Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs face Mamelodi Sundowns in a Carling Knockout Cup quarter-final clash, while South Africa’s premier sprinter Isivunguvungu takes on the world’s best at the $1m Breeders’ Cup.
SA’S RACING FLAG FLYING IN USA
Days, and nights, like these have come so few and far between. But these are the occasions that every South African racing fan lives for – seeing the best of Mzansi taking on the best of the world in Del Mar, San Diego.
On Saturday night the country’s premier sprinter Isivunguvungu, translated as “storm”, takes on some of the best sprinters around in the $1m Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (1000m) while another outstanding export, the filly Beach Bomb, is in action in the same prestigious Breeders Cup meeting, also in a Grade 1 event, the $2m Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf over 2200m. Isivunguvungu is 25-1 and Beach Bomb 20-1.
A TEST FOR UNITED’S NEW MANAGER BOUNCE
Manchester United already felt the new manager bounce after the sacking of Erik ten Hag and they’ll be looking to improve their lowly 14th position in the English Premier League.
Under caretaker manager Rudd Van Nistelrooy, United welcome Chelsea to Old Trafford. The London club have managed some decent results this season, although with them you never know when it’s all going to implode.
This match probably couldn’t come at a better time for a United side that seemed to have lost interest under Ten Hag. Leaders Man City are away to Bournemouth, while Liverpool host Brighton and should keep the pressure on at the top.
HOUSE FULL SIGNS FOR CHIEFS AND SUNDOWNS
We’re down to the quarter-finals in South Africa’s Carling Knockout Cup and the big one is Kaizer Chiefs versus Sundowns at the FNB Stadium. Even the bookies are finding this a hard one to call, much like next week’s USA elections. Both Chiefs and Sundowns are at 16-10.
In fact, all four quarter-finals are extremely competitive: Richards Bay vs Cape Town City, Chiefs and Sundowns, TS Galaxy vs Magesi FC and Marumo Gallants at home to Stellenbosch. By Wednesday, already 54,000 tickets had been sold for the FNB Stadium, with a full house of 79,000 (plus 8,300 in corporate suites) expected.
THE VERSTAPPEN-NORRIS SHOW IN BRAZIL
Keep the calculator at close hand as this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix at Sao Paulo unfolds. Including this one, there are four races left until the end of the 2024 season and it’s getting to be squeaky bum time for Max Verstappen in that Fed Bull cockpit.
Last week he rightly incurred the wrath of the authorities after shoving Lando Norris’ McLaren off the track and Norris is again the favourite to win in Brazil. The arithmetic is that Verstappen holds a 47-point lead over Norris with four races to go.
This weekend features a sprint race, where points are also available. Latest championship betting has Verstappen at 1-5 to hold on, with Norris at 33-10.
CONSISTENT BINDER WILL BE EYING 2025
Those petrol heads who prefer two wheels to four, will feast on the Malaysian MotoGP, which is the penultimate race on the 20-event calendar. In terms of the overall championship, either Jorge Martin or Francesco Bagnaia will take the title (Martin is favourite), while South Africa’s Brad Binder will finish either fifth or sixth, with Spain’s Pedro Acosta breathing down his neck.
Binder’s season has been cork bobbing up and down in the ocean. He’s finished 17 or 18 races, with one podium. His most common race placing has been sixth (four times)/. The hope is that next year the graph moves upwards.
WHAT RECEPTION WILL THE HAKA GET?
England and New Zealand kick off the Autumn (northern hemisphere) Internationals this weekend, while Scotland face Tonga. With respect to the latter, there’s only one show in town and that’s at Twickenham on Saturday, where the All Blacks have been installed as three-point favourites to win.
The build-up was punctured by what is common these days, a bit of clickbait, this time England prop Joe Marler questioning the pre-match Haka. It actually is a deeper debate than “yes or no”, and while it’s traditional, it’s not as intimidating or exclusive as it once might have been. Cameramen lie on the ground between the teams, there are rules as to how the opposition must stand and react.
And a home crowd is encouraged to stay silent and hand “advantage” to the visitors. Why? Then again, it’s all theatre and entertainment and that’s what sport actually is about., No less, no more.