Eight On Eighteen to Continue The Dream
Jack Milner
While there are no feature races at Hollywoodbets Durbanville on Saturday there is still some top-level racing on the nine-race card.
However, the focus is likely to be on two horses, one already a respected champion and the other a star of the future.
Eight On Eighteen has nothing to prove. He won three Grade 1 races in the 2004/2005 season and was named Equus Horse Of The Year. Last year was a lot tougher for Justin Snaith’s charge following a serious bout of biliary and it wasn’t under the final high-level race meeting of the season that he actually managed to win again.
He has been rested since that 26 July Champions Cup win and will return tomorrow in Race 5, an A Stakes over 1400m. He teams up with Richard Fourie once again and comes into this race at least 5kg better weighted than any of his rivals.
He should win, but he has bigger fish to fry and could find 1400m at touch short. Just in case, it might be worth adding Dean Kannemeyer-trained Hah Lah Lah with Craig Zackey up into the Pick 6 as back up.
Interestingly it is Kannemeyer and Zackey who bring the second horse into the fray – Continue The Dream. He is a full brother to both Grade 1 winners Gimme A Prince and Hollywoodbets Durban July champion The Real Prince (who beat Eight On Eighteen in that race).
Continue The Dream was highly impressive on debut. Despite being somewhat lost early on, he quickened like a proper racehorse and then stormed past Godric Gryffindor, clocking 22.3 seconds for the final 400m.
He takes on Loving Prague, a solid performer in these lower-grade handicaps who loves this course and distance, together with emerging three-year-olds, It’s Good It’s Nice and Le Soleil.
However, Continue The Dream comes from first-class stock and the manner of his first win indicates that run would have brought him on beautifully and improve in leaps and bounds this time.
Jack Milner’s selections
Race 1: 6 Gimmethejackhammer, 7 Fair Fate, 9 Le Tissier, 2 Premier Winter
Race 2: 1 Sauterelle, 4 Captain’s Lass, 6 Arctic Flow, 8 Princess Sofia
Race 3: 5 Getorix Princess, 10 Cydonia, 7 A Thousand Stars, 3 Satin Black
Race 4: 7 Bullet Tooth Tony, 2 Royal Eagle, 10 Velorian King, 5 World Supreme
Race 5: 3 Eight On Eighteen, 6 Hah Lah Lah, 4 Gallic Dream, 5 Randolph Hearst
Race 6: 6 Continue The Dream, 7 Loving Prague, 9 Le Soleil, 3 Fashion News
Race 7: 7 Lark’s Song, 4 Verse For Suzanne, 2 Kituba, 3 Who Is She
Race 8: 2 Ulez Camera, 1 Take That, 5 All About Al, 8 Peace Of Mind
Race 9: 4 Ruby Rex, 10 Turn To The Law, 1 Axis Power, 6 Heritage Ridge
BEST BET
Race 6: 6 Continue The Dream
VALUE BET
Race 9: 4 Ruby Rex
BEST SWINGER
Race 2 1×4
BIPOT
R144
Leg 1: 1, 4
Leg 2: 5, 7, 10
Leg 3: 2, 7, 10
Leg 4: 3, 6
Leg 5: 6
Leg 6: 2, 3, 4, 7
PLACE ACCUMULATOR
R162
Leg 1: 5, 10
Leg 2: 2, 7, 10
Leg 3: 3
Leg 4: 6
Leg 5: 2, 4, 7
Leg 6: 1, 2, 5
Leg 7: 1, 4, 10
PICK 6
R1200
Leg 1: 2, 5, 6, 7, 10
Leg 2: 2, 6
Leg 3: 6
Leg 4: 2, 3, 4, 7
Leg 5: 1, 2, 3, 5, 8
Leg 6: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6¸10
JACKPOT 1
R40
Leg 1: 2, 6
Leg 2: 6
Leg 3: 2, 3, 4, 7
Leg 4: 1, 2, 3, 5, 8
JACKPOT 2
R120
Leg 1: 6
Leg 2: 2, 3, 4, 7
Leg 3: 1, 2, 3, 5, 8
Leg 4: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6¸10