The Gary Alexander-trained three-year-old Querari gelding Kangaroo Jack defied his 14/1 odds at Greyville on Friday night to win the Gr 2 Post Merchants over 1200m in effortless fashion under Craig Zackey and out of the blue has become a serious Gr 1 Mercury Sprint possibility.

The Alexander team received a phone call one day from owner Joyce Wallace asking whether they would like to train this horse, who was bred by her late husband RB Wallace. It came as a nice surprise as they had never trained a horse for the Wallace family before. Kangaroo Jack duly arrived at the Alexander’s Turffontein yard as a young two-year-old having been pre-trained by Sharon Patterson.

Kangaroo Jack travelled down to Greyville on Friday morning. Assistant trainer Dean Alexander saddled him. The bay gelding glided down to the post as if he was on air and was the stand out.

He was dropped out from a wide draw and behind a strong pace showed an exceptional turn of foot in the straight. Coming from near the back he had hit the front under the hands by the 200m mark. He just required a few back handers from then onward to keep his mind on the job.

Kangaroo Jack (Nkosi Hlophe)

He passed the line 3,75 lengths clear of the Mike Bass-trained 10/1 shot Fly By Night, who pipped the Garth Puller-trained 25/1 shot Asstar for second. The Dennis Drier-trained second favourite, three-year-old Ferrie, completed the quartet.

Dean later described Kangaroo Jack as one who had been progressive from day one. The bay still looks to have scope for further improvement.

Kangaroo Jack was officially 2kg under sufferance with the Gr 1-winning mare Fly By Night, who was coming off a second place finish in the Gr 1 City Of Pietermaritzburg Sprint just two weeks earlier. Therefore it will be no surprise to see him being given the maximum ten point merit rating raise to 110. The yard might now consider running him in the Gr 1 Mercury Sprint Over the same course and distance in mid-July.

The favourite for Friday night’s race was Red Ray, who went down to post in eye-catching style. However, the long-strider’s momentum was affected by interference early in the straight and he was not persevered with after his chances of placing were gone.
The other runner coming out of the Tsogo Sun Sprint two weeks ago, Captain Alfredo, also failed to place.

David Thiselton

The Gr 2 Post Merchants over 1200, which will be run at Greyville tonight, is always one of the most exciting races of the SA Champions Season and is not a meeting to miss.

Sunday’s Track And Ball Derby and Oaks meeting will also appeal to the purist.

Watching the horses hare around the turn  in the Post Merchants, followed by the cavalry charge for home, is an exhilarating sight. However, it is never an easy race to analyse.

This year it is even more so, as it falls just two weeks after the Festival Of Speed, so a question is whether those that ran in the latter meeting have had sufficient time to recover.

London Call has only had one run over the Post Merchants course and distance and won with a bit in hand, despite carrying 61kg and giving decent types like Mr Roy and Executive Power lumps of weight. He has drawn perfectly in two, considering his natural pace coupled with his ability to find more gears, and Keagan de Melo knows him well. He will be fresher than most of the other runners and the only downside is his 101 mark falling near the bottom of one of the merit-rating bands, meaning he is officially 2,5kg under sufferance with the best weighted runner Fly By Night.

Sean Tarry would have made Buckland his first choice in the Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Sprint field, but the horse was eliminated by the selection panel. Tarry would have preferred this race to be down the straight. However, Buckland will be fresher than those who did run in the Tsogo Sprint and is an up and coming three-year-old who is going places.

Ferrie is proving to be useful and the form of his last 1000m win on the poly is working out well. However, like Buckland he is 2,5kg under sufferance with Fly By Night.

Fly By Night has become enigmatic, but showed her well-being in the Gr 1 City Of Pietermaritzburg Sprint, where she showed pace throughout and stayed on well for second. She is drawn well in five and high-flying MJ Byleveld keeps the ride.

Red Ray was said to be only 80% fit for the Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Sprint, so did well to finish fourth. He has always been held in very high regard and Anton Marcus can help him overcome a tricky draw over his probable optimum trip, provided the race doesn’t come too soon.

The best weighted three-year-old is Kangaroo Jack, although even then he is 2kg under sufferance with the best in. He is a promising sort and immature looking, so still has plenty of scope for improvement.

Topweight Trip To Heaven will be a big runner if taking his place as he has speed, class and a fine turn of foot. Captain Alfredo has won on the Greyville poly and has a better chance at the weights than he did in the Tsogo Sun, where he showed his usual pace but could not find the necessary extra.

Consistent Aurum Pot was a close fourth in this race last year and although carrying 2kg more he is only 1kg under sufferance with Fly By Night. However, his wide draw makes it tough. Moofeed would be course and distance suited at best, but is still an entire and is coming off two poor runs. Belong To Me has a good record at Greyville, but has to bounce back and is not well weighted.

Amazing Strike has always been well regarded, but has a tough task at the weights and jumps from a wide draw. Asstar is the dark horse having beaten a good field last time despite the race not panning out well and likely needing it too. Old Em has good pace and a good draw, but is 1kg out with Fly By Night and this race is tough for a three-year-old filly.

The selection is London Call to beat Buckland and Ferrie with Fly By Night and Red Ray next best.

On Sunday Cape Speed makes appeal in the Gr 3 Track And Ball Derby over 2400m. He thrives in KZN and has won both of his starts since gelding. Now, for the first time, he tries the trip he has always looked likely to relish. He is officially a bit out at the weights, but is on the up. In form Anthony Delpech can help him negotiate a tricky draw of nine.

Kitty’s Destiny is out of a half-sister by Sportsworld to Cape Derby winner Floatyourboat, and his grandam is a half-sister to Champion Stayer Surfing Home, so he should also relish the trip and can prove himself better than his merit rating suggests. Disco Al will be defending his crown and jumps from pole position, although this is his second run after a rest.

