Sean Tarry might have been out of luck in the July but he underlined the strength in depth of his two-year-old talent when taking both the juvenile Grade 2s.

Desert Rythym (Nkosi Hlophe)

S’Manga Khumalo went clear from over a furlong out on Desert Rhythm in the Gold Circle Golden Slipper and reported: “I thought she was going to be very hard to beat but when we came out of the pens Richard Fourie on Gee Whizz screamed for the lead and I thought ‘OK, let him go.’ Mine picked up by herself.”

But in the Durban Golden Horseshoe Khumalo on the fancied Captain And Master had to be content with third behind 20-1 stable companion Purple Diamond ridden by Nooresh Juglall.

Tarry, who felt that Captain And Master may have been a bit unlucky, said: “The cash was on offer for Purple Diamond in Cape Town but he wasn’t ready in time. He is going to be better over a mile and he will run in the Premiers Champion on July 29. Desert Rhythm could run in the Thekwini that day – we will see how she is drawn.”

But the really unlucky horse in the Golden Horseshoe was Ancestry who was beaten only a short head with Joey Ramsden explaining: “He lost his off-fore shoe and it hung away from him. I don’t know about the Premiers Champion – he has been busy in the last few weeks.”

By Michael Clower