Candice Bass-Robinson, who will have her first Durban July runners, was disappointed when she heard that Horizon hadn’t made the cut but she was wearing a broad smile after watching the draw on television at Kenilworth.

“I am very happy with Nightingale (six) and nine is a perfect draw for Marinaresco,”she said. “He has to be given a chance and half to three-quarters the way back is where he needs to be ridden.”

Nine is one of the few draws not to have been successful in the past 16 years but Bernard Fayd’Herbe, drawn three when he dead-heated on Pocket Power in 2008, said: “I have still to study what is around me but I am happy enough with nine – it’s certainly better than ten and upwards.”

Greg Cheyne was also satisfied with Tilbury Fort’s 11 slot, saying: “He will come in one when the reserves come out and I started from ten when I won on Big City Life in 2009.”

Grant van Niekerk, drawn 11 and 17 on close-seconds Smanjemanje and Marinaresco, said of Black Arthur’s eight: “I am very happy. Thank you Justin Snaith!”

Aldo Domeyer, though,was less taken with Krambambuli’s 19, saying: “I was hoping for a good draw. Krambambuli’s going to need everything going his way – but you never know.”

By Michael Clower

The die is cast and the 18 top thoroughbreds to contest Africa’s Greatest Horseracing Event, the R4.25-million, Grade 1 Vodacom Durban July over 2200m at Greyville on July 1, have been announced.

Al Sahem (JC Photographics)

With two reserve runners, the final field together with jockeys and barrier draws was revealed at a special function at Greyville yesterday and considering the recent July Log standings, there were no real surprises although the odd eyebrow might have been raised.

But it was the draw that threw the cat among the pigeons with second favourite Al Sahem drawing the plum gate at one while favourite Edict Of Nantes will have to jump from draw 13. There is little between the two on form them having fought out the finish of the Grade 1 Daily News 2000 and apart from the draw, the Sean Tarry-trained Al Sahem has a 0.5kg weight advantage over his rival.

After his wide draw last year from which he won the race, Joey Ramsden drew three for The Conglomerate and Callan Murray will be flying back from Hong Kong to ride him while third favourite before the final field was announced, Elusive Silva, did not fare as well and will have to break from gate 15.

Black Arthur and Marinaresco will jump from gates eight and nine respectively with Ten Gun Salute at five and the filly Nightingale on his outside.

No jockey has been announced for Summer Cup winner Master Sabina, now with the Justin Snaith stable, but Gavin Larena will fly back from the United Kingdom to ride Brazuca, Callan Murray will return from Hong Kong for the race and Muzi Yeni will make his way back from Mauritius to throw a leg over Ten Gun Salute.

Graeme Hawkins, Gold Circle’s Marketing Executive, announced during the luncheon the exciting tote expectations for the big day including a guaranteed Pick 6 pool of R10-million which is expected to reach R11-million plus and a massive guaranteed Quartet pool on the Vodacom Durban July of R13-million which is expected to reach R15-million.

There will be place payouts on the first six placed horses and the pool for this bet is expected to reach R8-million.

By Richard McMillan

In the end the Vodacom Durban July final field selection panellists had a fairly straight forward task, although there might still be one or two grumbles from disappointed connections and punters.

Daily News third-placed Horizon being made reserve and the Gr 3 Jubilee winner Coral Fever also not making the final 18 were the only decisions which could be considered contentious.

Horizon (Liesl King)

However, Horizon had little chance of winning the race on paper on known form with Edict Of Nantes and Al Sahem and his trainer Candice Bass-Robinson had already spoken of the Grade 1 Champions Cup being a more suitable race for him, so the connections are unlikely to be too upset.

Coral Fever won the Jubilee off a merit rating of 89 and beat a horse who was 0.5kg under sufferance, so it was not difficult to punch holes in that form.

The favourite Edict Of Nantes drew barrier position 13.

His nearest market rival Al Sahem received a rousing cheer when he drew pole position, but it is questionable whether this is a good draw these days. There have been a few slow run Julys recently, so being handy has become preferable and a horse drawn in pole might have to be used up to a certain extent to hold position.

Piere Strydom’s last two July wins have been on horses drawn 20, so he is unlikely to be too unhappy about his mount It’s My Turn’s draw of 17.

Last year’s winner The Conglomerate drew low in three. Trainer Joey Ramsden has made a habit of landing outside draws in the July and when his turn came there were only two numbers left for The Conglomerate, three and twenty. On this occasion he phoned Mayfair Speculators Racing manager Derek Brugman for help and between them, after much deliberation, they got the draw they probably preferred.

