David Thiselton

THE lack of a KZN Vodacom Durban July contender was lamented when the betting first came out but that all changed at Hollywoodbets Greyville today when the Gareth van Zyl-trained She’s A Keeper powered home in the Grade 2 World Sports Betting 1900 under Warren Kennedy.

The four-year-old Gimmethegreenlight filly was admittedly carrying only 50kg and beat two rank outsiders in Matterhorn and Shavout but the conditions of the Vodacom Durban July state that the winner of the WSB 1900 is given “preferential consideration for inclusion in the final field”.

Under the conditions of the WSB 1900 the winner can only be raised six points, which means she will go up to a 96 and as things stand will be a whopping 11kg under sufferance in the big race.

However, the handicappers have had their hands tied by conditions and guidelines for just about everyone of her five wins and she proved today she is a lot better than her rating.

She was officially 4kg under sufferance with the two best weighted horses in today’s race, Trip To Africa and Doublemint, and beat them by 5,50 and 9,15 lengths respectively, and she was 2,5kg under sufferance with her chief market rival, fourth-placed Crown Towers, and beat him by 4,60 lengths.

Kennedy dropped She’s A Keeper out from a wide draw and took her to the rail.

Crown Towers enjoys striding out either in front or behind a strong pacemaker but his chances of doing either were scuppered by Shareholder on his inside rushing to the front and then slowing it up.

Crown Towers eventually ended up in behind Blackball, who had come around to sit on the flank of Shareholder, but he had not been able to use his big stride to stretch the field so could only plug on for fourth.

Meanwhile, She’s A Keeper, who was second last of the horses on the rail, used her terrific turn of foot at the top of the straight and burst through the centre to strike the front at the 300m mark.

She appears to have two similarities to her paternal half-brother Got The Greenlight, that terrific turn of foot being the first of them, and, like him, she seems to take her foot off the pedal once she has hit the front. She won more easily than the 0,90 length margin suggests as she was running around a bit in the closing stages, which was what she had also done when winning the Listed WSB Scarlet Lady over 1750m in her previous start.

Nevertheless, Matterhorn, who ran on from last down the inside, and Shavout, who ran on from off the pace down the outside, will be warm orders in their next respective handicap starts, having given the winner 4kg and 2kg respectively and being beaten just 0,90 and 1,70 lengths.

She’s A Keeper was bred and is owned by the Missing U Syndicate, whose nominee is the pedigree guru Rob Knuppe, and his partner in the syndicate is Jonathan Connellan.

Gareth van Zyl, whose young career already includes a win in Durban’s second most famous race, The WSB Gold Cup, can now look forward to his first runner in the Vodacom Durban July. This is some feat considering She’s A Keeper only made her debut in mid-December this season.

Earlier, She’s A Keeper’s Scarlet Lady form was franked when the third and second horses, the Wendy Whitehead-trained Keep On Dancing and the Vaughan Marshall-trained Scented Mistress, finished first and second respectively in the Listed KRA East Coast Cup over 2000m. Kennedy also rode the winner in that race.

Vodacom Durban July champion Do It Again had put in a good pipe-opening run in the previous race when just getting up to win a Pinnacle Stakes event over 1600m under Richard Fourie.

David Thiselton

The racing world especially in the Southern African juridictions is reeling in shock after the tragic passing of twice South African champion apprentice Nooresh Juglall after a horrific racing accident on Saturday in his home country of Mauritius and any news of racing success on that day is tinged with sadness.

However, it must be recorded that Paul Peter and Warren Kennedy combined to win the Listed Syringa Handicap over 1600m at Turffontein Inside with the ever improving Var filly Way Of The World while earlier the promising Johan Janse van Vuuren-trained Puerto Manzano marched on with another eyecatching victory.

Way Of The World led in her previous start over 1450m and fought off the challengers to win cosily in the end so it seemed she would have a chance of staying the 1600m trip but her wide draw was a concern.

However, in the end none of the inside drawn horses wanted the lead so Kennedy was able to get to the front without using up any extra fuel.

