Ormarins Kings Plate, he held his own, confirming his rise through the ranks. Trainer Des McLachlan has his yard firing, with Grant van Niekerk booked to ride.

Legal Counsel commands respect after pushing See It Again to under a length in the Cape Town Met and looks set for another strong showing before likely heading to Durban for Champions Season. Viva’s Liberte, eye-catching in the Cape Derby after doing the early work, carries a light weight and could be dangerous against older rivals.

In the Listed Sweet Chestnut Stakes, Stormwatch appears at peak fitness after a win and close second in the Prix Du Cap and may prove hard to beat, though Roccapina is better off at the weights and rates a threat.

Among the supporting races, One Spirit is the runner to beat in the opener after a promising debut, while improving filly Shesgotclass can follow up her recent win. Who Is She looks a winner in waiting after an unlucky last run, and La Pulga drops into calmer company over 1800m.

Noble Hero, thriving with two wins from his last three starts, has strong claims again, while Rattlesnake’s inside draw could prove decisive in the finale, with One Liner the main danger.

4Racing continues its Championships journey on Saturday, 4 April, offering a bumper card of nine feature races for Day 3. There is additional gloss for this year’s event with the Corne Spies-trained Hazy Dazy being a lively contender for the Wilgerbosdrift Bridget Oppenheimer SA Oaks, Triple Tiara honours and that attractive R1 million bonus.

While the Triple Crown saw Mr P Murugasa’s Splittheeights take the TAB Gauteng Guineas for the Mike & Mathew de Kock stable under Raymond Danielson and Mrs Heinrich Kuhn’s Grand Empire (Sean Tarry / Craig Zackey) take the World Pool HKJC SA Classic in a tussle, there will be no series winner this year, but nevertheless, an intriguing field has assembled for the 2026 World Pool HKJC SA Derby. Mr M Havenga’s Diogenes has thrived since moving to the Highveld and the care of Weichong Marwing and the 3yo son of Hawwaam announced himself as a Derby contender when he ran out a fitting winner of the WSB Hawwaam Stakes on 14 March.

There are three entries from KZN – Salani Khale (Gareth van Zyl / Sean Veale), Sword Speed (Alyson Wright / Keagan de Melo) and Reign On Impact (Frikkie Greyling / Athandiwe Mgudlwa). While Gavin van Zyl won the race with Seal in 2011, the horse had been based at his Highveld satellite yard under the care of son Chesney and one has to go all the way back to 1986 when Terrance Millard raided with Potomac to find the last winning raider.

This year has one filly in the race, Hollywood Racing’s Curious Girl from the Mike & Mathew de Kock stable, who will be partnered by Gavin Lerena. While the Derby has been won by fillies in the past, the feat has not been achieved since Noble Lady in 1917.

The SA Derby originates in Port Elizabeth, with the inaugural event, run for a stake of 400 sovereigns, dating back to Saturday, 17 October 1885, when it was won by Mr Hilton Barber’s Oxygen (Plunger). By the turn of the century, Johannesburg had become the racing centre of South Africa in the wake of the gold rush and the race relocated to Turffontein where it has remained ever since and with its rich history and illustrious honour roll, the SA Derby remains one of South Africa’s oldest and most prestigious racing events.

WILGERBOSDRIFT BRIDGET OPPENHEIMER SA OAKS

The South African Oaks over 2450m is the oldest and most demanding classic race for three-year-old fillies in the country and dates back to 1914 when it was won by a filly named Pendant (by Sidus), trained by Fred Murray and ridden by William Watson. Murray was a trainer of some repute – the only one so far to have won four successive Durban July Handicaps (1910-1913).

Like its counterpart, the race has a rich and colourful history, with the 1916 running a particular stand-out. The winner was Opera Cloak, a filly bred by AE Passmore by St Maurice out of Pellerine. The same mating had produced Passmore’s 1912 SA Derby winner, Van Raalte. Opera Cloak was a diminutive individual. So much so that she was eligible for Galloway races. Accordingly, ‘AE’ chose to keep and race her for his own account and trained her himself. After a good win in a Flying Handicap at the Johannesburg Turf Club on 23 December 1916, ‘AE’ entered her for the Oaks, to be run over a mile and a half on 30 December. While it is fairly remarkable for a mare to produce full siblings who both go on to be classic winners, the story gets more remarkable still. ‘AE’, who was in his fifties by now, held a gentleman rider’s license and is down in the history books as the breeder, owner, trainer AND rider of the 1916 Oaks winner, beating in the process, Ike Strydom, the champion jockey of his day.

The late Mrs Bridget Oppenheimer accumulated a phenomenal SA Oaks record, having won it a total of 14 times, so it is fitting that the race carries her name.

With impressive wins in the first two legs, the connections of fairytale filly Hazy Dazy are confident of another good effort and she will be partnered by her regular jockey, apprentice Trent Mayhew.

