Marinaresco, second in last year’s Vodacom Durban July and second favourite this time, is reported in good heart for his reappearance in the Independent on Saturday Drill Hall Stakes although Candice Bass-Robinson points out that Sunday’s Greyville feature is very much a stepping-stone.

Marinaresco (Nkosi Hlophe)

She said: “Marinaresco is doing quite nicely and he doesn’t need a huge amount of work but the 1 400m is a bit short for him and this is a prep for the Rising Sun Gold Challenge.”

Bernard Fayd’Herbe rides the four-year-old for the first time while Richard Fourie has been booked for Sail South, one of two high profile runners for Brett Crawford.

Crawford said: “Sail South is very effective over the trip but he has a bad draw. However he loves Greyville, he has been very competitive there. He is rated 114, well weighted and well in.

“You have got to respect both him and Captain America (Corne Orffer) who is in very good form at the moment. He has been on the grass twice and has tightened up nicely.”

Horizon, slashed from 20-1 to 12-1 joint third favourite for the July after his head defeat of Cape Derby runner-up Zodiac Ruler in a 1 400m allowance plate at Greyville nine days ago, will renew rivalry with the Snaith horse in Sunday’s Daisy Guineas. Mrs Robinson then intends going for the Daily News.

Fayd’Herbe is back in full swing after his Dubai stint and his punishing weight-reducing routine, involving running at least ten kilometres a day, proved to have spin-off benefits last week when his circuits of Kenilworth enabled him to spot that the ground on the stands side was faster. He steered widest of all on African Night Sky last Saturday to land his third (Highlands Stud) Winter Guineas and the 10-1 chance has been pencilled in for an ambitious target.

Sail South (Liesl King)

Jonathan Snaith said: “He will now go for the other two legs of the Winter Series and next year he might run in the Sun Met.”

Turbulent Air, the 7-2 favourite, could finish no closer than fifth and, although Anton Marcus reported that the gelding did not stride out freely, the course vet could find nothing wrong.

Whose That Girl, who led over a furlong out under Domeyer in the Sweet Chestnut, will go in search of the R150 000 Winter Series bonus in the Stormsvlei Mile (May 21) and the Winter Oaks (June 24) but Mrs Robinson will adopt a new approach with stable companion Silver Mountain who managed only a disappointing fourth of five behind South Side in the 1 000m conditions plate.

The Milnerton trainer said: “This was way too short for her and the track is running very fast. It was a prep for the Tibouchina but she is not quite reproducing what she did as a three-year-old. Maybe she wants further and that is what we are going to look at.”

By Michael Cower

The three-year-old Joey Ramsden-trained Western Winter gelding Attenborough scored a victory at Scottsville on Sunday in the Listed In Full Flight Handicap over 1100m which could prove to be of importance to more than just the connections and there were some other notable performances on the day too.

Attenborough is owned by Mayfair Speculators who provided some important news yesterday about two other SA Champions Season three-year-olds campaigners, Table Bay and Just Sensual, who were surprise scratchings from the Gr 2 Daisy Guineas and Gr 2 Daisy Fillies Guineas fields respectively.

Derek Brugman, racing manager of Mayfair Speculators, said of Table Bay and Just Sensual, “We just didn’t want to start their campaigns over a mile and have looked for shorter races to bring them back.”

Attenborough was held up off the pace by Anton Marcus on Sunday before running on strongly to beat a competitive field by one length going away.

Importantly, he did it from the very outside draw of 16 in the 16 horse field, a draw which in the past has often been seen to be impossible to win from.

Last year a measure was taken at the Festival Of Speed meeting, which features four Gr 1 races, to bring the inside rail inward in order to alleviate the draw bias. However, this meant the field sizes had to be reduced to 14 runners. Attenborough’s win went some way to proving that this year these measures will not be necessary.

