Sean Tarry is having a mighty season and if there were any doubts that he would not be crowned Champion Trainer come the end of July they were dispelled at Greyville yesterday as French Navy capped a disappointing day for rival Mike de Kock. Tarry’s gelded son of Count Dubois proved too strong for De Kock’s Cape Derby winner Ertijaal and favourite The Conglomerate in the Gr1 Daily News 2000.

In doing so French Navy also stamped himself a leading contender for the Vodacom Durban July to be run in a little over a month and there are sure to be some major changes to bookmaker’s boards come this morning.

Winner of the SA Classic and third in the SA Derby, French Navy was still expected to play second fiddle to stable companion Siren’s Call who had come within an ace of winning the Triple Tiara in a year where the three-year-old fillies have proved to be a vintage crop. However, the filly ran a flat race and was in trouble even before the field turned for home.

Raymond Danielson explained, “When I rode this horse for the first time I told Mr Tarry that he had a lot of potential. I was afraid that there would not be a pace because he can get a bit lost in a race. But the gas was on, at least I thought so, because he was off the bridle.”

“Things got a bit tight,” said Tarry later, “but he got a run.”

“This came five weeks after the Derby and I think the gap made a big difference, I was able to freshen him up. In the past I think the gap was four weeks and sometimes even three.”

“I felt he did not get the 2450 of the Derby, especially in the going.”

Tarry has had a remarkable few years with stalwart owner Chris van Niekerk and heaped praise. “It’s nice to have an owner that understands that you need to do what you need to do and not try and train the horses. A lot of people don’t realise that we are dealing with flesh and blood and things don’t always go right.”

“You need things to go right and fortunately things have gone very well, very smoothly (this season).”

The laid-back Danielson is an integral component of the Tarry setup on the Highveld and can be frustrating to work with. “Sometimes I have to take his pulse to see if he’s alive,” quipped Tarry. “But he rode a great race from that draw.”

Drama at the gate saw Ultimate Dollar a late scratching as he kicked the back gate after being loaded. From the jump a very headstrong Run Rhino Run grabbed a hold of the bit and carted Keagan de Melo into the lead and stretching the field as he set solid early fractions.

As the field settled Mljet tracked the pacemaker with Ertijaal and Deputy Jud handy and Anton Marcus stalking Ertijaal on the favourite The Conglomerate. Danielson had French Navy settle in the back half of the field.

Approaching the 600 m mark Piere Strydom was hard at work on Siren’s Call and her race was run but Danielson eased French Navy off the fence preparing for a dash up the centre.

Run Rhino Run emptied out in a hurry at the top of the straight as Ertijaal and Mljet moved in with the Cape Derby winner moving the better. However, Danielson managed to ease through some traffic and French Navy, once in the clear, quickened up to collar Ertijaal and win comfortably.

Second with Ertijaal and 35 minutes later with Pine Princess, Mike de Kock’s day had already started badly. At nine o’clock yesterday morning the field for the Gr1 Woolavington 2000 were racing for second as the grey filly Majmu was unopposed in the betting and to all intents and purposes looked a racing certainty.

Half an hour later De Kock was on the telephone with the news that the hot favourite had spiked a temperature and would not be making her way to Greyville.

The defection of the favourite threw the race open although duel Gr1 winning filly Inara was cut to 18-10 in Majmu’s absence with Tamaanee and Pine Princess the only others in single figures.

But of the trio only Pine Princess featured in the finish as the 12-1 chance Smart Call turned the tables on many of her rivals. She put in a sustained finish to out-gun pacemaker Pine Princess with the less fancied of the Tarry runners, Trophy Wife third ahead of a fast-finishing Zante.

“I thought on pedigree she would stay but I don’t know if you noticed but we rode her differently this time,” said an emotional Alec Laird post-race. After a second to Siren’s Call in the Gauteng Guineas, Smart Call subsequently finished in the pack in the SA Classic and the Empress Club Stakes. “I decided to have one more crack at a Group 1 and thank God it worked out.”

Veteran Weichong Marwing was in the irons and all the cards fell his way. “The race panned out well and I got a nice slot,” he said.

“This was Ideal World’s first Grade 1 winner and I was wearing Grandma’s broach for luck,” enthused owner Jessica Slack who inherited the famous Mauritzfontein Stud and Oppenheimer colours from her equally famous Grandmother, Bridget Oppenheimer. Indeed, Smart Call has a solid Mauritzfontein pedigree being by resident stallion Ideal World out of a mare by the Mauritzfontein-bred champion, Horse Chestnut.

The change of tactics on Smart Call may well have caught the rest of the field napping. She will have been tagged as an obvious pacemaker given her recent record but it was apparent early on that this was not going to be the case as all hung back in the hope of someone taking the initiative.

That arrived in the form of Pine Princess. Anthony Delpech, switched from Majmu to De Kock’s second string, set off in front on a soft lead with Tamaanee and Inara in close attendance and Marwing tucking in Smart Call just off the pace.

At the top of the home stretch Delpech looked to have ridden the perfect race as the field battle to close the gap but a furlong out the pictured changed. Smart Call finished with a telling run on her outside and got home with a neck to spare.

 By Andrew Harrison

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