Vaal racetrack Horse Racing Tips - Get all the racing tips for Thursday, 30 July

Simon Lewis

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Last updated: 1 hour ago

Simon Lewis 1 hour ago

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Walkinginthewoods should have the edge over Dreadnought and Two Tigers in Race 3.
Be My Fate will need a strong finish to take the win in Race 6.
Twentytwentyvision looks the best of a strong field in Race 8.
There are nine races at Vaal racetrack on Thursday starting at 12:00 SAST.

Thursday's racing at the Vaal racetrack has some tight runs predicted but with good odds on offer (Getty Images).

Race 3 – Walkinginthewoods (2)

Jockey: K De Melo

Trainer: Michael Nicholas Houdalakis

Walkinginthewoods is a 3-yr-old bay colt making his debut but is ranked as the favourite to win with the bookies. There are two other debutants in the race, while Dreaming Of Youth (23.00) finished 12 out of 15 in his only start 69 days ago.

Two Tigers (4.50) is a strong challenger, coming into the race on the back of 2-3-3 finishes, but the only other horse in the field with a win in their last six runs is Berry Lancer (10.00) but his form has been inconsistent, running 6-4-3-4-4-8.

Race 5 – Art Nouveau (3)

Jockey: Kabelo Matsunyane

Trainer: Tony Peter

The 5-yr-old bay filly Art Nouveau has two career wins which came back-to-back in the middle of 2025. She has been inconsistent of late but had a great second place finish in her last outing at Turffontein. She comes into the race on the back of a heavy schedule of 2-5-6-6-2-5-6-2 but she clearly likes a strong workload.

Frangipani (4.00) looks hard to resist after back-to-back wins coming into this race. The 4-yr-old bay filly had struggled in her previous four runs, finishing 12-8-9-9 before her two wins, so while she looks hot to trot I’m not convinced she’s on a heater.

Race 6 – Be My Fate (9)

Jockey: Marco V'Rensburg

Trainer: Dianne Stenger

Be My Fate has had a 41-day break from the track after putting in some good runs to claim finishes of 4-2-1-3 ahead of this race. Utsaah and Chariklo both have wins in their last last four outings and both have odds of 5.00.

Bold Action (10.00) ran 13 days ago but put in a disappointing run to finish last in a field of 10. The 4-yr-old bay filly is a bit of a mixed bag, running 10/10 before an 86-day break, followed by a roller-coaster streak of 2-2-4-12-1-10, which accounts for her high odds, but her potential might tempt some punters.

Race 8 – Twentytwentyvision (5)

Jockey: Callan Murray

Trainer: James Crawford

Hammer Blow (2.75) looks a strong runner who is on a powerful streak of 3-4-2-1-3-2 and Taking A Risk has finished 3-5-3-2-2. Time Will Tell (5.50) has three second-place finishes before taking sixth place in his last run.

I’m backing another horse slated at low odds of 2.38, which is the 6-yr-old bay gelding Twentytwentyvision. He last ran 18 days and has three wins in his 30 starts, finishing in the Top 3 places in 11 of his starts. After a 70-day break he has been in strong form, placing 5-4-2-3-3. His last run saw him slip into third place after a strong run, but I’m backing his legs to carry him to clinch a fourth career win.

For a list of all the current favourites with the bookmakers, click here.

Verdict

Vaal Racing

Walkinginthewoods is backed for a debut win, while there is stiff competition for our other three predicted winners in Art Nouveau, Be My Fate and Twentytwentyvision.

Twentytwentyvision Win

Race 8

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Walkinginthewoods Win

Race 3

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Art Nouveau Win

Race 5

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Be My Fate Win

Race 6

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