The Gold Challenge is one of the championship events of the year as it is run on weight for age terms and attracts the best milers from all corners of the country.

Beach Beauty is probably the best female miler in the country at present and will face the likely best male racehorse in the land, the Geoff Woodruff-trained Yorker, a giant of a horse, who was awesome when winning the Gr 1 President’s Champion Challenge over 2 000m at Turffontein last time out.

The Dean Kannemeyer-trained Capetown Noir was unlucky to be beaten by Yorker in the Gr 1 HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes over 1 600m at Turffontein on March 29 and should also be a big player.

He was beaten 2,5 lengths by Beach Beauty in the Drill Hall Stakes over 1 400m on Saturday at weight for age terms, but was cleverly kept in a pocket by Sean Cormack, which forced him to run through traffic down the inside in the straight. He would never have beaten the little “pocket rocket”, but might have got a bit closer and he will also relish the return to a course with a left-hand turn and a longer straight.

Drier was intending to run his leading two-year-olds, the colt Guiness and the filly Balkan, over 1 100m at Clairwood on Sunday and decide from there whether they would run at the Festival Of Speed meeting. However, only three runners stood their ground in the race that Guiness was entered for and it has been scrapped.

Drier has won two out of the last three runnings of the Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Medallion over 1 200m. Guiness will give him a chance of repeating his Medallion win last year with Captain Of All, as he was impressive when winning his debut over 1 000m at Clairwood by a comfortable two lengths with the rest of the field strung out like the washing.

Guiness’ sire Seventh Rock won the Medallion in 2007, beating the subsequent two-time Gr 1 winner Argonaut, who was also accepted into the breeding shed. Guiness’ dam, Tinder Box, by Strike Smartly has also produced the useful Justin Snaith-trained eight-time winning sprinter November Rain.

Drier’s Horse Chestnut filly Balkan was beaten 0,75 lengths by the promising Glen Kotzen-trained Garden Treasure on debut over 1 000m at Scottsville, before winning second time out over 1 200m at Clairwood by six lengths. The runner up in the latter race, Tapaway, franked the form to some extent by finishing a narrow second to the well-bred and well-backed Mike de Kock-trained first timer Alborean Sea next time out. Balkan faces six other promising sorts in a Maiden Juvenile Plate for Fillies over 1 100m on Sunday, including Garden Treasure.

Captain Of All has also been doing well and will be heading for the Gr 1 Golden Horse Casino Sprint over 1 200m at the Festival Of Speed meeting. His last run was a win in a Graduation Plate over 1 200m at Kenilworth on November 6 last year, but he was subsequently laid off with a joint sprain.

The consistent sprinter Barbosa will also be heading for the Golden Horse Casino Sprint. He finished second over 1 100m last time out in the Listed In Full Flight Handicap, beaten only 0,75 lengths by the Clairwood specialist Normanz.

Barbosa was raised four points to 102 for that race, which should allow him to qualify for the Golden Horse and he should come in with a nice galloping weight. Chave De Oura, who was last seen in the Gr 1 L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate, will not be ready in time for the Golden Horse.

The yard’s smart Var filly Schiffer is on track for the Gr 1 SA Fillies Sprint. She played up behind the pens in the Computaform Sprint and was also squeezed in the running. She is better than her unplaced run there and will be a threat if she bounces back. Drier won the SA Fillies Sprint in 2011 with the brilliant Val De Ra.

The yard’s four-year-old Jet Master filly Jet Aglow, who was a touch unlucky when tie third in the Gr 1 Laurie Jaffe Empress Club Stakes after being forced into going for home a bit early, will likely go for the Gr 2 Tibouchina Stakes over 1450 on June 7, a course and distance that will suit her well.

Captain On The Run will attempt to make it a hat-trick at Scottsville next Wednesday, but there are no big plans for him yet.

Neither are their big plans for the yard’s promising three-year-old sprinter Darkness, who has won three out of four.

Two to watch from the yard are the quick three-year-old Argonaut filly Clear Sailing, for whom they are looking for a suitable 1 000m event, and the promising three-year-old Act One gelding Crescendo, who should be just about ideally suited to the 1 300m trip of the Graduation Plate he is entered in at Greyville next Friday.

Meanwhile, Eventual Angel, who had to be scratched from the KRA Fillies Guineas last week after injuring herself in her box, will “be okay”, but is unlikely to run again in the Champions Season.[/expand]

The first seven places, Yorker, Hill Fifty Four, Louis The King, Legislate, Capetown Noir, Athina and Beach Beauty, have been filled by horses whose recent Gr1 wins make them virtual automatic qualifiers.

Tellina was a controversial omission last year, but looks secure this year in eighth place thanks to his consistent big race performances, as he has finished in the top three in three Highveld Gr 1s this season and also won a Gr 3 event. He has earned his merit rating of 110.

