KwaZulu Natal Feature race season.

The forthcoming new look KwaZulu-Natal feature race season, which incorporates Champions Season, launches on Wednesday, 1 April 2009, and promises punters and racegoers a four month treat of outstanding horseracing action.



The revised programme is designed to ensure a better flow of feature races, increased opportunities for trainers and added earlier incentives to get the juvenile programme under way. In terms of Gold Circle’s commitment to the Graded Races Standing Committee’s minimum stakes criteria guidelines, certain of the Grade 1, Grade 2 and Listed races have enjoyed stakes increases. For the duration of the season, a feature race has also been scheduled every weekend to maintain the momentum and public interest.



The Juvenile feature race programme has been restructured and sees two new races in the R100 000 Sentinel Stakes and the R100 000 King’s Pact Stakes (Fillies), which will be run at Clairwood over 1000m on Wednesday 4 March and Sunday 8 March respectively. The Grade 3 Godolphin Barb Stakes and the Grade 3 Strelitizia Stakes (Fillies), both previously run over 1200m, will now be contested over 1000m at Clairwood on 1 April.



The Grade 2 Umkomazi Stakes and the Grade 2 Debutante will now be run on Sunday 3 May at Scottsville over 1200m – these two races were previously run over 1400m one week after the Grade 1’s at the end of May. They will now form an integral part of the build-up to the Grade 1 Gold Reef Resorts Medallion and the Grade 1 Allan Robertson Fillies Championship, both of which will, as previously, be run at the Golden Horse Casino Raceday on the last Saturday of May.



Two brand new races, the R120 000 Gatecrasher Stakes and the R120 000 Devon Air Stakes for fillies, have been scheduled to be run at Clairwood over 1450m on Saturday 13 June. These races are strategically placed two weeks after the Golden Horse Raceday and three weeks prior to the Grade 1 Golden Horseshoe and Grade 1 Golden Slipper for fillies, which will be run at Greyville on Vodacom Durban July day.



Champions day has lost two feature races as the Gold Circle Derby and the Gold Circle Oaks will now be run at Clairwood on Saturday 27 June and no longer at the end of July, while the KZN Guineas (now the KRA Guineas) moves back into a May slot. A new race, the R120 000 In Full Flight Handicap, will be run over 1000m at the Greyville night meeting on Friday 8 May, as a supporting feature to the Drill Hall Stakes. This new race is designed to give sprinters an alternate lead-up opportunity to the Golden Horse Casino Sprint run three weeks later, bearing in mind that the WFA Computaform Sprint is run at Turffontein on Saturday 25 April.



The 1900m Darley Arabian will now be run as a race restricted to four year olds at Greyville on Canon Gold Cup day, which is three weeks after the KZN Breeders 1600m, which has been moved to July from its original slot in May.



For the record the feature race stakes adjustments are as follows:

Race
Venue
2009

Date
Distance
Old Stake
New Stake

GRADE 1

Golden Horse Sprint
Scottsville
30 May
1200m
R500 000
R600 000

Allan Robertson
Scottsville
30 May
1200m
R350 000
R500 000

SA Fillies Sprint
Scottsville
30 May
1200m
R350 000
R500 000

Gold Challenge
Clairwood
13 June
1600m
R600 000
R750 000

Golden Slipper
Greyville
4 July
1400m
R350 000
R500 000

Garden Province
Greyville
4 July
1600m
R350 000
R500 000

Mercury Sprint
Clairwood
19 July
1200m
R500 000
R600 000

Champions Cup
Clairwood
25 July
1800m
R500 000
R750 000

Thekweni Fillies Stakes
Clairwood
25 July
1600m
R350 000
R500 000

GRADE 2

Drill Hall Stakes
Greyville
8 May
1400m
R300 000
R350 000

KRA Guineas
Greyville
10 May
1600m
R300 000
R500 000

Greyville 1900
Greyville
22 May
1900m
R300 000
R350 000

Post Merchants
Greyville
19 June
1200m
R300 000
R350 000

Gold Circle Derby
Clairwood
27 June
2400m
R300 000
R350 000

Gold Vase
Greyville
4 July
3000m
R300 000
R400 000

Gold Bracelet
Greyville
1 August
2000m
R200 000
R250 000

LISTED

KZN Stakes
Scottsville
5 April
1000m
R100 000
R125 000

The Scarlet Lady
Scottsville
6 May
1800m
R100 000
R125 000

East Coast Handicap
Clairwood
24 May
2000m
R100 000
R125 000

Queen Palm Handicap
Scottsville
8 July
2400m
R100 000
R125 000

Darley Arabian
Greyville
1 August
1900m
R125 000
R150 000

Umgeni Handicap
Greyville
1 August
1000m
R125 000
R150 000






ends

Note for all: Please find attached in excel format the full Champions Season 2009 – KwaZulu-Natal Feature Race Programme



Gill Simpkins
Public Relations Manager

well done to gold circle as this is definitly a step in the right direction for many reasons

Looks a much better programme than before. Could the substantial rise in the Guineas' stake be a bid to regain its former Gr 1 status, I wonder?

KRA Guineas
Greyville
10 May
1600m
R300 000
R500 000

What does KRA stand for.

Kapltal Racing Africa? Actually I have no idea, I didn't even spot that.

Kwazulu Racing Association.

Close enough, Scotia!

Magic-
I wonder whether the above restructuring of the features ( which is very good I might add), had anything to do with an impending petition that trainers wanted to send to GC with regards to the racing surface at Scottsville.

Just to digress slightly-For the first time I am not being sentimental about Scottsville and speak with "an owners cap on". I was present on course on Sunday and witnessed first hand the kickback and frustration of owners and trainers alike. In my opinion the inner track should have been a sandtrack.

I tend to agree. For starters, having an alternative surface is great and is one of Gauteng's major attractions. Lots of horses prefer it to grass. But I don't see why problems at Scottsville should be insurmountable, it wasn't always like it is today.

KRA .........stands for Korea Racing Association with whom we signed a twinning agreement in July 2008. Kenny Michel and Thomas Labuschagne already working there...
Lance Pagel and Abram Makhubo on way to act as workriders...

Three Korean apprentices based now at CT academy with Vince Curtis to learn the art of fast work riding I believe.

Gold Circle Cup to be run in Seoul in September.

Similar to Selangor Cup kind of relationship but much bigger.

Hope that clarifies the mystery
Cheers

An excellent idea = ´grow´ the global market - quid pro quo!

Jim.