Maine Chance Farms (Pty) Ltd’s outstanding stallion Vercingetorix had a day to remember on Saturday.
Vercingetorix had seven individual winners in South Africa on Saturday, with Vercingetorix runners winning six of the ten races run at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth.
Vercingetorix sons Oriental Charm and Holding Thumbs won Saturday’s G2 World Sports Betting Green Point Stakes (1600m) and Listed World Sports Betting Cape Summer Stayers Handicap (2500m) to provide their inform sire with a memorable Cape feature race double.
Winner of both the G1 Hollywoodbets Durban July and G3 Hollywoodbets Dolphins Cup Trial last season, star colt Oriental Charm made a winning return to the track when he won Saturday’s World Sports Betting Green Point Stakes.
Under a fine ride from JP Van Der Merwe, the four-year-old made much of the running in Saturday’s R250 000 race to win by a length. Trained by Brett and James Crawford, Oriental Charm, a leading contender for both the G1 L’Ormarins King’s Plate and G1 World Sports Betting Cape Town Met, has won his last three in a row (all graded features), and has won five of 11 starts.
Bred by Cheveley Stud, Oriental Charm, out of the Greys Inn mare Souk, was a R375 000 buy from the 2022 National Yearling Sale.
Vercingetorix came up with his 46th stakes winner when his Glen Kotzen-trained son Holding Thumbs won Saturday’s Listed World Sports Betting Cape Summer Stayers Handicap. Third in the Listed Woolavington Stakes previously, the gelded four-year-old was given a fine ride by Sean Veale, with Veale keeping Holding Thumbs long enough to win by a diminishing long neck.
Bred by Wilgerbosdrift & Mauritzfontein, Holding Thumbs, out of the Fort Wood mare Withbatedbreath, has won five of 14 starts. Saturday’s winner was a R1 100 000 buy from the 2022 August Two Year Old Sale.
Holding Thumb’s victory came in the eighth race on the Hollywoodbets Kenilworth card, and the progeny of Vercingetorix would go on to win both the ninth and tenth races on Saturday. His son Magic Verse made a big impression when romping to a five-length win in Saturday’s Jonsson Workwear Cape B Stakes (2000m), while the following race, Vercingetorix gelding Gallic Dream picked up his second career win when landing the Pamela Isdell Class 3 (1400m) by a length and a half.
Vercingetorix had also posted two winners earlier at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth with his sons Honor Of Kings and Garrix victorious in races two and four respectively. The regally bred Honor Of Kings, a half-brother to champion Princess Calla, got off the mark in convincing fashion when he won Saturday’s Freeman Stallions Maiden Plate by two and a quarter lengths, while the very promising Garrix made it two wins from three starts with a convincing, two and three-quarter length win in the Amy Miller Memorial Class 4 (1400m).

The sensational Vercingetorix also had success at Turffontein on Saturday with his daughter Komati River victorious in the second race on Saturday.
Bred and owned by Advocate Althus Joubert, three-year-old Komati River stormed home to land the Take A Bet Wina Numba Numba Maiden Plate (F and M) (1160m) by a length and a quarter.
Trained by Tony Peter, Komati River, who is out of the Second Empire mare Venus Rising, was ridden by Kaidan Brewer.
Vercingetorix is also the sire of former Equus Champion Mrs Geriatrix, with the latter named KZN Breeders’ Champion 3YO Filly for 2023-2024 on Friday night.