From the connections point of view Attenborough’s win was a tremendous preparation for the Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Sprint over 1200m, specially as it was his first run after gelding. Marcus confirmed riding the horse “cold” looked to be the secret to him. He won off a 101 merit rating and faces a maximum raise of eight points, but should get away with less as there was a blanket finish for second led by the Brett Crawford-trained three-year-old Purple Tractor who carried 52kg as opposed to Attenborough’s 56kg. Of the Tsogo Sun potential winners, the four-year-old Crawford-trained Search Party showed good cruising speed from a wide draw of 14 off his 106 merit rating and stayed on well for a 1,5 length fourth. He looks likely to come on from the run too.

Keagan De Melo (Nkosi Hlophe)

The next race was the Gr 3 Strelitzia Stakes over 1100m for two-year-old fillies and was marred by a false start. However, encouragingly the outside drawn horses stuck to their stations and the winner and runner up both came from that side of the track. The Duncan Howells-trained Antonius Pius filly Neptune’s Rain won in fluent style under Keagan de Melo to beat the Ramsden-trained Made In Hollywood by 1,25 lengths. Both of these horses put their hands up for the Gr 1 Allan Robertson Championship.

Cape trainer Vaughan Marshall and his stable jockey MJ Byleveld then scored a feature double, winning the Gr 3 Godolphin Barb Stakes for two-year-olds over 1100m by a length with the Jay Peg colt Woljayrine and then the Gr 3 Poinsettia Stakes over 1100m with last year’s Allan Robertson winner The Secret Is Out. These two races proved horses could win from any draw as Woljayrine was drawn on the extreme inside in one and Captain Al filly The Secret Is Out was drawn on the extreme outside in 14. Woljayrine showed good cruising speed and quickened well but as a maiden he was receiving 4kg from both the runner up Sir Frenchie, who ran on well, and third-placed Varallo, who jumped sideways into the starting gate and lost his unbeaten record.  The Secret Is Out showed pace throughout and kicked well in the finish. The Paul Gadsby-trained Visionaire filly Vision To Kill showed she can mix it with best by running on strongly for a 0,5 length second, although she was receiving 3kg from the winner. The US$500,000 CTS Sprint winner Live Life made a good KZN debut to run third.

Veteran KZN track manager Ralph Smout has not been in his current specialised role as the dedicated Scottsville track manager for long and his nous already appears to be making a difference. Hopefully, the notorious  Scottsville draw bias will soon be confined to the memory banks.

By David Thiselton

South Africa’s Champions Season in KwaZulu-Natal will kick off in fine style at Greyville on Sunday, May 7, when some of the top horses in the country meet in the R500 000, Grade 2 Independent On Saturday Drill Hall Stakes over 1 400m.

The final field for the race and those for the R600 000, Grade 2 Daisy Guineas and the R500 000, Grade 2 Daisy Fillies Guineas have been announced and all three events include exciting runners from around the country.

The super stars Marinaresco, Captain America and Sail South, head the 14-horse field under weight-for-age conditions in the Independent On Saturday Drill Hall Stakes that traditionally opens the season and while they could well need the outing, they have the class to play major roles in the outcome.

The three followed the champion Legal Eagle home in the Grade 1 L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate at the beginning of the year and being from the top Cape stables, they are sure to be in very competitive form for this race.

Among the opposition are the likes of Champagne Haze, New Predator and Bulleting Home from Gauteng and the Cape four-year-old Black Arthur that was one of the country’s leading three-year-olds last season.

The Gauteng Guineas winner Janoobi heads the 12-horse field in the Daisy Guineas and meets the Investec Cape Derby runner-up Zodiac Ruler for the first time along with the exciting East Cape Guineas winner Gimme The Stars and the first two past the post in the Byerley Turk, Africa Rising and Copper Force.

Gimme Six, Final Judgement, Sail and Dawn Calling filled the first four places in the Umzimkhulu over 1 400m at Greyville a month ago and will renew their battle in the Daisy Fillies Guineas with the extra 200m adding a new dimension to their clash.

The three races promise very competitive and exciting battles to set the standard for a thrilling winter season.