Last year’s runner up Marinaresco was the first horse to be drawn and his part-owner Marsh Shirtliff drew nine, a lot better than his draw of 17 last year.

However, he has drifted out to 10/1 in the betting and two horses above him in the market, Elusive Silva and Black Arthur, drew a wide 15 and a favourable eight respectively.

Durban couple Roy and Gladys Meaker had their first July runner way back in the 1970 and Gladys drew barrier ten for their supplementary entry this year, Mr Winsome.

By David Thiselton

Michael “Muis” Roberts is regarded by many as South Africa’s greatest ever jockey, yet at one stage he had resigned himself to forever being winless in his home country’s biggest race, the Vodacom Durban July.

Roberts was riding full time in the U.K, so the best July rides were usually booked, and the July also coincided with the Gr 1 Coral Eclipse which he often rode in.

His wife Verna used to brush over the missing July jigsaw piece by pointing out the Epsom Derby was the greatest race in the world and in his circumstances he would have a fair chance of winning that.

However, the July blank remained a sore point.

He said it had never gone as far as causing sleepless nights, but admitted, “What used to hurt me was when I would go to the cattle shows (Roberts owned a cattle farm) and the farmers who knew nothing about racing used to say to me ‘But you have never won the July’. The championships I had won meant nothing to them.”

Roberts won eleven South African championships before his 17 year stint in the UK, where in 1992 he became only the sixth non-British or Irish jockey to have won the British Flat Jockey Championship.

One of Roberts’ biggest July disappointments was in 1975 on Sledgehammer, whom he regards as one of the best he ever rode in South Africa. In the 1970s the Queen’s Plate was run in mid to late-February and in retrospect Roberts wondered whether horses like Sledgehammer, who had endured arduous campaigns during the Cape Summer season, were quite ready for the July.

He added, “I also thought I had a chance on Majestic Crown (fourth in 1976).”

Then in 1979 he landed a plum ride on the brilliant three-year-old Bold Tropic. Durban readers woke up on the morning of the race to the front page headline, “Muis sleeps as July fever soars” which summed up both the importance of the race and just how idolised Roberts was. However, he could only manage fifth place and Roberts recalled, “I think he was tired by the time of the July.”

Roberts’ best finish in that era came on the 1981 runner up French Mustard, who was a pick up ride after his original mount was scratched.

In 1987, now riding full-time in Britain, Roberts bumped into prolific South African owner Laurie Jaffee at Royal Ascot. Jaffee believed he would win the July that year with Bush Telegraph and offered Roberts the ride as the horse’s regular rider Garth Puller was going to battle to make the weight. However, Roberts could never have considered abandoning the great horse Mtoto. Bush Telegraph duly won the July, while Roberts steered Mtoto to two successive Coral Eclipse victories.

Then in 1997 Roberts’ agent told him at the races one Saturday that South African trainer David Ferraris had phoned and offered him a July ride on a horse called North By Northwest. After the races Roberts gathered this horse had won the Gr 1 Daily News and was the ruling July favourite.

“We were excited,” he recalled.

Super Quality and Michael Roberts

Roberts phoned Ferraris the next day on a Sunday morning. However, there was bad news. He was informed that stable jockey Weichong Marwing had changed his mind and had opted for North By Northwest. Roberts recalled the immediate disappointment. Ferraris then offered him the ride on his other runner Super Quality, whom he described as a “game little bugger”, but he added he would understand if he did not want to make the journey. However, Roberts did not have any Coral Eclipse commitments and always liked to visit his farm in the Karkloof in the KZN midlands, so he accepted.

He recalled the big day, “The worst part was when I was in the parade ring. I saw this tiny little horse walking in. Then I got on him and I couldn’t believe how small he was. I thought to myself, oh no, how embarrassing, journeying all this way to ride this horse. I asked the groom if he liked him and he replied, ‘No I like North By Northwest, he is a very nice horse.’ So my mood was down. But, then he went down to the start like an absolute bomb. I pulled him up at the 2400m mark and Garth was alongside and I remember telling him how good the horse had felt. David had only given me one bit of advice, which was not to bring him through horses, so to try and bring him to the outside.”

Roberts recalled having a rough passage in the early part of the race. “I remember screaming at Garth on my outside to give me some room because I thought I was going to go over the fence. But, after rounding the Drill Hall he was absolutely cantering. It was the first time I had travelled that hard in the July, you were usually starting to come off the bridle at that stage. And then as we were turning for home a big gap opened to my left. I was able to switch to the outside and the rest is history. I remember thinking how often a July leader is caught in the closing stages, but fortunately it did not happen.”

