Highlights all over

5 out of 7 selections obliged with Igugu, Milan, Palermo, Real and Lyon all winning, but Inter and Barcelona disappointing against lowly opposition. The week-end was not short of highlights in many departments.

In La Liga, it is almost done deal for Real who have shot 7 points clear at the top. They look a certainty to win the title and only a cataclysmic occurrence (like Mourinho quitting before the season end) will stop them. It is looking sweet right now, having recommended piling on them a couple of months ago.

In tennis, what else to say about Djokovic beating Nadal yet again in a Major final? He's got his sights on Roland Garros already and Nadal has a few weeks to figure out how to stop the Serbian machine. After all, Paris is the Spaniard's hunting ground and it will be interesting to see if Nole has the ammunition to topple him on his favourite surface. We'll get there in due time.

In golf, Tiger let go of the win in the final round in Abu Dhabi to an English journeyman golfer. It used to be that Tiger would always make the difference in the last round if leading after 3 rounds, but his defeat shows that he's not quite at his best level yet. Still a third place finish looks honorable as he continues his comeback assault.

In racing, the Kenilworth meeting in South Africa was a treat to watch. What a beautiful mover Jackson, the winner of the Cape Investec Derby, is. Definitely one to watch in future middle-distance races. Ebony Flyer, who I have been gloating about in these pages but who flopped badly in the Queen's Plate, redeemed herself and won the Group 1 mile race on the card. But the star of the evening was Igugu, no doubt. She produced a jaw-dropping finishing kick to win when all observers had her beaten. Super Igugu, she would beat any filly on this planet from 10-12 furlongs, in my opinion.

Tuesday sees a rare Premier League fixture and I see Man Utd and Tottenham keeping the pressure on leaders Man City. They should dispatch Stoke and Wigan respectively at home; a Win on Man Utd is recommended, while a conservative draw-no-bet on Spurs looks safer than an outright win (there's always the disruptive effects of manager Redknapp's off-field issues on the functioning of the team).

Win: Man Utd

Draw-no-bet: Tottenham

Busy week-end

Terrific last couple of days with African Story and Musir winning the plaudits in Meydan and Djokovic reaching the Australian Open Final as recommended.

The EPL leaves the stage to the FA Cup this week-end, with a Liverpool v/s Man Utd as the highlight match. Cup matches rarely have anything to do with EPL form so it is pointless for me to try to find teams that will go through. I will rather focus on La Liga where Real and Barcelona go back to battle for the title after their epic Cup showdown. With eyes closed, the recommendation is on Real to overcome last-place Zaragoza. It will be a matter of how many goals the Los Blancos will score against a club that looks destined for relegation.

Barcelona have an arguably more difficult match against Villareal, who are the disappointing team of the league. This is a team that was contending in the Champions League not long ago and who now find themselves fighting for survival in the top flight. The Catalans cannot afford to lose any points in this match and provided they do not suffer from the absences of Iniesta and Sanchez, they should get the Win in the end. They are recommended as a Win as well.

In Serie A, I like draw-no-bets for AC Milan, Inter and Palermo as they are playing inferior opposition.
In La Ligue 1, Lyon looks a safe draw-no-bet against Dijon.

South African racing has a big Saturday with no less than 3 Group 1's and 1 Group 2 up for grabs. The main race is the J&B Met in which superstar filly Igugu is the big favourite. The main question is whether she has fully recovered from the throat infection that had affected her, and the subsequent tough quarantine to which she had been subjected. If she's back to her best, she'll win. Throat infections can destroy a career; the one that comes to mind is Discreet Cat's in the DWC. The horse never came back to his best again. Although Igugu's problem does not look as serious as that of the former Godolphin star, it will still be interesting if that could have had any effect on her. I think as odds-against, she's worth the punt as a Win as she is better than anything in the field by far. With those risks in mind, the recommendation is for her to Win.

Win: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Igugu

Draw-no-bet: Milan, Inter, Palermo, Lyon

Start to the Second Half

Muck'n'Brass was spot on as he comfortably dispatched the weak field.

Sticking with racing, Saturday sees the running of the Queen's Plate, one of South Africa's most prestigious races. Ebony Flyer is the horse I strongly fancy in that race as I rate her as one of the best mares in the country at the distance. She's a superstar in her own right, having taken the scalp of wonder filly Igugu before. Her prep in a sprint 3 weeks ago will have her prime for the race. I cannot see her out of the places, and her main opponent looks to be Variety Club, a rising 3-year old star. I recommend Ebony Flyer as a strong Place.