The announcement of the first 58 entries for Africa’s Greatest Horseracing Event, the R4.25-million Vodacom Durban July, heralds the start of South Africa’s Champion Season, one of the most comprehensive thoroughbred racing festivals in the world.

The action-packed three-month feast of top-class racing at Greyville and Scottsville will officially get underway with the Independent On Saturday Raceday at the Theatre Of Champions on Sunday, May 7, and carry through to the end of July with about R30-million in feature race stakes on offer for the 54 races that include 31 graded events including 13 at the highest internationally compliant Grade 1 level.

The announcement of the first big-race entries has also triggered the early outbreak of the annual phenomenon known as a July Fever, the affliction that quickly spreads around the country as enthusiasts begin searching for the potential winner and the fashion-minded seek out their designers to create their eye-catching outfits for the day.

The pundits will be hoping for early signs of potential among the three-year-olds that compete in the Daisy Guineas and Daisy Fillies Guineas, the Grade 2 events that kick off the season on May 7, and will follow their progress with others of their age that take to the stage in the Grade 1 Daily News 2000 and Grade 1 Woolavington 2000.

Emerging from these races could be the stars of the future that, together with top performers from the Grade 1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge and Cup Trial, could take on the best in the country in the blue ribbon event on the first Saturday in July.

In between, at the end of May, the thunder of hooves will be heard at Scottsville in Pietermaritzburg when the sprinters go to battle in the four Grade 1 races over 1 200m headed by the R1-million Tsogo Sun Sprint.

Then it is the big one and some 50 000 people will flood the Greyville Racecourse for another “July Day extravaganza” and the country’s totes will be in perpetual motion as the bets on the 12-race meeting rocket up to massive levels in the region of R125-million. This will be a day of anticipation, excitement, entertainment and fashion unmatched in South Africa.

The Grade 1 Mercury Sprint will provide the excitement during the breath-catching period in mid-July before the season closes out with the recently announced Gold Cup Festival of Racing over the final weekend of July. The Champions Cup (Grade 1) will headline the 9-race programme on Saturday 29 July and the eLan Gold Cup will be featured on a 10-race programme on Sunday 30 July. The Festival will also incorporate a Gala Dinner on Thursday evening 27 July and golf-day at Royal Durban on Friday 28 July, while music and entertainment will feature prominently over the two days of quality racing.

From start to finish, it will be a rollercoaster ride of thrilling action – a festival of racing like no other in Africa. Don’t miss it!

By Richard McMillan

Years ending in seven have always produced significant happenings in Africa’s Greatest Horseracing Event, the Vodacom Durban July.

The first running of the great race was in 1897. The winner Campanajo became the first dual winner of the big race the following year.

Michael Roberts

In 1907 Corriecrian was the winner and became the second dual winner a year later.

In 1917 the biggest field the race has ever had, 33 runners, faced the starter and Fanous won at odds of 25/1, collecting a £1000 stake prize.

1927 was the last time the race was run under its original name of the Durban Turf Club Handicap, before it was renamed the Durban July Handicap. It was won by 4/1 favourite Hussein and winning jockey Granville Gorton went on to become a successful bookmaker and founder of Noreen Stud, home of the twice champion sire Drum Beat.

1937 saw one of the biggest upset result as 40/1 shot Ballyjamesduff beat home 50/1 chance Ygor.

In 1947 the 3/1 favourite Brookhill gave the legendary jockey Harold “Tiger” Wright his second July victory. Wright went on to win a record-breaking four Julys, but this record has been equaled by three current jockeys  Anton Marcus, Anthony Delpech and Piere Strydom.

1957 saw a rare win for a three-year-old filly, Migraine winning by a short-head.

The 1967 remains the most celebrated July in history as the immortal Sea Cottage just got up to dead-heat with the lightweight Jollify. Sea Cottage still had the bullet lodged in his leg from the shooting incident which occurred three weeks before the previous year’s July and it was also the first dead heat in the history of the race.

Anton Marcus

In 1977 Syd Laird, trainer of Sea Cottage, was expected to land his record breaking seventh July with Politician, but Lightning Shot from the small yard of Des Rich ran out the winner. Politician made amends the following year.

