You gave so much and asked for so little in return. You have enriched my life and have been, since the day you were born, an endless source of joy and pleasure to me and those around you.
One swallow doesn’t make a summer. Punters learnt the tough lesson of placing too much emphasis on one blot on the copybook as the smart Sail From Seattle gelding Tommy Gun was left to run wild at 16 to 1 when bolting home to score a terrific victory in the R1 million Gr2 Emerald Cup at the Vaal on Saturday
We aren’t in the habit of promoting the prospects of 7yo geldings when it comes to likely winners of R1 million rand feature races. But it is difficult not getting just a little excited about the likelihood of Mike De Broglio’s Jet Jamboree giving trainer Dom Zaki his second Gr2 Emerald Cup win after National Spirit won under a peach of a Piere Strydom ride in 2006
As the day’s last horse race draws to a close and as tradition dictates, the popular groom’s race will be the last event of the Cup. Run over a distance of 1600m, the groom’s race is open to all registered grooms in Gauteng, but is limited to the first 40
Coined as Africa’s richest race on sand, The Emerald Cup was first run in 2005 and is the Vaal Racecourse’s biggest race of the year. It was announced earlier this year that the stakes will be upped to R1 000 000 from the previous year’s R600 000 for the 1450m race.
In racing, as in life, it’s better to be lucky than good, and this year’s Emerald Cup winner has had more than a little luck on his side!
The connections of an Emerald Cup entrant fail to convince judge as application is dismissed
The Gr2 Emerald Cup has done more to raise the profile of the often maligned pursuit of sand racing, than anything else that we can think of
Saturday’s Gr2 Emerald Cup has generated unprecedented interest and the current favourite Pylon has plenty of followers
The stage is set for a titanic battle in Africa’s richest race on the sand today!
