Racing fans are in for a blockbuster afternoon at Turffontein Racecourse on Saturday 4 April when 4Racing stages Champions Day, a spectacular 12-race programme stacked with elite competition and irresistible betting opportunities.
The Highveld’s premier meeting boasts three Grade 1 contests and five Grade 2 features, with four races run under the Hong Kong World Pool banner, giving TAB punters the rare chance to bet into enormous international pools. Add to that multiple carryover incentives, including a massive Pick 6 injection, three Jackpots and two BiPot carryovers, and the stage is set for a day where serious money will be in play.
At the centre of the card stands the Grade 1 HKJC World Pool Premier’s Champions Challenge (Race 8) over 2000m, where a field of 11 lines up for the meeting’s headline act.
Leading the charge is See It Again from the yard of Justin Snaith. The multiple Grade 1 hero arrives with the strongest credentials after landing the 2000m Cape Town Met in January and producing a storming late run when second in the Grade 1 Horse Chestnut Stakes on his Highveld reappearance.
The return to 2000m on the Standside track looks ideal, and if he reproduces that familiar late surge he will take plenty of beating.
Among those standing in his way is last year’s winner Fire Attack, trained by Alec Laird, and Royal Victory (now in the care of Weichong Marwing), runner-up in the race 12 months ago.
Adding further intrigue is a rematch between progressive three-year-olds Grand Empire and Trust.
The Sean Tarry-trained former edged out Trust in a gripping finish to the Grade 1 SA Classic over 1800m, the second leg of the Triple Crown. Both promise further improvement over the extra trip, but they now meet a battle-hardened older champion in See It Again.
Earlier on the card, the Grade 1 TAB Empress Club Stakes (Race 6) over 1600m sees star mare Double Grand Slam make her eagerly anticipated Highveld debut. Snaith’s runner, a three-time winner at the highest level, arrives fresh from her Majorca Stakes triumph in Cape Town where she denied re-opposing Rainbow Lorikeet over the same distance.
With championship-chasing rider Craig Zackey partnering both Double Grand Slam and See It Again, the Snaith–Zackey combination looks primed to strike a Grade 1 double.
The speed merchants take centre stage in the 1000m Grade 1 Computaform Sprint (Race 7), where defending champion William Robertson returns to defend his crown for trainer Corne Spies. However, the veteran’s task looks far tougher this year with explosive Buffalo Storm Cody and his conqueror in the Cape Flying Championship, Kingdundee, both bringing serious firepower to the dash.
Triple Tiara glory could also be sealed later in the afternoon when Hazy Dazy lines up in the Grade 2 SA Oaks (Race 10). The Act Of War filly has been a revelation for Spies this season and steps up to 2450m in pursuit of a series cleansweep after victories in the 1600m Grade 2 Gauteng Guineas (Leg 1) and Wilgerbosdrift Grade 1 SA Fillies Classic over 1800m.
Another fascinating subplot unfolds in the Grade 2 TAB SA Derby (Race 9) where the powerhouse stable of Mike and Mathew de Kock run recent Oaks Trial heroine Curious Girl to tackle colts and geldings. The daughter of Futura receives a handy 2.5kg sex allowance and could etch her name into the history books with victory over her male opposition in the 2450m stamina test under Gavin Lerena.
Punters hunting value beyond those contests would do well to follow Tarry’s Gimme A Vodka in Race 3 and Laird’s last-start winner Daimyo in Race 4, as both seem likely to land feature-race success for their powerful stables.
With championship-level racing, massive betting pools and several intriguing storylines unfolding across the afternoon, Champions Day promises to deliver a fitting climax to the Highveld season – and a punting spectacle to match!
Clive Robinson