She then dictated although the favourite Wylie Wench was sitting behind her ready to pounce.

However, Way Of The World kept on rolling gallantly in the straight and always had the measure of Wylie Wench.

The latter did make late inroads to be beaten just a length in her first run since breaking the Vaal Classic track course record when winning the Grade 3 Acacia Handicap on February 27.

She received a seven point raise for that win but that was not enough to explain the close proximity of the Syringa Handicap’s third-placed Querari Ferrari, whom she had beaten by eight lengths in the Acacia. So Wylie Wench should come on a lot from Saturday’s run.

Way Of The World started this season a one-time winner merit rated 71 and is now a seven-time winner and due another raise from the 93 rating she ran off yesterday.

Earlier Puerto Manzano showed off his big stride in the straight after coming from a handy position to win a Pinnacle Stakes event over 1800m under Gavin Lerena. Johan Janse van Vuuren said post-race that he was in two minds whether to run the gelding in the Daily News 2000, but it was unlikely. The Argentinian-bred by the Group 1 Hollywood Derby-winning sire Seek Again (Speightstown) has raced seven times for five wins and two seconds and strikes as one who will stay further although the Hollywood Derby is only over nine furlongs and he is a half-brother to a Grade 1 winner over a mile.   

THE jockeys formed a guard of honour and rode with black arm bands at Hollywoodbets Greyville yesterday in memory of their colleague Nooresh Juglall who passed away in hospital after a fall at Champs De Mars racecourse in Mauritius on Saturday. He was 29.

The accident happened as the runners crossed a road over the track in the 990m Gr3 Noble Salute Cup.

Jockey Benny Woodworth, riding Golden Tractor, was also involved in the accident, but thankfully escaped with just a serious elbow injury.

A Mauritius Turf Club report stated that Golden Tractor was new to the Champ de Mars track, and as virtually all first-timers at the course do, he skipped the crossing which is just before the entrance to the final straight.

Juglall’s mount Rule The Night which was following Golden Tract could not avoid Golden Tractor and both came down.

Nooresh was a product of the South African Jockey Academy and was Champion Apprentice for two years in 2012 and 2013.

 He was a talented rider and one of his many South African successes was winning the Triple Tiara on Cherry On The Top for Ormond Ferraris and the Gold Cup on Dynasty’s Blossom for Brett Crawford.

He rode successfully in Singapore for a few years before returning to his native country Mauritius.

Nooresh is survived by his wife Chaaya and young family, as well as his father Satanand, his mother Kavita, his sister Sweta and younger brother Tajesh, also a product of the SA Jockey Academy and rides in Mauritius.

Andrew Harrison

IF Warren Kennedy has any say, She’s A Keeper will be his mount in the Vodacom Durban July come July 3. Beaten only once in her career, the Gareth van Zyl-trained filly turned it on in style to win the Gr2 WSB 1900 at Hollywoodbets Greyville yesterday.

Ironically, it was the race that got Belgarion into the July last year and his defection yesterday when favourably weighted cleared the way for She’s A Keeper.

Whether Belgarion would have won or not is a moot point but the fact that two rank outsiders, Matterhorn and Shavout, chased her home will be food for thought. But they were also at the bottom of the weights and no slouches in their own right.

Lightly raced Matterhorn will also surely have done enough to garner an invite into the VDJ starting line-up.

Justin Snaith was all doom and gloom about his stable’s chances in this year’s VDJ given the handicapping even though Do It Again could not have had a better prep race in his build-up to the big race. Given the conditions of the Pinnacle Stakes, Do It Again seemed assured of a comfortable victory but Sir Michael gave him an unexpectedly tough race that should have done a lot to blow away any cobwebs.

It was a courageous effort from the dual July winner who had not found the winner’s enclosure for nearly two years, but also a powerful ride from Richard Fourie who got his mount’s head down when is counted.

