Punters hold back because of uncertainty about going
WAITING: Bets on the postponed Gold Cup race meeting dwindle as punters await clarity on the likelihood of going
BACKED: Rabada has been backed in the Premiers Champion Stakes on eLAN Property Group Gold Cup Day at Greyville this Saturday. Picture: Supplied
Weather reports yesterday were forecasting sun in Durban today and tomorrow, but with a good chance of showers on Thursday night and on Friday, and a smaller possibility on Saturday.
The eLAN Property Group Gold Cup race meeting, the final big fixture on this season’s calendar, had to be postponed for a week from last Saturday due to torrential downpours last week. And the outlook is worrying.
So it comes as no surprise that Betting World’s assistant national trading manager Gary Cowan said yesterday it has been fairly quiet on the betting front for the meeting at Greyville in Durban.
“Punters are waiting to see what the going will be like,” he said. “In a long race like the Gold Cup, the going will play a big part. Although the sun shone on Sunday and is shining today, the betting will start in earnest later in the week.”
That said, Cowan continued, the market has not dried up completely and several Gold Cup runners have attracted interest:
- Favourite Wild One is attracting steady money
- Solid Speed is the horse who has had the most support and has come in a point due to a few plunges
- Coltrane has had his supporters and is now 16-1 from 20s
- Long-shot money has come for Balance Sheet, Gold Onyx and Storm Warning (“maybe an omen?” he quipped)
Gold Cup horses who have won in the wet are: Hot Ticket, Disco Al, Wild One, Kingston Mines, Storm Warning, Wild Ash, J’s Outsider and Kolkata.
Gold Cup Day not only features the country’s biggest race for stayers but three other Grade 1 races in the Champions Cup, the Premiers Champion Stakes and the Thekwini Stakes, as well as three minor features.
Betting World has priced up on the rest of the meeting and Cowan said there has been early interest in three-year-olds Afrikaburn and Deputy Jud in the Champions Cup. Futura is hot favourite to follow up on his win in this race last year.
Rabada, the early favourite, has attracted most money in the Premiers Champion Stakes for two-year-olds, but there has also been support for Mogok Master, Rikitikitana and Malak El Moolook.
Lauderdale might have drifted a couple of points, but Betting World has laid a few bets on Duncan Howells’ filly, while Queen Of Credit is the other runner in the Thekwini Stakes for two-year-old fillies who has attracted interest.
The betting for the R1.25-million eLAN Property Group Gold Cup (Grade 1) over 3200m:
| 3-1 | Wild One |
| 6-1 | Solid Speed |
| 7-1 | Hot Ticket, Disco Al |
| 10-1 | Kingston Mines |
| 12-1 | Storm Warning |
| 16-1 | Coltrane, Savage Wind, J’s Outsider |
| 20-1 | Ash Cloud, Wild Ash |
| 25-1 | Gold Onyx, Vino Veritas, Balance Sheet |
| 33-1 | Kolkata |
| 55-1 | Gone Baby Gone |
The betting for the R1-million Champions Cup (Grade 1) over 1800m:
| 11-10 | Futura |
| 3-1 | Legislate |
| 11-2 | Punta Arenas |
| 8-1 | Ice Machine |
| 12-1 | Willow Magic |
| 25-1 | Halve The Deficit, Afrikaburn, Helderberg Blue |
| 33-1 | No Worries |
| 50-1 | Deputy Jud |
| 55-1 | Ashton Park, Light The Lights |
The betting for the R600,000 Premiers Champion Stakes (Grade 1) over 1600m:
| 8-10 | Rabada |
| 11-2 | Mogok Master |
| 10-1 | Abashiri, Prospect Strike |
| 20-1 | Cutting Edge, Jet Air |
| 25-1 | Escape Route, Nephrite, Rikitikitana, Star Chestnut |
| 33-1 | Captain’s Causeway, Malak El Moolook |
| 40-1 | Singh Is King |
| 66-1 | High Game, Mr Roy, Roman Calamity |
The betting for the R600,000 Thekwini Stakes (Grade 1, two-year-old fillies) over 1600m:
| 14-10 | Chestnuts N Pearls |
| 9-2 | Persian Rug |
| 5-1 | Flying Ice |
| 10-1 | Lauderdale |
| 12 | Fort Ember, Old Em |
| 16-1 | Big Sugar, La Strada, Mella Maria, Melliflora |
| 40-1 | Queen Of Credit |
| 75-1 | Silvan Jazz |
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