Roberts shed tears of emotion in the winner’s enclosure and recalled, “I couldn’t talk.”

Later, he bought a bottle of champagne for his weighing room colleagues and remembered having a fantastic party in “the middle” (known these days as “tent town”).

He was inundated with well wishes from all over the country and a TV sports channel also had an interview with him at the airport before he flew back to England the following day.

Roberts concluded, “It was the pinnacle moment of my career in South Africa.”

By David Thiselton

It’s D-Day for many of the borderline cases when the final field for this year’s R4.25 million Vodacom Durban July are announced at a function at Greyville Racecourse today. The announcement of the 18 runners and two reserves and the draw for barrier positions can be viewed live on DSTV Tellytrack channel 239 starting at around 1pm.

Thursday morning will see the traditional July gallops taking place at Greyville where all 20 of the July runners will be in action for the public to have one final view of their fancies before the big race on Saturday, July 1.

The gallops start at 7pm sharp and can also be viewed live on Tellytrack while on-course patrons will be treated to the traditional hot coffee and Chelsea buns.

Officials are predicting mega exotic bet pools on the day and punters who find the right combinations should be rewarded with decent returns. The Pick 6 pool is a guaranteed R10 million but expected to climb well beyond that, while the Quartet pool on the Vodacom Durban July is a guaranteed R13 million with an estimated pool of R15 million plus.

The win pool on the main race is expected to top R10 million while the tote will pay out on the first six placed horses with the expected pool to reach well over R8 million.

With a R100 000 quartet carry-over on the first race of the 12-race card, punters can get off to a rollicking start with the pool expected to reach R1 million.

The racecard will be on sale from Thursday at all TABgold and Track&Ball outlets with tote betting on the meeting opening on Monday, June 26, giving punters a full week to sort out their bets before the big day.

By Andrew Harrison

Supplementary entry for the Vodacom Durban July, Mr Winsome, duly landed the odds in the Gr3 Track & Ball Derby at Scottsville yesterday but made heavy weather of beating Sun On Africa. The two drew well clear of the opposition over the final two furlongs but it was only inside the last 100m that Mr Winsome finally managed to get the better of Sun On Africa who had clearly had enough at the line.

Sun On Africa (Nkosi Hlophe)

The two met at level weights, the runner-up some 7.5kg inferior in the merit ratings, so Mr Winsome’s participation in the July is still very much up in the air. The selection panel tasked to choose the July runners will deliberate tomorrow with the final field to be announced at a function at Greyville on Tuesday.

Earlier July hopefuls Witchcraft and Girl On The Run saw their July tickets up in smoke with the latter only managing fourth and Girl On The Run second in the Gr3 Track & Ball Oaks. The race developed into a dog-fight over the final furlong with the race eventually falling to the Geoff Woodruff-trained Zante who managed to pull clear late under Ian Sturgeon. Zante last season landed the Listed Queen Palm Handicap for Neil Bruss who now plies his trade in the Middle East.

Girl On The Run was game in second but is unlikely to be considered by the July selection panel, the same going for Witchcraft who did well considering that this was only her second run back from a lengthy break, but not well enough.

Joey Ramsden (Nkosi Hlophe)

Joey Ramsden and Anton Marcus landed a double for Mayfair Speculators with their two smart colts Ancestry and Table Bay.

Ancestry is a smart looking son of Oratorio and, although only shedding his maiden, the half-brother to Gr2 winning filly A Womens Way, romped home with plenty of daylight between him and second-placed Texas Sky.

Table Bay made the expected improvement from his pipe-opener in the Gr1 Tsogo Sun Sprint, to run out a comfortable winner of the Track & Ball Pinnacle Stakes from the Brett Crawford runner Winter Prince.

In France on Saturday, apprentice, Mpumelelo ‘Pumie’ Mjoka, won the Longines Future Racing Stars on the prestigious Prix de Diane card at Chantilly.

The Prix Longines Future Racing Stars is designed to showcase the best up and coming young riding talent from across the world and selects hand-picked participants from the world’s top racing schools. The event is open to riders under the age of 25 who have won between 3 and 35 races.

Mjoka won the mile Handicap on the Chantilly polytrack aboard Beaupreau.

Mjoka follows on the success of fellow SA Jockey Academy graduate Franklin Maleking who won the Longines Future Racing Stars in 2013.

By Andrew Harrison

Horizon, third to Vodacom Durban July favourite Edict Of Nantes in the Daily News, looks set to miss the great race a week on Saturday.

Horizon (Liesl King)

Candice Bass-Robinson said yesterday: “I will decide in the morning but I am leaning towards waiting for the Champions Cup. The July is a tough race and Aldo Domeyer thinks he could be better off in the Champions.”

