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South China Morning Post
5 days ago
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Dave The King bids for Champions Cup repeat with Keagen de Melo in opposition at Greyville
Hong Kong-based Keagan de Melo is in action at Greyville on Sunday. Photo: Kenneth Chan Dave The King will look for his crowning glory when he goes for back-to-back wins in the Group One HKJC Champions Cup (1,800m) at Greyville on Sunday. The Mike and Mathew De Kock-trained star is unbeaten in two starts this campaign, latterly winning the Group One Gold Challenge (1,600m) at Greyville in June. The four-year-old was a comfortable winner of this race 12 months ago, cruising clear on his way to becoming South African Horse of the Year. The father and son combination have their runner in fine fettle and Mathew is confident their superstar can run a huge race. DAVE THE KING wins the G1 @HKJC_Racing Champions Cup! 👑 Superb front running ride from @richardfourie to give @MdkRacing and @Safgirl2 another Grade 1 winner. #WorldPool 🤝 @GoldCircleRSA — World Pool (@WorldPool) July 28, 2024 'He has come on from his last start, which is great because it was really only his second run after a rest,' said De Kock. 'He seems to be peaking for this race, which is fantastic. 'He won very well last year, so it looks like everything is coming together for him to kind of put in a similar performance.' Hong Kong-based Keagan de Melo has returned home for the off season and will ride See It Again for trainer Michael Roberts, who goes fresh into the race after picking up an injury in the run up to the Group One Durban July (2,200m) won by Dave The King. The race helps make up a ten-race programme from Greyville, with all the races simulcast. HK Racing News Get updates direct to your inbox Sign up Best Bets Racing News By registering you agree to our T&Cs & Privacy Policy Error: Please enter a valid email. The email address is already in use. Please login to subscribe. Error, please try again later. THANK YOU You are one the list. G1 Grosser Dallmayr-Preis - Bayerisches Zuchtrennen ausgetragen seit 1866 over 2000m G1 for 3yo+ horses - 155.000€ 🥇CALIF 5yo g by AREION 🥈FANTASTIC MOON 4yo c by SEA THE MOON 🥉WESTMINSTER MOON 4yo c by SEA THE MOON CALIF is bred by Gestüt Brümmerhof, owned by Victorious… — Deutscher Galopp (@DeutscherGalopp) July 28, 2024 There is also simulcast action from Germany, with the Group One Grosser Preis Bayerisches Zuchtrennen (2,000m) at Munich being the feature. The highest rated in the line-up will be the Francis-Henri Graffard-trained Map Of Stars, who will be ridden by British ace James Doyle. The German flag will be waived by Lazio, an unbeaten two-year-old who ran a brilliant third in the Group One Deutsches Derby (2,400m) at Hamburg last time. Calif, who ran a screamer to finish third to Tastiera in April's Group One FWD QEII Cup (2,000m) at Sha Tin, defends his crown for trainer Carlos Lerner.
New Paper
5 days ago
- Sport
- New Paper
Dave The King is peaking: de Kock
DURBAN Mathew de Kock is not underestimating the formidable task facing stable star Dave The King, in his quest to achieve back-to-back victories in the ZAR1.5 million (S$109,000) Grade 1 HKJC Champions Cup (1,800m) at Greyville on July 27. After returning from a successful training stint in Australia, de Kock now trains in partnership with his father, Mike, who has accumulated the most Group 1 wins of any South African trainer. Following unplaced runs as favourite in two races at the end of his last campaign, Dave The King has won both of his races in 2025, including his most recent assignment in the Grade 1 Gold Challenge (1,600m) at Greyville on June 7. De Kock said the stable could not be happier with the five-year-old gelding, noting he has improved since his last-start victory when he again started favourite. "He has come on from his last start, which is great because it was really only his second run after a rest," said de Kock. "He seems to be peaking for this race, which is fantastic. "He won very well last year, so it looks like everything is coming together for him to kind of put in a similar performance." In his 2024 victory, Dave The King - the reigning South African Horse of the Year - cruised to the lead at the 1,000m mark and opened up a handy margin while holding off fast-finishers from back in the field. De Kock said the son of Global View was a free-striding horse with a big action and a high cruising speed, and whose strength is placing his rivals under pressure during the middle stages of races. Callan Murray, who returned from Adelaide, Australia in May, was aboard Dave The King at his last two wins. The former South African boom apprentice jockey, who had a brief stint at Kranji in 2019, has met with instant success at his return home, linking up mostly with the de Kocks. While there are only nine runners in July 27's race, de Kock said it was a tricky field. He rates Dean Kannemeyer's last-start Grade 1 Durban July (2,200m) winner, The Real Prince, as the biggest danger. "He