There have been 5 winners of the SA Triple Tiara to date (Igugu in 2011, Cherry On The Top in 2013, Summer Pudding in 2020, War Of Athena in 2021 and Rain In Holland in 2022) and there will be a R1 million bonus if Hazy Dazy can add her name to the list on Saturday.

There are three Group 1’s on the day’s card, the TAB Empress Club Stakes, the World Pool HKJC Premier’s Champions Challenge and the TAB Computaform Sprint.

TAB Computaform Sprint

The TAB Computaform Sprint is one of only two Group 1 contests on the SA calendar. It was first run as the Castrol National Sprint in 1970, a race which virtually overnight became SA’s premier test of speed and its honour roll is a true embarrassment des riches, littered with the names of SA turf greats such as Sentinel, Senor Santa, Taban, Tommy Hotspur, dual winner Golden Loom, National Colour, J J The Jet Plane and recent winners Shea Shea and Isivunguvungu. Comptutaform added its name to the race and it has stayed there ever since.

Corne Spies ward, 7yo William Robertson, teams up with jockey Ryan Munger to defend their 2025 title, but there will be plenty trying to deny them the double, including Buffalo Storm Cody, one of the highest rated horses in the country, and East Cape raider Kingdundee, who is currently on a four race winning streak.

TAB Empress Club Stakes

The Empress Club Stakes, previously run as the Turffontein Fillies and Mares Stakes, was renamed for one of the greatest female talents to grace the South African turf. Bred in Argentina by Haras Abolengo, Empress Club was foaled in 1988. She was a daughter of Farnesio out of the El Gran Capitan mare Elysee, making her a half-sister to Gr1 fillies, Ecurie and Epoque. Empress Club raced in the interests of Laurie and Jean Jaffee and was trained in South Africa first by Terrance Millard and from her 3yo career onwards by his son, Tony.

Nicknamed ‘The Galloping Goldmine’, she was nothing short of a phenom on the track, concluding her career with 16 wins – which included a staggering nine Gr1s – from 26 starts in South Africa and the USA. She was ARCSA Champion 3yo Filly as well as SA Horse Of The Year for 1992 and ARCSA Champion Older Female in 1993, retiring with record earnings of R3.1 million.

The 2026 renewal of the TAB Empress Club Stakes has attracted a high quality 10 horse field representing some of the best distaff talent from around the country. There is a dual threat from the Western Cape comprising SA Champion Trainer Justin Snaith’s recent Majorca Stakes winning charge Double Grand Slam and Candice Bass’s narrow Majorca Stakes bridesmaid, Rainbow Lorikeet. From the Eastern Cape, Alan Greeff returns his Equus Champion 2YO filly Golden Palm, while Gareth van Zyl represents KZN with Past Is Prologue. The Highveld is represented by big race heavyweight Sean Tarry who saddles stablemates Callmegetrix and Rodeo Drive, the Candice and Tammy Dawson training team with Minogue, Tony Peter saddles Kisshoten, David Nieuwenhuizen fields Famous Lady and Fanie Bronkhorst completes the field with Scarlett Heart.

World Pool HKJC Premier’s Champions Challenge

The Premier’s Champions Challenge is something of a melting pot, having evolved from remnants of the ‘old’ Summer Handicap. It has been run as a conditions race and latterly at WFA plus penalties, has moved around the calendar and even alternated venues between Turffontein and the old Gosforth Park before disappearing from the calendar completely for a number of years. When the calendar was restructured in the late 1990’s, the race was reimagined as the Champion Stakes (WFA) and included as part of the newly launched Champions Day line-up. It underwent a few more changes before finally settling as the Premier’s Champions Challenge.

This year’s event promises a clash for the ages and features defending champion Fire Attack (Alec Laird / Calvin Habib), 2025 Premier’s Champions Challenge runner up Royal Victory who will be aiming to go one better for his new conditioner Weichong Marwing, 2026 WSB Cape Town Met hero See It Again (Justin Snaith / Craig Zackey), 2024 Betway Summer Cup victor Atticus Finch (Alec Laird / Gavin Lerena), 2025 Betway Summer Cup runner up Olivia’s Way (Roy Magner / Marco van Rensburg) and Sean Tarry’s 2026 TAB SA Classic winner Grand Empire (Ryan Munger) among others.

And it doesn’t end there. The card also offers the Gr2 Hawaii Stakes (named for George Azzie’s globetrotting champion – read more about him in last week’s edition of Off The Record – https://news.4racing.com/off-the-record-115), the Gr2 SA Nursery, Gr2 SA Fillies Nursery and 2850m Caradoc Gold Cup (Listed), named for another George Azzie star whose big race wins included the 1966 Summer Cup and 1968 Gold Cup. He retired to become a lead horse at Turffontein and was fittingly laid to rest in the Champions Graveyard in the Turrfontein infield.

Darryl Moore’s JP’s Palace stayed competitive until the closing stages of the Listed Kings Cup at Hollywoodbets Scottsville and looks well placed under another favourable weight in Sunday’s World Sports Betting Sledgehammer at the same venue. With slightly weaker opposition, he is expected to produce another bold showing.