Sir Michael was possibly a touch unlucky as he was caught in traffic at the top of the straight and Do It Again was given a chance to wind up, but he did go past Do It Again and looked a winner 100m out.

But the champion dug deep and it was a win full of merit.

A quirky filly, Keep On Dancing has not been the easiest but Wendy Whitehead has done marvels to get her to settle down and her patience paid off with a black type victory in the KRA East Coast Cup (Listed). Warren Kennedy produced her with a perfectly time run. As he intimated post-race, she has a tremendous turn of foot but it has to be timed as she tends to ‘empty out’ if sent for home too soon.

Mark Dixon’s yard has been going through a lean spell with viruses and dodgy blood pictures so it will have been with relief that Prince Tyrion broke the ice with an end-to-end win in the second. Athandiwe Mgudlwa had his mount out quickly and with the stiff tailwind helping him home, Prince Tyrion kept on all the way to the line.

It’s been something of a slow start for apprentice Kaidan Brewer and he had only one winner behind his name before he rode a cracking race aboard Burning Wings for Glen Kotzen. Sitting in off the pace, he got Burning Wings to quicken through a gap to win in fine style.

David Thiselton

Record-seeking trainer Justin Snaith scratched L’Ormarin’s Queen’s Plate winner Jet Dark from the Vodacom Durban July yesterday and other significant scratchings were the reigning Equus Horse Of The Year Summer Pudding and the promising Johan Janse van Vuuren-trained Puerto Manzano. 

Meanwhile, Snaith said he would be doing everything he could to preserve Do It Again’s current merit rating in the build up to the Vodacom Durban July, so the six-year-old is thus avoiding the World Sports Betting 1900 at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Saturday, the race where reigning July champion Belgarion will be making his first SA Champions Season appearance.

Snaith said last week Jet Dark’s 130 merit rating was the  chief off-putting factor for the July and he duly decided over the weekend to scratch.

Jet Dark is the highest rated three-year-old in the country at present and as things stand would have had to carry 56kg in the July and give the like of Linebacker (124) and Kommetdieding (120) 3kg apiece.

Snaith said it would not be in the horse’s interests to carry that high a weight in the tough Grade 1 handicap but did not hide his opinion of the Trippi colt by saying, “He is too good to run in the July.”

Snaith believes the 2021/2022 Cape Summer Season is going to be one of the best ever as he predicts the Covid-19 vaccine roll outs worldwide will enable travel once again. He thus plans to race all of his main contenders for that season not more than twice in the SA Champions Season.” 

Jet Dark put up an outstanding recent racecourse gallop at Hollywoodbets Greyville which put him on track for his chief SA Champions Season mission, the Grade 1 weight for age Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge on June 12.

Snaith believes Do It Again, who will make a second attempt to become the first horse to win the July three times, will likely run this Saturday. However, it will be in a Pinnacle Stakes event over 1600m where he will be the best weighted runner and will thus be unlikely to incur any merit rating raise even if he wins. 

Snaith told Racing News Social TV over the weekend he had not been bullish last year when Do It Again had to carry 59.5kg and give the like of Belgarion and Got The Greenlight 6.5kg apiece. However, he said he was “quietly bullish” at present with him carrying 57.5kg as things stand. He described Do It Again as the “purest athlete” among the country’s thoroughbreds, one who “glides” down to the start and added that if he brought his best form then “Rainbow Bridge and everybody else is in trouble.” 

He continued, “We just have to get him 100% right inside, which I think we have done.”

Snaith said the six-year-old had had niggles but added the “beautiful grass paddocks” he had built around his Summerveld yard, where he was able to relax and graze, were “very important for his ulcers.”

Snaith concluded, “He is doing really, really well, I think he is a massive runner.”

Belgarion is also in fine shape at present but Snaith said he would only be at about 80%  for the WSB 1900. He said it would be a springboard into the July. He said a lot of his horses were still behind “the 8-ball” but that was exactly where he wanted them to be.

He concluded, “You see a lot of horses walking around at the moment like superstars but our aim is to have them looking like superstars on the day of the July.”