Domeyer is to switch to Krambambuli for Snaith Racing and Jonathan Snaith yesterday explained the decision to switch Bela-Bela from the July to the Jonsson Workwear Garden Province on the same card.

He said: “If she had been well handicapped Varsfontein would have run her but they felt that carrying 57kg was going to be a tough task for a filly. The three who won the July this century carried comparatively light weights – Ipi Tombe ( 52kg in 2002), Dancer’s Daughter (53kg in 2008) and Igugu (55kg in 2011).”

The stable has four in Saturday’s Highlands Stud Winter Derby but Jonathan said that African Night Sky, winner of both the Winter Guineas and Winter Classic, is expected to be their only runner.

Bernard Fayd’Herbe again rides the gelding and he has also been declared for stable companions A Time To Dream (Ladies Mile), Weston (Winter Oaks) and Miss Katalin (Irridescence).

By Michael Clower

Brett Crawford’s win in the Gr 2 Post Merchants with Search Party on Friday night at Greyville took his SA Champions Season tally to seven wins and he has earned more than any other trainer during this year’s festival of racing.

Brett Crawford (Liesl King)

Crawford’s total earnings in KZN from the Champions Season’s opening night on May 7 until the end of Friday Night’s Post Merchant’s meeting were R3,171,575. In second place was runaway national trainers championships leader Sean Tarry with seven wins for R2,477,575 and next was Justin Snaith with three wins for R1,367,500. KZN trainers Dennis Drier and Duncan Howells were the other million rand earners with eight wins for R1,219,200 and seven wins for R1,078,450 respectively. Dean Kannemeyer has had the most winners in this period, nine, but is only in ninth place in earnings. Crawford leads the number of black type races won with four, consisting of three Gr 1s and a Gr 2. Snaith has won a Gr 2 and two Gr 3s, Tarry has won two Gr 1s, Joey Ramsden has won a Gr 2 and a Listed race, Drier has won a Gr 1, Paul Matchett has won a Gr 1, Howells has won a Gr 2, Candice Bass-Robinson has won a Gr 2 and Kannemeyer and Gavin van Zyl have each won a Listed event.

The Crawford yard’s 27 Champions Season runs this season have also netted nine places, including three Gr 1 places.

Former Springbok rugby fly-half Lance Sherrell and his mother Delma have worn broad grins for a few weeks as they have watched the Crawford-trained pair Search Party and Gulf Storm run second and fourth respectively in their colours in the Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Sprint and they also own a share in the Crawford’s Gr 1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge winner Captain America. The Post Merchants was the cherry on top, although there might well be more to come. It is fitting the Sherrell’s black and white colours are doing well in KZN as all of Lance, his late father Reg and his grandfather Reg Evelyn played rugby for Natal.

Crawford-trained horses commandeer the top three positions in the Champions Season’s highest earnings with Gr 1 Daily News 2000 winner Edict Of Nantes on top with R1,27 million, Captain America second on R637,500 and Gr 1 Woolavington winner Lady Of The House third on R635,000. Search Party is in ninth spot on R447,500.

Another statistic where Crawford is top is the betting profit per runner. For a R1 stake put on all 27 of his runners they would have returned a profit of R41.

Corné Orffer has ridden three of Crawford’s seven winners and deserves plenty of credit for Search Party’s win on Friday night. There was no false rail for the race and this was always going to favour the low draws and the handy to front-running types. Orffer was aware of this and his first winning move was to use Search Party’s early pace from a fair draw of six to claim the rail in front. Orffer extracted a kick out of the four-year-old Captain Al gelding at the top of the straight and this was the second winning move, as it saw him stealing two lengths on the field. The improved four-year-old Captain Al gelding kept going well to hold on by 0,25 lengths for a thoroughly deserved second career Gr 2 victory. The runner up was last year’s Equus Champion Sprinter Talktothestars, who had sat handy on the rail from a draw of two and produced a flying finish with topweight.

He gave the winner 2kg so it was another fine performance by South Africa’s most travelled superstar. The third-placed Amazing Strike was drawn in pole and sat behind Search Party in the running. Fourth-placed Captain’s Causeway was also drawn well in five. The favourite Professor Brian’s chances looked forlorn after Search Party’s telling kick for home. He could only manage sixth, but did run on well and it is too early to tell whether the handicapper has his measure. His five successive wins before this race saw him rising from a 58 to a 91 merit rating.Crawford is the leading Cape trainer on the national log and before yesterday’s racing he was only R110,162.50 behind third-placed Mike de Kock.

By David Thiselton