A big shout-out to our stable employee Anathi Feni, who rode four winners on Work Rider’s Day at the Vaal, Thursday, 11 April – two for Brett Webber and one apiece for us and Alson Ndzilana. James Maree, the taskmaster of the Work Riders School, said that Anathi’s four on the day was probably a record and that he could only recall a few hat-tricks by veteran rider Sam Mosia.  Anathi (23) is the son of ‘Shorty’ Feni, our long time work rider in Dubai. He also wants to travel, like dad, has Australia in his mind. Diane de Kock said: “Anathi is keen to improve his English because he wants to ..read more

Betway Ambassador Mike de Kock has offered some pointers to Saturday’s meeting at Turffontein and Sunday’s meeting at Scottsville. He has entered five runners at Turffontein: Race 2, 1160m: “Khethiwe’s Destiny is a nice filly by Buffalo Bill Cody. We haven’t pushed her hard for this first start, but I do expect her to be competitive because she is quite a speedy sort. VJ’s Angel was impressive when winning last time and looks hard to beat.” Race 5, 1600m: “East Coast ran below his best last time, but his rating is too high as it is. He is perhaps better suited to the shorter distance, we’ll se ..read more

Marauding Horde (Vercingetorix) posted his hat-trick of wins stylishly at Turffontein on Saturday, and Mike de Kock and the three-year-old’s owners now have to decide whether to run him in the SA Derby or not. Marauding Horde’s relatively low rating puts him at risk of what Mike described as a ‘brutal’ handicapper’s penalty if he was to run a place in the Derby against the likes of Purple Pitcher. Marauding Horde, not just a pretty face! “I thought it would be a bit of a test today but he won very well,” said Mike. “It was a slow 2000m, to have quickened off that slow pace and with his weight ..read more

At Turffontein, Betway Ambassador Mike de Kock has 10 runners carded, a few chances among them, and he filed comments, as below: Race 4, 1400m: “Forever Mine lost his form before a rest, but he is doing well at home. We’re going to try something different, get him to come from behind instead of letting him go to the front like he’s done many times before. Let’s see how he goes, he’ll probably need it. Humdinger is as game as they come and she’s in here with a handy weight, well handicapped and well drawn. She’s won three races over 1400m and is bound to give a good account of herself again, a ..read more

Betway Ambassador Mike de Kock won’t be at Turffontein’s Champions Day on Saturday as he is attending a Sale in Australia, but he is confident of a good day and has filed runner comments: Race 1: Inqgwele is quite a nice Fire Away first-timer. But I think he is going to lack experience. It’s a fairly competitive field. He will be better off for the run.” Race 4, 1400m: “I quite like Mujbar, he won all his races in the UK over 1400m. We haven’t really been too tough on him. I think he is still a run short of his best, but it would not shock me to see him flash home into ..read more

At MR116, Justin Snaith’s Grade 1 Cape Guineas winner Snow Pilot is the highest rated runner in this weekend’s main South African feature, the Grade 3 Byerley Turk to be run over 1400m at Greyville on Sunday. But Mike de Kock’s Gimmeanotherchance (MR111) is well in with a pull of 6kg and is capable on his day.  Betway Ambassador Mike is confident that Gimmeanotherchance will run a big race. He also leaned to Underworld as the biggest danger to his runner. He said: “Gimmeanotherchance likes the Greyville 1400 and to me this a nice advantage in this race. He is very well, his work has been ..read more

Gimme A Nother kept her unbeaten record unblemished and made it seven wins from seven runs with her second Gr1 victory in Saturday’s Empress Club Stakes over 1600m at Turffontein. The decision to sidestep a possible SA Triple Tiara crown and rather take on mixed age opposition in the R1 million TAB Gr1 Empress Club Stakes proved a wise one for Mike de Kock and the connections of Gimme A Nother. She will now be given a short but thoroughly deserved break ahead of the major races in KZN this winter. JP van der Merwe tracked his hard-galloping stablemate Humdinger all the way around, and then unl ..read more

Piere Strydom, who has his second wind (or third, or fourth maybe), is riding superbly, started a three-month contract for the ASSM Syndicate and they kicked off with a double at Turffontein on Saturday. The second winner was Zinovi, from Mike de Kock’s stable, who won going away under a well-judged and hands-and-heels masterclass from the ‘blond bomber’, who has delighted racing fans here and abroad with his world-class talents for the last 40 years. ASSM’s Arun Chadha enyoyed this win. Zinovi was the first winner for his sire Heavenly Blue in April 2023, ASSM is invested in the sire and Zino ..read more

Betway Ambassador Mike de Kock’s Marauding Horde looks hard to beat in Race 6 over 2000m on the standside track at Turffontein on Saturday. An effortless winner of the recent Listed Hawwaam Stakes over this track and trip, he has already been priced up third favourite for the WSB SA Derby. While Mike is not keen to run him in the Derby due to his low rating, punters are able to cash in while this smart colt takes a few handicaps on his way through the divisions. Mike commented: “I was suitably impressed with Marauding Horde’s win in the Hawwaam Stakes. One could argue that there wasn ..read more

It would be remiss of me not to extend my sincere thanks to the individuals involved in finally getting South Africa past the winning post for the reinstatement of direct exports of our bloodstock to the EU and elsewhere. Monday, 25 March, 2024 was a most exciting day for our industry with this breaking news and it may well go down as an historic turning point for our embattled industry. There are a number of breeders who made contributions to the South African Equine Health and Protocols (SAEHP). At the risk of leaving someone out, I am just going to express my heartfelt thanks. They know who ..read more