Musical artist Thembi Seete pose for a photograph with Sabinas's Dynasty at Turffontein racecourse in Johannesburg, 30 November 2018, before the Gauteng Summer Cup last year. Picture: Nigel Sibanda
The R2 million G-Bets Gauteng Summer Cup plays out at Turffontein racecourse this afternoon, generating one of the biggest betting days of the year, with R100 million wagered on the day.
The ante-post betting action is hotting up with ruling favourite Cascapedia and Tilbury Fort the targets of some hefty wagers.
Corporate bookmaking chain Betting World has cut Cascapedia’s odds from 5.5/1 to 4.5/1 favourite, while Tilbury Fort has been backed in from 8s to 5.5/1 joint second favourite.
“There was little ante-post activity earlier in the week, but it’s getting some momentum now and Tilbury Fort is the money horse,” said Betting World chief operating officer Dean Finder yesterday.
Tilbury Fort, one of three runners from top trainer Sean Tarry, was gelded early this year and has been a model of consistency since his return to racing, running five times for two wins, two seconds and a respectable eighth in the Vodacom Durban July.
The big chink in his armour is that his four career victories have come at 1 400m and 1 600m and it’s questionable if he has the stamina to go with the best over 2 000m.
But what is very much in his favour is that the race may be run at a slow pace on a fast track and that speed, rather than stamina, will be decisive at the finish.
There is no natural pacemaker in the field and that is probably going to leave runners like Cash Time or Dawn Assault to dictate the tempo. This means the mid-race pace could be a dawdle and the back-runners will battle to get to the leaders.
Cup Day is one of the biggest betting days of the year and a R2.5 million carryover Pick 6 pool on the Turffontein meeting is creating a stir.
The net Pick 6 pool should total R7.5 million when the runners set off in race 4, the first of the six consecutive races making up the bet, and there is a prospect of a huge payout.
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