4Racing kicked off the Johannesburg summer horse racing season on 4 February with ‘The Championships’, an exciting series of five big race days held over three months.
The Championships began with the Gauteng Guineas Day at Turffontein with the first leg of the World Sports Betting Triple Crown and Wilgerbosdrift Triple Tiara for champion three-year-olds.
The highlights of Gauteng Guineas Day included a typical Piere Strydom masterclass and a first Grade 2 victory for South African champion apprentice Rachel Venniker.
Seven-time South African champion jockey, Strydom, captured the first leg of the Wilgerbosdrift Triple Tiara by riding Joe Soma’s magnificent Lady of Power to victory in the Gauteng Fillies Guineas, while Venniker won on trainer Paul Matchett’s long-shot, Eye Of The Prophet, in the World Sports Betting Gauteng Guineas – the first leg of the World Sports Betting Triple Crown.
The second day is Classic Day on 4 March, comprising two top races for three-year-olds: the WSB SA Classic and the Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Classic, while Derby Day on 1 April with the Grade 1 WSB SA Derby and Grade 2 Wilgerbosdrift SA Oaks tops the third day.
Day four is Ladies Day at Turffontein on 15 April, headlined by the Grade 1 HSH Princess Charlene Empress Club Stakes for fillies and mares.
The Championships finishes with Champions Day on 29 April, highlighted by two Grade 1s and a host of Graded races for Juveniles
