Trainer Justin Snaith holds the trump cards in big Met race

A likely R10 million TAB Pick 6 pool and a rare opportunity to bet into Hong Kong’s massive tote pools on South African races are set to trigger a nationwide betting feast on Cape Town’s greatest horse racing event at Kenilworth Racecourse on Saturday.

The R2 million World Sports Betting Cape Town Met over 2,000m heads what will be an electrifying afternoon of top-quality racing action and numerous opportunities to bet big and win big with TAB.

Twelve races will be run, six of them features, and the Met promises to be a thriller.

Unlike last year when Covid forced what has long been Cape Town’s greatest party to take place behind closed doors, a couple of thousand vaccinated spectators will experience the amazing excitement in the flesh, while hundreds of thousands more will follow the action on TV.

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The race day has been classified as a World Pool event by the Hong Kong Jockey Club and local TAB Win, Place, Swinger and Quinella pools on Races 4 to 11 at Kenilworth will be commingled with Hong Kong, which boasts the biggest tote pools on the planet.

Pools average R6 million and more, enabling TAB customers to wager huge amounts on applicable races and bet types without significantly without significantly impacting payouts.

All other tote pools on the meeting will be operated by TAB as normal, including the Pick 6, which starts with a R3 million carryover and is set to total a mega amount.

TAB has also allocated a R500 000 carryover to the Quartet pool (pick the first four in the correct order) on the Met. That should result in a total pool of over R2 million and an inflated payout, no matter the result. There’s no doubting that Cape Town-based champion trainer Justin Snaith holds the trump cards in the big race. He will saddle four of the 11 runners and it’s much more than a numerical advantage.

His four-pronged challenge oozes class and comprises ageing champion Do it Again, up-and-coming Hoedspruit, star-of-the-moment Jet Dark and ultra-promising youngster Double Superlative.

Jet Dark has to be the one to beat after producing an astonishing late burst to win the Queen’s Plate over 1,600m at Kenilworth three weeks ago. He left last year’s Durban July winner Kommetdieding and third-placed Linebacker toiling in his wake and there’s no reason for them to turn the tables.

Yes, his two rivals will prefer this 400m longer distance, but Jet Dark should put them to the sword again if jockey S’manga Khumalo can produce him with the same precision. The bigger threat to Jet Dark is his stable companion Double Superlative, winner of the 1,600m Cape Guineas .

It’s a much tougher test now against the best older horses, but there’s form to suggest he will hold his own and the few three year olds to have run in the Met down the years have generally done well.