The 1987 race attracted a strong field and in a thriller the three-year-old Bush Telegraph, trained by Bert Abercrombie and ridden by Garth Puller, remained unbeaten in nine starts. Runner up Model Man ran one of the greatest July races in defeat.

In 1997 the legendary jockey and now trainer Michael “Muis” Roberts won his first and only July on the David Ferraris-trained Super Quality.

In 2007 the late great “Queen Mother” of South African racing, Bridget Oppenheimer, watched the famous Oppenheimer black and yellow silks win the July for the sixth time. It was Anton Marcus’s fourth July win and trainer Charles Laird joined his great grandfather Alec Laird, great uncle Syd Garrett, uncle Syd Laird and cousins Dennis Drier and Alec Laird as a winner of the great race.

2017 is already a record breaking year as the stake of R4,25 million is the biggest in the July’s history.

By David Thiselton

The first three races at Greyville yesterday were for two-year-olds and there were some eye catching runs.

Pack Leader (Nkosi Hlophe)

In the first over 1200m the horses had to circle at the start for over half-an hour, but this did not stop the Glen Kotzen-trained Philanthropist colt Pack Leader running on to win in impressive style by three lengths under Craig Zackey. He will make an impact in the two-year-old Gr 1 features. What A Winter colt Red Eight stayed on well for second. Pathfork colt Mighty Mercury has a long stride and a lovely action and after carving out a big lead he was only just pipped for third by the Oratorio gelding Storm Ruler. Mighty Mercury should come on from the run and is one to follow. Storm Ruler and fifth-placed Crusade gelding Subtropical should also improve.

In the second race over 1200m the Lezanne Forbes-trained filly Light On Her Toes is well-bred being by Gimmethegreenlight out of the Gr 1 Allan Robertson dead-heater On Her Toes. She did well to get up from a wide draw under Alec Forbes in a time which was 0,1 second quicker than the boys in the previous race. Owner Alesh Naidoo will thus have two Gr 1-winning chances at Scottsville’s Festival Of Speed meeting at the end of May as he also owns the top colt Varallo. Querari filly Zarnitsa improved to finish second by 0,75 lengths. The next two in the running, Ideal World filly Luna Child and Visionaire filly Bridal Veil, were both making their debuts and stayed on strongly. Sail From Seattle filly Coral Queen was just behind them, but this was already her third run.

In the third over 1200m, the Dennis Bosch-trained Trippi filly Victory Trip led from start to finish under Eric Ngwane to win in a time which was 0,77 second slower than the previous race. Second-placed Captain Al filly Esteemal is a big horse, who can be watched over further. The fifth-placed Believethisbeauty was unlucky as she was cramped for room for much of the straight and she can be watched, especially in a 1000m race as she has a lot of pace.

However, from a form perspective the third might prove to be the weakest of the three juvenile events, considering Victory Trip was having her fifth start.

By David Thiselton

Nother Russia has been cut from 40-1 to 20-1 for the Vodacom Durban July after Saturday’s big race success and Heavenly Blue now heads the market at 8-1 with World Sports Betting.

Marinaresco (Liesl King)

Previous favourite Marinaresco has been pushed out from 7-1 to 11-1, Bela-Bela from 10-1 to 14-1 and It’s My Turn from 11-1 to 18-1. Empress Club disappointment Star Express has gone from 25-1 to 75-1 while fourth-placed Safe Harbour has been marked out from 22-1 to 40-1.

Betting World makes Heavenly Blue 13-2 favourite and goes 10-1 Marinaresco, 12-1 Black Arthur, 14-1 Brazuca, 16-1 Bela-Bela, Edict Of Nantes, It’s My Turn, 20-1 Nother Russia, Captain America, French Navy, Horizon, Master Sabina, 25-1 and upwards others.

>    The odds on Elusive Silva and Prince Of Wales are likely to have shortened as well following impressive displays at Greyville on Sunday.

By Michael Clower