HKJC WORLD POOL POLITICIAN STAKES (Grade 3) (Open to all 3 year olds - Derby Trial) | 31 Jan 2026

Pos	Horse	Jockey	Draw	Weight	MR Pre	MR Post	MR Curr	Lengths	Odds	Equip	Owner / Trainer
1	Star Major	Mr L Mxothwa	8	60.0kg	109	122	122	Won	33/1	Y	O: Neville Isdell & Mr J I Bloch, Mrs Prakashni Pillay & Kalinga Holdings (Pty) Ltd T: Mr J I Crawford
2	Happy Verse Line	Mr A C Fortune	2	60.0kg	113	119	119	+0.40	5/4	Y	O: Messrs Reon Barnard & Gary Player Stud Farm (Pty) Ltd & Drakenstein Stud (Nom: Mrs G A Rupert) T: Mr S J Snaith
3	Better Man	Mr K de Melo	3	58.5kg	100	102	102	+3.15	14/1	Y	O: Messrs R M Sewgoolam & Wernars Family T: Mr V H Marshall
4	Pay The Palace	Mr P C Orffer	1	60.0kg	105	103	103	+4.15	33/1	Y	O: Messrs T Gujadhur & J M Lim Fat T: E L P & E B P Steyn
5	Fox On The Run	Mr R D Fourie	6	60.0kg	110	110	110	+6.65	5/1	B Y	O: Hollywood Racing (Nom: Mr A Delpech) T: Mr J I Crawford
6	Randolph Hearst	Mr J P van der Merwe	4	60.0kg	112	110	110	+8.40	9/2Fav	Y	—
7	Touched By Angels	Mr G J Lerena	7	57.0kg	97	108	108	+8.80	6/1	Y	—
8	Count Of Rouen	Mr C Zackey	5	58.5kg	100	93	93	+12.80	40/1	B Y	—

Star Major

Mr L Mxothwa · Dw 8 · 60.0kg

Won

33/1

MR 109 → 122

Happy Verse Line

Mr A C Fortune · Dw 2 · 60.0kg

+0.40

5/4

MR 113 → 119

Better Man

Mr K de Melo · Dw 3 · 58.5kg

+3.15

14/1

MR 100 → 102

Pay The Palace

Mr P C Orffer · Dw 1 · 60.0kg

+4.15

33/1

MR 105 → 103

Fox On The Run

Mr R D Fourie · Dw 6 · 60.0kg

+6.65

5/1

MR 110 → 110

B Y

Randolph Hearst

Mr J P van der Merwe · Dw 4 · 60.0kg

+8.40

9/2 Fav

MR 112 → 110

Touched By Angels

Mr G J Lerena · Dw 7 · 57.0kg

+8.80

6/1

MR 97 → 108

Count Of Rouen

Mr C Zackey · Dw 5 · 58.5kg

+12.80

40/1

MR 100 → 93

B Y

THE STARTER REPORTED: a) BETTER MAN (K de Melo), RANDOLPH HEARST (JP van der Merwe) and FOX ON THE RUN (R Fourie) were slow into stride. THE STIPENDIARY STEWARDS REPORTED: a) All horses selected for TCO2 were within the required levels and no retests were recorded. (15h41) b) At the 1200m RANDOLPH HEARST (JP van der Merwe) took an awkward stride away from the inside running rail. Thereafter, Jockey JP van der Merwe reported that this gelding made an abnormal respiratory noise in running. The Veterinary Surgeon was requested to examine. c) STAR MAJOR, the winner, was selected for the taking of specimens for analysis. Trainer J Crawford was advised. (ZM) JOCKEY AND/OR EQUIPMENT CHANGES: a) Nil. RACE CARD CHANGES / OTHER: a) Nil. THE VETERINARY SURGEON REPORTED: a) RANDOLPH HEARST - examined post-race. Nothing obvious detected. THERE WERE NO SCRATCHINGS.