is obviously in good form and has beaten most of the rest before, and I would probably be most worried about him from (barrier) No. 1," said de Kock. "The Durban July is our biggest race, which he won two weeks ago. It's a handicap, though. "See It Again is also a good horse on his day." Now based in Hong Kong, Keagan de Melo returns home for the ride on See It Again, who was injured ahead of the Durban July and goes into the July 27 race fresh. Kannemeyer said he did not hesitate to target the Champions Cup after The Real Prince's last start - and most significant - victory on July 5. "This Champions Cup will be his third run after a break, and it may well be that the 1,800m suits him down to the ground," he said. "We will let the others worry about us." Gladatorian finished seventh to The Real Prince, beaten five lengths in the Durban July, but the five-year-old's earlier form gives him a chance of figuring in the placings. The only three-year-old in the field is Fire Attack, who will carry 129lb (58.5kg), 3lb less than his older rivals, but has a tricky draw in barrier eight. Montien, trained by Piet Botha, is sure to have some admirers for a place at decent odds. HKJC
The Citizen
24-07-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
R10m Pick 6 ends season with a bang
It's also a World Pool day at Greyville. A Pick 6 with a likely pool of R10-million tops the betting menu at Sunday's Gold Cup race meeting at Greyville. It is a last chance to play for outsize payouts for a while as the fixture is a climactic send-off of the 2025 season. It's not just the Pick 6 that will draw in punters. The Quartet on the World Pool Gold Cup itself – South Africa's most important marathon race – is predicted to top R2-million, thanks to TAB bunging in a R500,000 carryover. As the big-race sponsor indicates, the meeting is a Hong Kong World Pool event. This means all TAB betting (accessible through Betway) on the card will be comingled into gigantic pools hosted by the Hong Kong Jockey Club and open to punters in racing centres around the world. The World Pool bets are Win, Place, Exacta, Quinella and Swinger. These bets must be in multiples of R2 – for example, R8, R10, R12 and so on. In addition to the Gold Cup, Race 7 on the card, four Grade 1 contests and five other feature events make up the 10-race bill of fare. The R1.5-million HKJC Champions Cup over 1800m is the headline grabber as it sees Durban July champion The Real Prince taking on Equus Horse of the Year Dave The King, who won the race last year. These two charismatic stars were level-pegging at 1.36 for the Win on Wednesday afternoon. The Mercury Sprint sees some of the country's best speedsters vying for a R1-million purse. The ante-post favourite here is Tenango at 1.40, with Mia Moo, I Am Giant and Buffalo Storm Cody jointly on offer at 2.00. The Douglas Whyte Thekwini Stakes (Race 4) honours the famous Durbanite who ruled the Hong Kong jockey championship for more than a decade and who now runs a successful training yard in the racing-mad enclave. Interestingly, the hot-pot favourite here is an uncommon raider from the Eastern Cape, Alan Greef-trained Golden Palm (1.05) to be ridden by champion jockey Richard Fourie. The filly goes for a fourth win in a row, within five months, and offers a potential banker for punters to kick off their assault on the R10-million Pick 6.
The Citizen
20-07-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
When Prince takes on King
Battle royal as racing season comes to a climax. It's a right (or real?) royal battle of the definite articles: Dave The King versus The Real Prince. The former (the monarch) has his nose in front of the latter (pretender to the throne) in ante-post betting for next weekend's HKJC Champions' Cup at Greyville. But what will happen on the turf at Greyville on Sunday 28 July? Mike and Mathew de Kock-trained Dave The King is available at 3.20, with Dean Kannemeyer's The Real Prince at 3.50. The Grade 1 R1.5-million Champion's Cup is Race 8 on the card of the final major fixture of the 2024/25 racing season. The super-smart De Kock team have stuck exactly to the plan that was so successful for their gelding in the 2024 Champions; Season: a pipe-opening 1500m Pinnacle Stakes win at Scottsville, then victory in the 1600m Gold Challenge. What they need for a mirror image campaign is another 1800m Champions' Cup. The Real Prince's build-up to this race has been very different – but that doesn't mean Kannemeyer isn't a canny operator. The four-year-old's 2025 season was geared to winning the Durban July – which he duly did – with clever dodges around lurking handicappers. A Champs' Cup would be icing on the cake, but no-one would be surprised if he managed it. With just 10 races on his record, The Real Prince has been relatively lightly raced and he shows every indication of having improvement to come. Betway's ante-post odds: Dave The King – R3.20 The Real Prince – R3.50 Fire Attack, See It Again, Gladatorian, Royal Victory – R8.00 Montien, Son Of Raj – R20 Litigation – R51.00
