A Guineas Time That Demands Attention
Sunday, 08 Feb 2026
While track conditions and sectional fractions inevitably shape the final outcome, race times recorded under identical conditions on the same day still offer a valuable benchmark when weighing up performances.
Guineas Day at Turffontein produced a set of times that invite comparison across generations, from this season’s emerging three-year-olds to last season’s crop and a battle-hardened older brigade. Against that backdrop, Mike and Mathew de Kock’s TAB Gauteng Guineas winner Splittheeights stands out as a colt with considerable promise.
Splittheeights stopped the clock at 97.06 seconds, the fastest 1600m time recorded on the card and 0.4 seconds quicker than the class average on a track recorded as “Good”.
The comparative times for other 1600m races on Guineas Day over the last five years are as follows:
On Guineas Day in 2026
- Hazy Dazy – Wilgerbosdrift Gauteng Fillies Guineas: 97,44s
• Choisaanada – Pinnacle Stakes: 97,52s
• Erroll Flynn – MR 84 Handicap: 98,21s
On Guineas Day in 2025 – track also “Good”, the times were:
- Parisian Walkway – TAB Gauteng Guineas: 98,94s
•Spumante Dolce – Wilgerbosdrift Filles Guineas: 98,94s
On Guineas Day in 2024 – track also “Good”, the times were:
Saandringham Summit: TAB Gauteng Guineas: 97,59s
Gimme A Nother - Wilgerbosdrift Filles Guineas: 97,74s
On Guineas Day in 2023
-Track condition was ‘Very Soft’, times not considered.
On Guineas Day in 2022 – track also “Good”, the times were:
Safe Passage: TAB Gauteng Guineas: 99,61s
Rain In Holland: Wilgerbosdrift Filles Guineas: 99,74
On Guineas Day in 2021 – track also “Good”, the times were:
Malmoos: TAB Gauteng Guineas: 97,36s
War Of Athena: Wilgerbosdrift Filles Guineas: 97,59
From the above, we can deduct:
-Splittheights set the fastest time for the TAB Guineas in the last five years – 97,06s.
-The closest to him is Malmoos, who set 97,36s (2021) and went on to win the Triple Crown.
-Corne Spies-trained Hazy Dazy, interestingly, set the fastest time for the Fillies Guineas in the last five years – 97,44s. The closest to her is War Of Athena (97.59), who went on to win the Triple Tiara.
The statistics above place both Splittheeights and Hazy Dazy favourably across grades and age groups over the last five years, and Sporting Post reported: “The connections of the smart Splittheeights will be harbouring dreams of joining the illustrious quartet of Horse Chestnut (1999), Louis The King (2014), Abashiri (2016) and Malmoos in 2021 as a modern-era winner of the SA Triple Crown after the son of Vercingetorix’s victory in the R1 million TAB Gr2 Gauteng Guineas at Turffontein on Saturday.
“Decisions will need to be made, but the Mike and Mathew de Kock-trained three-year-old colt could now face the challenge of mastering the step up to 1800m and 2450m in the next 8 weeks as he bids for glory and the bonus of R2 million on offer to the connections of any horse that can win all three legs of the 2026 SA Triple Crown.
“The subject of a balanced and judicious ride by Raymond Danielson, Splittheeights (7-2) went on strongly to beat Grand Empire under Craig Zackey (8-1) by 0,60 lengths in a time of 97,06 seconds for the mile.”
While Splittheeights’ dam, Massachusetts (Trippi) only won up to 1600m and his siblings, including his half-brother and champion sprinter William Robertson are all predominantly sprinter-milers, Danielson’s post-race comments will give Mike and Mathew and his owners, the Murugasa family, some hope that he will see out at least the 1800m on sheer class. “He is straightforward, he makes it easy. You sit on him, he waits for you, you ask him to go and he wins his races. He is going to be a very good horse.”
Mike confirmed: “He hasn’t got the greatest of legs. He does need a bit of TLC Mat's done a great job with him, but he’s a serious horse, he's always shown that.”
Mike and Mathew de Kock are sponsored by Lucky Fish. Tap here to for a limited join-up offer.