Cape Racing Chairman Greg Bortz led in three winners at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Sunday and it could so nearly have been four, had he not been denied by reality, courtesy of technology and the Judges, in a race where most of those watching on television or streaming thought his horse had got up to win.
“I led Dawn Till Dusk in all smiles but then had to cower in embarrassment. I have new respect for the ‘wait for the photo’ maxim!” laughed Greg Bortz in a chat with the Sporting Post after a race where he had to cancel his lead-in photo order and instead congratulate the connections of the official winner.
The finish that caused all the fuss! Favourite Air Raid (Aldo Domeyer) powers home down the inside as JP van der Merwe flashes up on outsider Dawn Till Dusk (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)
There were no signs going into the fourth race, a R135 000 B Stakes, that the first leg of the Pick 6 was going to be of any newsworthy consequence on what was a busy weekend of racing.
Aldo Domeyer was riding the 14-10 favourite Air Raid – yet another classy Lancaster Bomber product – and the 3yo looked ready to win after his narrow defeat by Dumbledore at his last start. The betting public certainly thought so.
And Domeyer looked to have done everything right as he hit the front at the 100m.
But JP ‘Winx’ van der Merwe, riding the 25-1 Dawn Till Dusk for the newly engaged Greg Bortz and Gina Goldsmith, had other ideas as he launched from nowhere to seemingly ‘pip’ the favourite.
Dawn Till Dusk got it. Experienced racecaller Alistair Cohen thought so. We thought so. Most of our readers seemed to think so.
The official photo-finish (Courtesy of NHA)
How wrong we all were! The Judges looked at the official photo and awarded the race to Air Raid, much to the relief of favourite followers.
“I most definitely should have waited for the judges before going to lead in our horse. I feel a bit silly having smiled for the camera and having led JP and Dawn Till Dusk in,” chuckled Greg Bortz as he said he hoped that the sole and final decision – and the correct one at that – by the NHA, would be recognised as such by the public.
“Can you imagine what the conspiracy theorists would have been saying had the ownership of the two horses been reversed and I was on the ‘winning end’ of the photo decision. And it was not a generally favourable result in the end for the bookmakers either, with the 14-10 favourite beating the 25-1 longshot. But I am satisfied that the NHA got it 100% and that our technology is up to scratch and that there are no concerns,” concluded Greg Bortz.
Lucky Fish! Greg Bortz thanks the Lucinda Woodruff team after Afrique won the third. The Cape Racing boss also won the feature with Otto Luyken and the opener, courtesy of In A Timely Manner (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)
The Sporting Post also spoke to the Acting Chairman of the Stipendiary Board, Langa Douse, who confirmed that the individual broadcast and photo-finish cameras are all on the same level, and that the alignment of the view that we are seeing on Gallop TV could be out marginally as the photo-finish camera takes precedence and is positioned directly on the winning line as the sole secure source of reference for the official Judges.
“The photo-finish cameras are surveyed and aligned and checked prior to every racemeeting. The public should note that the television broadcast picture is not used in any final decisions as regards placement of runners. The Judges are able to utilize high quality technology to demarcate the finishing position with the use of the ruled line – or even multiple lines, depending on the finish,” concluded Douse.
Cape Racing Executive Justin Vermaak confirmed that the camera placement for the broadcast view on the winter track is the same as it has been for decades.
“It is not quite in line with the winning post. This is the same at many tracks around the world, including Hollywoodbets Scottsville where, on countless occasions, we await the photo to get the official result as the camera angle is known to favour the inside horses, while the official photo shows the outside horse is closer than what the broadcast angle makes it out to be. As mentioned, this is commonplace at many racetracks around the world.”
Rouvaun Smit – knows the tricky angle well! (Pic – Supplied)
Veteran racecaller Rouvaun Smit, who spent 25 years calling close finishes, told the Sporting Post that the Hollywoodbets Kenilworth winter course finish is the ‘trickiest’ in South Africa.
“I was convinced Dawn Till Dusk had won, but in slow mo I thought, maybe a dead-heat. The Judge got it right in the end and it’s always best to wait on the photo!”