I Salute You, returning from a successful Western Cape campaign, must concede 9.5kg to JP’s Palace which may prove decisive. Bruh, fitted with first-time blinkers and carrying a light weight, could surprise, while Field Marshal should improve after a promising comeback run behind Okavango and JP’s Palace.

In the fillies and mares’ WSB Scarlet Lady, Ice Rain carries top weight but meets Rahhabba on 1.5kg better terms after a narrow defeat and can reverse the result. Ladyofdistinction should improve on firmer ground, while Miss Twinkle also enjoys a pull at the weights, though stable rider Serino Moodley’s choice of Ice Rain is notable.

The Scottsville straight often suits inexperienced runners, and both opening races feature large juvenile fields where betting will be key. De Gulden impressed when third on debut in the Cape and could be the one to beat, while Iceberg Rose, Sei Bella, and Liz Hurley are capable of improvement. In race two, Predator’s Crown and Bison Warrior bring strong form, while Tommy Greaney is expected to progress from a green debut.

Lilting Song looks a solid Place Accumulator option after consecutive runner-up finishes, with Lolly Willowes and improving Chooks Kiss among the dangers.

Quarter Master can open the Pick 6 despite a wide draw, while Good Omen is overdue a win and Taylor’s Version, with blinkers reapplied, can bounce back.

Over 2400m, Continentalexpress has strong course-and-distance form but faces serious threats from Royal Invitation and in-form Plum Pudding, while Son Of Raj adds class despite recent struggles.

Arverni Princess rates a chance in a competitive eighth, alongside last-start winner Jane’s Vision.

The meeting may conclude with City Of Love, who drops sharply in class and is well suited to course and distance, though Who Blinked and Military Command could challenge.

Punters face a competitive programme on the Hollywoodbets Greyville polytrack on Friday evening, where an early highlight could come in race 1 with Dean Kannemeyer’s Flying Fate. The daughter of Master Of My Fate showed greenness on debut but finished strongly and is expected to improve. Peace Rose, who has progressed with each run and was narrowly beaten last time, looks the main danger, while Siyabamelela and Vaan’s Spirit also hold claims from favourable circumstances.

Dream Decision can start the Place Accumulator after consistent runner-up finishes in open handicaps and now meets modest opposition. Can We Start may improve switching to the poly, while Cali Bullet has place prospects.

Master Du Rouvray is a strong contender in the first Pick 6 leg. Despite top weight, he is consistent and suited to course and distance. High Queue is ultra-reliable, while Sesame steps up after a solid win but must overcome a ratings rise.

Competitive handicaps follow. Magic Maverick looks well weighted with an apprentice allowance and top rider aboard, though Takeyourbestshot and Chasing Gold remain threats. National Dream, now fitted with blinkers, could surprise.

Race 5 is wide open. My Lucky Charm impressed on local debut and drops in class, while Ragnar The King could feature at odds and Deandre’s Dream returns to more suitable company.

In race 6, Thought Control makes her poly debut after a promising post-maiden effort and meets Spirit Of Shimla on better terms. Oklahoma Girl is improving, while lightweight Oh My Gucci Girl could attempt to dictate from a good draw.

Queen is well suited in race 7 over her preferred course and distance, with consistent Grue Of Ice, improving Time In Paris, and Rafeef’s Choice all in contention.

The meeting may conclude successfully for Catch A Penny, who brings solid Cape form and was narrowly beaten last start. Magical Sky, a dual course-and-distance winner, along with Summer Winter and Ruby Rising, complete the main chances.

The Non Black-Type Easter Sprint over 1100m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Wednesday pits progressive three-year-olds against seasoned older sprinters in an intriguing contest.

Teflon Man looks the one to beat. The four-year-old has held his own during the Cape Summer Festival features and now drops into a more suitable assignment. Trained by Dean Kannemeyer and ridden by Craig Zackey, he finished a solid fourth in the Grade 2 Cape Merchants before chasing home promising sprinter All The Rage. His latest seventh in the Diadem Stakes reads better than it looks given the dominance of winner Questioning, and this race appears a realistic target.

Promising youngster North Point is capable of bouncing back after a below-par Durbanville effort and is favourably weighted to reverse recent form. Kaiboy, lightly raced but talented, could represent value for the places in a competitive field.

Earlier on the card, Sparkling Star sets the standard in race one after a strong debut second and should prove hard to beat for the in-form Candice Bass yard.

Race two may finally see one of the consistent fillies score, with Swift Serenity narrowly preferred to Iona Castle over 1000m.

Sommerstern drops back to a preferred 1400m in race three and has strong winning claims, while Pentolina looks competitive in race four following several encouraging near misses.

William’s Woman should be in the mix in race five despite strong opposition from Final Call. Race six is open, but recent winner Country Time could follow up.

In race eight, Whirlwind gets a chance to make amends after a narrow defeat and can return to winning ways over 1100m.