Pomodoro, a former SA Derby and VDJ winner, finished third in the Gr 1 President’s Champions Challenge, signalling that he retains his ability after returning from a life threatening illness, and he is in ninth spot.

Last year’s SA Derby winner Wylie Hall was just behind Pomodoro in the Champions Challenge, but gave him 2,5kg in that race, so deserves his tenth position.

Punta Arenas ran a fantastic third in the J&B Met and Jet Explorer was as impressive when an unlucky third in the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate. They are the next two.

As You Like finished in the top three in all three legs of the Triple Crown, so deserves his spot.

Whiteline Fever was fourth in the Met, won the Gr 2 Hawaii Stakes an is the proverbial hard knocker. The final position in the top 16 was taken by Gr 1 Cape Guineas winner In The Fast Lane.

Gr 2 Colorado King Stakes winner Halve The Deficit, who is seventeenth on the log, is coming into his own and perhaps gives Sean Tarry and Chris van Niekerk their best chance of landing the July for the third year in succession.

Espumanti proved she can stay further than a mile last time out when just touched off by Cherry On The Top in the Gr 2 Gerald Rosenberg over 2000m at Turffontein.

Royal Zulu Warrior put in the best performance of all at the weights in the Sansui Summer Cup, so also deserves to be in the top 20. July and Queen’s Plate fourth-placed No Worries takes the final position in the top 20 and if he can be held up with the blinkers on in the Betting World 1900, tactics that suit him best, he could enhance his chances of making the final field.

The next ten as well as the current July joint third favourite Futura will have to feature prominently in the traditional qualifying races to make it into the race. The latter faces a problem being merit rated only 85 as he might not even make the cut for races like the Betting World 1900, although the latter will have a consolation race worth R150,000 attached to it if there are too many entries, which will at least give him a run.

Furthermore, the merit ratings are not the only factor that are taken into account when the powers that be choose the final fields for the big qualifying races and an exciting horse like him might get in before a higher rated one.[/expand]

Log as at May 6, 2014

# Horse Trainer MR
1 YORKER Geoff Woodruff 118
2 HILL FIFTY FOUR Vaughan Marshall 112
3 LOUIS THE KING Geoff Woodruff 109
4 LEGISLATE Justin Snaith 109
5 CAPETOWN NOIR Dean Kannemeyer 112
6 ATHINA Joe Soma 101
7 BEACH BEAUTY Dennis Drier 112
8 TELLINA Geoff Woodruff 110
9 POMODORO Sean Tarry 109
10 WYLIE HALL Weiho Marwing 109
11 PUNTA ARENAS Stan Elley 108
12 JET EXPLORER Justin Snaith 109
13 AS YOU LIKE Alec Laird 100
14 CAPTAIN AMERICA Brett Crawford 106
15 WHITELINE FEVER Sean Tarry 110
16 IN THE FAST LANE Justin Snaith 105

17 HALVE THE DEFICIT Sean Tarry 104
18 ROYAL ZULU WARRIOR Kumaran Naidoo 110
19 ESPUMANTI Mike de Kock 105
20 NO WORRIES Gavin van Zyl 107

NEXT 10 IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER
ASTRO NEWS Charles Laird 109
BEZANOVA Alec Laird 102
CAGIVA Sean Tarry 103
HOT TICKET Dean Kannemeyer 108
ICE MACHINE Dean Kannemeyer 108
JET BELLE Glen Kotzen 103
RIO CARNIVAL Charles Laird 112
RUN FOR IT Justin Snaith 109
SHOGUNNAR Gavin van Zyl 104
TRIBAL DANCE Vaughan Marshall 107

Important Dates:
– Tuesday, 13 May 2014: First Supplementary Entries
– Tuesday, 13 May 2014: First Declarations
– Monday, 2 June 2014: Second Declarations
– Monday, 9 June 2014: Final Supplementary Entries
– Tuesday, 10 June 2014: Weights Published
– Monday, 23 June 2014: Declarations close
– Tuesday, 24 June 2014: Final Field and Barrier Draw
– Thursday, 26 June 2014: Gallops at Greyville

Betting: 5-1 Legislate, Louis The King, 9-1 Yorker, 10-1 Beach Beauty, Futura, 16-1 Captain America, 20-1 As You Like, Capetown Noir, Hill Fifty Four, 25-1 Rio Carnival, Tellina, 33-1 Jet Explorer, King Of Pain, Pomodoro, Readytogorightnow, Run For It, Whistle Stop, Whiteline Fever, 40-1 Cagiva, Punta Arenas, 50-1 Athina, Halve The Deficit, Hot Ticket, Jet Belle, Rake`s Chestnut, Silvano`s Jet, Wylie Hall, 66-1 upwards others [/expand]

The other big mover with Betting World was Beach Beauty who was cut from 20-1 to 12-1 as a result of her success in the Independent On Saturday Drill Hall Stakes. Punta Arenas, beaten just under four lengths into fifth, was shortened from 66-1 to 40-1 but Capetown Noir was eased from 16-1 to 20-1 after managing only third.