This week-end sees the return of league football in Spain and Italy. Real Madrid host Granada and although Jose Mourinho was far from happy of the Los Blancos' last match against Malaga in the Copa del Rey during the week, they should have too much firepower for the visitors. A straight Win is the recommendation on the hosts. Barcelona will face a Catalan duel when they visit Espanol. The Blaugrana should prove too strong as well and get the 3 points to maintain the gap with Madrid. A Win on Guardiola's men is also recommended.



Win: Real Madrid, Barcelona
Place: Ebony Flyer

They are back!

7 winners out of 8 over the week-end; Everton failed at home to Stoke while the rest of the selections won. Very frustrating not to hit a perfect score on this one; Stoke are just playing spoilers and it's hard to gauge their actual form going into a game. Suffice to say it's better to stay away from Mowbray's men.

Very much the expected statu quo as far as the major European league tables are concerned. In the EPL, Man Utd clang on to the 5-point deficit to City after the Citizens had thrashed Norwich. However, they lost Chicharito in the process, which might make life a little difficult for Sir Alex Ferguson given that he's already without Berbatov and Owen for a while.

In La Liga, both Real and Barcelona won against minnows, and it's this coming week-end's Clasico that will play a major role in the destiny of the title. I'll get to the game in due time.

There are 2 events of note that took my attention over the week-end and they were not football related. The first one is Tiger's first PGA Tour win in 2 years. It looks like he's finally back and that should set him up very nicely for next year. A dominant Tiger is one of the best recommendations in Major tournaments.

Talking of dominance, Igugu, the South African superstar filly made her return to the tracks on Sunday, and it was a winning one as well. This followed the winning return a few days before, of another superstar filly in Ebony Flyer, who cantered home easily after months off the track due to an operation. According to Team Valor supremo, Barry Irwin, she's the best filly he's ever had; better than Ipi Tombe, kind of scary to think of it! Ebony Flyer did beat Igugu before, so she's the real deal. At 17.1 hands, she's even more imposing than Zenyatta. Igugu/Ebony Flyer, 2 fillies to follow closely in this coming South African racing season.

Kings of bloodstock

I am no pedigree expert but I certainly keep a keen eye on the bloodstock scene. After all, pedigree is one of the 3 most important ingredients when analyzing a race card, in my opinion. Most experts would concur that the best stallion in the world today is Galileo. I believe he is the only stallion with a "private" fee, which gives an indication of the special treatment and regard he is given. His impact as a sire has been very immediate with high-flyers like Soldier of Fortune, Sixties Icon, Age of Aquarius, Red Rocks, Rip Van Winkle etc; very much a lot from the Ballydoyle contingent.

What amazes me with Galileo is that this year, he seems to have reached even new heights with star performers like Treasure Beach, Roderic O'connor and more importantly, the unbeaten trio of Frankel, Maybe and South African-based Igugu.

The exploits of Frankel have been well documented. He's the wonder horse that most believe is unbeatable. Everyone is waiting for his next start. Then there's Maybe, who's added the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes to her resume last week-end. She's unbeaten in five and is favourite for next year's 1000 Guineas. Then, there's Igugu who won South Africa's Golden Tiara, the country's Triple Crown, and whose trainer, Mike de Kock, rates as the equal of Ipi Tombe. Quite a reference to be associated with the wonder filly.

All 3 are worthy champions and are the dominating figures among their peers. Galileo can have his stock win at the highest level from 8 to 14 furlongs, which says a lot of his versatility as a sire. If his great sire Sadler's Wells was known mainly for producing high-class colts and fillies primed for Classic distances, Galileo looks to be able to produce equally-good speedier types.

If Galileo is that good, then one can only dream on the promise of his half-brother, Sea The Stars. There is no doubt that the racing world is awaiting with baited breath the introduction of the sons and daughters of the wonder horse in a couple of years. These are really exciting times for the bloodstock industry.

And talking of sons of Urban Sea, the press has it that Galileo's and Sea The Star's half-brother Born To Sea will be making his debut for John Oxx in a few weeks. His sire is Invincible spirit, so on paper, he should be a very precocious type. Certainly watch for the name on the future race cards.