Cheers for raiders of a lost art as visiting trainers bag most of the big prizes

There were some exceptional performances in racing at the weekend. Picture: Peter Heeger/Gallo Images Picking out one highlight after a brilliant weekend’s racing in South Africa is no easy task.There were: • The dominant form of leading jockeys Craig Zackey and Richard Fourie, who registered four wins each on Saturday’s 12-race card at Tuffontein’s Champions Day. Log leader Zackey got another three on Sunday at Scottsville.

• The “micro” stable (just nine horses) of trainer Bo Ngcobo landing the prestigious SA Nursery at Turffontein with 40-1 shot Better Never Ends. • An unusual statistic of five stable Exactas on Saturday and Sunday: Tony Peter, Justin Snaith and Sean Tarry in Joburg, followed by Nathan Kotzen and Peter Muscutt in Maritzburg. • Trainer Snaith snatching two of the three Grade 1 prizes on Champions Day – with peerless mare Double Grand Slam in the Empress Club Stakes and Met hero See It Again in the Premier’s Champions Challenge.

Cape-based Snaith gets unfair lip for not venturing north often enough as the national champion. • Outright favourites delivering in all four Hong Kong Jockey Club World Pool races at Turffontein. We’re told Asian punters are partial to short prices, so there must have been a lot of satisfied customers for our local product.

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But perhaps the most notable aspect of the weekend was the remarkable success of raiding horses. Financial incentives for owners and trainers to visit other-province centres have hit the mark in recent years and a procession of big cheques were trotted out at Turffontein as Saturday’s “Uitlanders” staged a smash-and grab. Snaith hogged the spotlight with his champions, but Ngcobo and Kotzen also had significant wins.

The latter’s Cats Pyjamas was an impressive winner of the Grade 2 Hawaii Stakes. Then, on Sunday, under-rated conditioner Brett Webber travelled the long road down to Scottsville from his yard at the Vaal with six-year-old stayer Royal Invitation and carried off the Highland Night Cup. Back in the day, regular raiding around the country for big prizes was a way of racing life.

But insularity crept into the game, with only the formal KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape seasons having a national face. That’s changing and results like this past weekend’s should encourage more adventuring.

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