Captain America was also on the drift – from 9-1 to 16-1 – after failing to find much at the end of the KRA Guineas in which he was third.

Betting World ante-post Vodacom Durban July prices:
9-2 Legislate, Louis The King,
8-1 Futura, Yorker,
12-1 Beach Beauty,
16-1 Captain America,
20-1 As You Like, Capetown Noir, Rio Carnival,
25-1 Hill Fifty Four, Tellina,
33-1 and upwards others[/expand]

The Dennis Drier-trained evergreen six-year-old mare retained her crown in the Gr 2 Drill Hall Stakes over 1 400m on Saturday, overcoming yet another wide draw with her early speed, before coasting to a 2,5 length victory over a classy field under a hands and heels ride by Sean Cormack.

The diminutive bay by Dynasty looked a little awkward going down to the start but it had nothing to do with her stride and everything to do with her saddle cloth, which made her look like a school kid donning a uniform a couple of sizes too big. Her tiny stature is part of her appeal and another alluring asset is her gentle nature.

The well documented fairytale story behind the Shanks Syndicate that race her adds to the package.

The connections revealed that, while Beach Beauty was nervous before her two Gr 1 wins in Cape Town over the summer, she was as calm as a lamb in the saddling enclosure on Saturday. It was if she knew she was at home on her favourite course, Greyville.

However, that does not mean she is any less suited to other courses. She possesses tremendous gatespeed and a fantastic turn of foot, vital assets for tight tracks, while her ability to both switch off in the running and sustain a finish make her just as effective on galloping tracks.

There was a period during her unlucky Cape summer of the 2011/12 season where she showed a tendency to fight for her head, especially in the races run at a farcical pace. However, the sublime hands of jockey Sean Cormack, who began his prolific partnership with her in the latter part of that season, have rendered that hiccup a distant memory.

Beach Beauty has now won 16 times in 29 starts, including four Gr 1s, six Gr 2s and one Gr 3.

She might not have reached a peak as high as Empress Club, who could well be the best filly the country has seen, but for durability at the highest level there is likely no South African female that has ever matched her. Even at the age of six, her zest and will to win show no sign of wane.

Furthermore, Empress Club was an Argentinian-bred, while Beach Beauty was bred near Volksrust by the late Trevor Armitage.

Beach Beauty will probably not even be considered the best of her crop as Igugu won the Triple Tiara before winning both the Vodacom Durban July and the J&B Met. However, Igugu was an Australian-bred and her Met victory as a four-year-old was her last win, although the Northern Hemisphere environment was partly responsible for that as it played havoc with her cycles.

Flush Of Dawn in the 1920s ended her career as the highest stake earner in the country’s history and no filly matched her popularity until the arrival of Kings Pact in the 1950s.

Kings Pact rattled off a then record nine successive wins in 1953, including beating the great Mowgli as a two-year-old in the Newbury Stakes over 1 200m. She also became only the second ever two-year-old to win the Clairwood Winter Handicap and as a young three-year-old won the Champions Stakes over 2 000m at Greyville by 9,75 lengths in record time. King’s Pact was named Horse Of The Year in her two-year-old year. Co-incidentally her career ended with the same record as Beach Beauty’s current one, 16 wins in 29 races.

Beach Beauty was the KZN Horse Of The Year last year, but looks likely to retire without an Equus Horse Of The Year title due to Louis The King’s recent Triple Crown success.

Terrence Millard trained two fillies that won ARCSA Horse Of The Year titles, Tecla Bluff and Enchanted Garden. He also trained the like of July winner Devon Air as well as Olympic Duel. However, none of his best fillies ever matched Beach Beauty’s durability.

The Mike de Kock-trained great, the Zimbabwean-bred Ipi Tombe, was the Dubai Horse Of The Year in 2003, but had to be retired as an early five-year-old due to injury.
Of the top females in recent times, only the Mike Bass-trained River Jetez, who won the J&B Met as a six-year-old and raced overseas until the age of nine, can compete with Beach Beauty’s longevity.

She would likely have won more than one Gr 1 had her career not coincided with her great full-brother Pocket Power and another stablemate, the high class filly Sun Classique. Incidentally Bass once called the early 1980’s sprint-miler filly Sweet Chestnut the best horse he had ever trained, although Pocket Power has probably usurped her.

Other great females in SA history include Renounce, Scarlet Lady, Wainui, Star Effort, Hoeberg, Beach Beauty’s stablemate Val De Ra, Mother Russia, and many more, including, perhaps, the current pair Cherry On The Top and Via Africa.

There is little doubt that Beach Beauty deserves her place among them and if she can beat the boys in her next start in the weight for age Rising Sun Gold Challenge over 1 600m, her place will be well and truly cemented.[/expand]