Pick 6 pool likely to top R10 million at today’s Charity Mile meeting

Connoisseurs of fine horse racing are in for a treat over the next few days, with epic contests in the US and Australia – and a rather appealing meeting on home turf at Turffontein into the bargain.

On the local front, Friday meetings at Fairview and, later, at Greyville whet the appetite for the big stuff to follow.

The Breeders’ Cup – dubbed by the Yanks the “World Championships of Racing” – is being staged at California’s iconic Santa Anita racetrack on Friday and Saturday – with full coverage in South Africa on Tellytrack and an array of betting opportunities available on TAB.

The pools are co-mingled – meaning they’ll be massive and pay-outs could be sensational. Win, Place, Exacta, Swinger, Trifecta and Quartet bets are available on all 22 Breeders’ Cup races, alongside a plethora of other bet types, such as Pick 6, PA, Pick 3, rolling Doubles and no less than four Jackpots on each day.

The action starts on Friday evening at 7.45pm, with the 1o^th race going off at 1.43am Saturday. It picks up again at 7.07pm that evening and gallops on until 2.44am Sunday.

The principal event, the Breeders’ Cup Classic, the finale, is run on dirt and bitter past experience has scared off the international competition. However, the penultimate contest, the Breeders’ Cup Turf, has several European-based runners.

Anthony Van Dyck, trained in Ireland by the phenomenal Aidan O’Brien, is second favourite for the “Turf” at 3-1 – behind 18-10 shot Bricks And Mortar from the Chad Brown stable. Next on the board, at 4-1, is English hope Old Persian, conditioned by Charlie Appleby for Godolphin.

The Emperors Palace Charity Mile on Saturday gives Joburg racing fans the chance to get off the TV-room couch and stretch the legs at Turffontein. There’ll be a decent crowd there, with 16 celebrities representing the 16 charities whose allotted runners will battle it out for R1 million in welfare cash giveaways.

The scratching of hot favourite Buffalo Bill Cody has thrown open the Charity Mile, with every starter now having a realistic chance of scooping the R150,000 first-place cheque for its charity.

The Turffontein Pick 6 pool is likely to hit R10 million – a fast-wealth opportunity few red-blooded punters can allow to pass by.

Sunday’s fare comes from Greyville, Kenya and the UK.

Then, looking a little way forward, Tuesday sees the running of Australia’s premier horse race, the Melbourne Cup at Flemington. “The race that stops a nation” has been beset by controversy in the lead-up, with a new mandatory pre-race CAT scan seeing two British-trained entrants eliminated, including last-year’s runner-up Marmelo.

Several British raiders remain, though, including a trio from O’Brien and possibly a couple from his son Joseph O’Brien, who sensationally won the Cup a couple of years ago.

Charismatic jockey Frankie Dettori has won every big race in the world bar the Melbourne Cup and makes another attempt to break the hoodoo when he rides Master Of Reality for O’Brien junior.

Japan’s Mar De Glace is the horse capturing most of the attention after a string of five wins on the trot. He currently sits at 5-1 in the betting, with local hope Constantinople in close proximity.

The latter will be ridden by Brazilian dynamo Joao Moreira, while Mar De Glace will be carrying Damian Lane and the Aussie rider’s hopes of an unprecedented “Big 4” in one season – Golden Slipper, Caulfield Cup, Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup.

Oh, and there’s the rugby to fit in as well.

Betting for Charity Mile, Turffontein, Saturday:

28-10 Zillzaal

4-1 Barahin

8-1 Infamous Fox, Cascapedia

10-1 Zouaves, In The Dance

16-1 Camphoratus, Tilbury Fort, Approach Control

20-1 Flying Winger

25-1 and upwards the others

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