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]

Richard Fourie was high in his praise of the Dynasty colt Legislate, whom he called one of the best horses he had ever sat on. Third-placed Captain America clearly needed the run and the return match in the Gr 1 Daily News 2000, which is likely to include Triple Crown hero Louis The King, is going to be some race.

However, Legislate has beaten Captain America over that trip before, when winning the Gr 1 Investec Cape Derby.

Legislate has an interesting story behind him. After being secured at the National Yearling Sales for a mere R90 000 on behalf of Dennis and Gael Evans of Newbury Racing, Jonathon Snaith phoned breeder Vaughan Koster of Cheveley Stud to ask him whether there was something wrong with the horse, as they had been expecting to fork out a lot more for one of the lots they had earmarked as one of the best of the sale.

Drakenstein Stud and Jack Mitchell now also have a share in Legislate.

Maybe Yes, by Tiger Ridge, showed an explosive turn of foot in the KRA Fillies Guineas and won easily. She has finally put the problems that kept her out of the Cape summer classics and the recent Umzimkhulu Stakes behind her.

In The Fast Lane, who finished third, appeared to need the run and the possible return match in the Woolavington 2000 will be interesting. KRA Fillies Guineas runner up Not Sulking as well as the like of dual Gr 1 winner Along Came Polly, SA Fillies Classic winner Athina and SA Oaks winner and runner-up, Ash Cloud and Mohave Princess, could be involved.

Maybe Yes was bred by Mary Slack’s Wilgerbosdrift Stud and her daughter Jessica owns her in partnership with Gary Grant Chris Haynes and Mr and Mrs F Ladeira.[/expand]

This was the five-year-old Var entire’s first run for Mike de Kock and he became the first foreign horse in 14 runnings of this prestigious international event to emerge victorious.

Variety Club appeared to relish the return to turf, after two wins and a second on tapeta in Dubai, and this was likely a career best performance.

He showed his usual phenomenal gatespeed and that coupled with his high cruising speed saw him bounding into an early lead. He was soon joined by rank outsider Helene Spirit. The latter then took over, but Variety Club sat at his quarter in second without ever having to break his machine-like stride.

He was showing his usual signs of loving every minute of the race. Marcus brought him to the centre in the straight and he then quickened away from the pack and the massive crowd were soon embracing a new hero.

The hot favourite, the John Moore-trained Able Friend, who won the Gr 1 Hong Kong Classic Mile in January, didn’t have the best passage, having been caught wide early and then having to come from some way back under Joao “Magic” Moreira. The field concertinaed turning for home and he overtook most of them, but made no impression on Variety Club, who was pulling further clear at the line.

Variety Club was nurtured from a two-year-old into a twice Equus Horse of The Year by top Cape trainer Joey Ramsden, for whom he won 16 races, including four Gr 1s, four Gr 2s and four Gr 3s.

He couldn’t have got off to a better start with De Kock and might be the horse to convert the champion trainer’s long held dream of winning a European or North American Gr 1.

Variety Club’s critics have said that he is one dimensional and was gifted his races in South Africa by never being taken on in front by horses that were also referred to as inferior. However, his best assets, his tremendous gatespeed and his ability to quicken off his high cruising speed, were shown yesterday to be just as effective against world class opposition.

The class of the opposition is probably reflected in his amazing winning odds of 12-1 on the Hong Kong tote. The critics have finally been silenced.

Owner Markus Jooste and his racing manager Derek Brugman were on course to cheer him home and so was his breeder, Anton Shepherd of Beaumont Stud.[/expand]

Beach Beauty never lets her fans down and her early speed will help her overcome her wide draw in the defence of her Drill Hall crown. Dennis Drier’s stable jockey Sean Cormack has opted for her ahead of Master Of My Fate and she should be cherry ripe having run on nicely in her Champions Season pipe opener in the Poinsettia over 1 200m.

Master Of My Fate will find this a touch sharp, but he is full of class and his six wins on the trot before an unlucky defeat in the J&B Met included a commanding victory over 1 450m, so he can’t be discounted. He is running fresh, but the Drier yard always have them fit enough.

Capetown Noir started off this season with a facile victory in the Matchem Stakes over this trip at the equally tight Durbanville track, but the brilliant miler has drawn wide and on this right handed track he does appear to take a while to get going.

His stablemate and last year’s runner up Ice Machine runs well fresh, but has unfortunately drawn wide. He showed improvement after joining Dean Kannemeyer’s yard during the summer and his tremendous turn of foot makes him suited to this course and distance.

Here Comes Billy has caught the eye with his powerful finishing speed over sprints and he stays this trip. From a good draw this classy sort makes plenty of appeal.

The Charles Laird-trained Distinguished has shown tremendous improvement and as a 1 400m specialist this is his Champions Season mission. However, he is a front-running type and the race is full of classy closers, so he might be swamped before the line.

His stablemate Rio Carnival has caught the eye with his tremendous finishing speed in his two return runs over 1 200m and 1 600m from a life threatening injury. However, he has drawn widest of all.

Royal Zulu Warrior has a fantastic turn of foot and this could well be his optimum trip, so from pole position he is a big player.

Silvano’s Jet, Jet Explorer, Punta Arenas and No Worries would prefer further and are likely using this race as a pipe opener.

It is highly competitive but the ever reliable Beach Beauty gets the nod ahead of Here Comes Billy, Capetown Noir, Royal Zulu Warrior and Rio Carnival.

In The Fast Lane and Captain America look to be a ready made double in the KRA Guineas races.

In The Fast Lane was unlucky in her last race and if it is ignored her form is very strong. She is distance suited, drawn in pole and had a look at the course last week.

Athina looks ideally distance suited and has a fine turn of foot, so will be the chief threat from a good draw.

Eventual Angel has unfortunately drawn wide as this filly looks to be full of potential and can make the step up in class.

Not Sulking has a good turn of foot and will enjoy this course and distance.
Lanner Falcon is not far behind In The Fast lane, but has drawn wide.

Brett Crawford’s Champions Season contenders are running well fresh, so Maybe Yes is a definite contender from a plum draw.

Santa Carolina will enjoy the drying ground and is a dark horse alongside Goldie Coast and Sea Cat.

The selection is In The Fast Lane from Athina, Eventual Angel, Not Sulking and Maybe Yes.

Captain America looks ideally suited to this course and distance on racecourse evidence, although it will be his first run on a right handed course and it will also be the first time he has seen the track.

Diamond King is a lot better than his last run and from a good draw could be the main danger.

The tough as nails filly Arcetri Pink has zest for her racing and from a good draw should be right there.

Chestnut’s Rocket is a classy front runner, but from a wide draw he might have to be used up early.

Top Jet will be coming into his own, while Copybook has come on from his last run.
It will still be a touch on the sharp side for both Legislate and Speed Rocket, while Chekilli’s stamina capacity will be stretched.

Bezanova might be revitalised after a return to the coast and will need to be to feature here.

The selection is Captain America from Diamond King, Arcetri Pink, Chestnut’s Rocket and Top Jet.[/expand]