In the Gr 3 Track And Ball Oaks, Gathering Fame flew up for second last time out in the Listed KRA East Coast Cup and will much prefer the Scottsville course, so is selected to beat the consistent Ma Choix and the classy staying type Gallica Rose, who was just touched off in this race last year.

David Thiselton

This week’s rain threatens to make the form book worth no more than a sodden mass of pulp at Kenilworth tomorrow where the ground has turned soft.

Ability to handle testing conditions will be crucial and poses a major question mark over Search Party, the forecast favourite for the Racing. It’s A Rush Pinnacle Stakes. The Brett Crawford runner went up eight points for his runaway win last time and that looked conservative considering how much he appeared to have in hand.

He hasn’t raced in the soft but his dam did and she didn’t like it. A horse’s action is generally considered to be the determining factor in ability to handle soft or heavy ground but heredity plays a significant part and it could pay to bet against this one.

Rodney, who won his maiden in the soft, is suggested as an alternative even though he has not raced since Met day. “He was a little bit lame behind and he had a break,” says Candice Robinson. “He is doing very well although he just might need it after all the rain.”

Grant van Niekerk rides him rather than Line Break who has superior form (he was beaten little more than two lengths in the Cape Flying) but apparently not too much should be read into this. Mrs Robinson made the riding arrangements rather giving the stable’s number one the choice.

Ground preferences apart, the race is wide open – at least in theory. If you ignore Winter Trade there is only 3kg between the best and worst on adjusted merit ratings. However Kingvoldt has won twice on soft or yielding going so the ground might encourage him to return to form while Tiger Tiger and Albarakah also have two soft-going successes.

Oceans Trip in the first has the benefit of experience – which can count even more than usual in the soft – and Bernard Fayd’Herbe’s mount may just be good enough. However two of the newcomers are worthy of note. Pillar Of Hercules is bred in the purple, being by Captain Al out of the 2010 KZN Fillies Guineas and Tibouchina winner Gibraltar Blue, and Elusive Path is a R675 000 Pathfork gelding out of a three-parts sister to Elusive Fort.

Fayd’Herbe can also win the next on Arctic Green who has stable companion Epona and Greg Ennion’s Sign Your Name to beat.

Omaha Tribe looked a certain future winner on debut, coming from last to run on well into fourth against some useful older maidens like Mega Secret. Not even a bad draw may stop MJ Byleveld’s mount in race three.

Michael Clower

Karl Zechner is back aboard his SA Triple Crown-winning partner Abashiri after Hong Kong-based superstar Dougie Whyte had originally been declared for the ride.

Meanwhile, Abashiri has been allotted the heaviest weight a three-year-old has ever been asked to carry in the big race, 59kg, after the weights were dragged up 2,5kg across the board due to the scratching of Legal Eagle.

Trainer Mike Azzie said, “Dougie said initially he would be able to fly in on the Monday before the race, but the Hong Kong Jockey Club would not release him and he was then going to be able to fly out on the Thursday. However, due to some jockey suspensions he was then required to ride in Hong Kong on the Friday, meaning he would fly out that evening and then catch a connecting flight to Durban on the morning of the July. He has done this sort of thing before and when he told me the jet lag would not affect him I believed him. However, a flight delay anywhere along the line would mean we could end up without a jockey. We have enough pressure on us already to have to add more by running that risk. I am sorry for Dougie, but Karl will be based in Durban for the next two-and-a-half weeks, so will be with the horse every day until the race.”

Abashiri (Liesl King)

Zechner has partnered Abashiri five times for five victories, including all three legs of the coveted SA Triple Crown. He copped criticism from some quarters for his ride in the last leg, the SA Derby, despite getting the job done and in some people’s opinions riding a fine race.

Abashiri’s relative weight will not be affected by the dragging up of the weights as all horses’ weights will be going up by 2,5kg and the bottom weight will now be 54,5kg.

He will in fact be the only three-year-old in the field who is not under sufferance.

However, Azzie was still concerned about him having to carry the welter burden of 59kg and pointed to horses like Jackson, whom he said was not the same horse after carrying 56kg in the race, while the great Horse Chestnut was scratched when asked to carry too much weight.

Azzie admitted “If I owned Abashiri I would not be running him. I am not saying he can’t win the race, we are going to have him fit and well enough, but he has his whole career ahead of him and personally I would have waited for him to strengthen and furnish and bring him back here as a four-year-old.”

However, he added it was owner Adriaan Van Vuuren’s life-long dream to win the July.

Van Vuuren, who dotes on all of his horses, has shown himself to be one of South African racing’s most passionate owners and it is understandable he doesn’t want to miss the opportunity of experiencing his beloved Abashiri  running in the country’s premier horseracing event.

David Thiselton

Many jockeys will have breathed a sigh of relief when the worst kept secret in racing was confirmed early yesterday morning with the news that Legal Eagle was scratched from the Vodacom Durban July. His scratching means that all the weights will be increased by 2,5kg.

Sean Tarry had indicated as early as April, after Legal Eagle had won the Premier’s Champions Challenge, that the July was not on the gelding’s agenda. But Tarry played a smart tactical game by leaving Legal Eagle in the mix until after the weights had been published on Tuesday and it was only a matter of when he played his trump card.

If Tarry had scratched Legal Eagle before publication of the weights his other runner, French Navy, would have been allotted top weight of 60kg but all the three-year-olds, barring Abashiri would have been set to carry 53kg.

By leaving Legal Eagle in until after publication of the weights, French Navy still goes up to 60kg but the three-year-olds copped another 2,5kg and this means that all of the three-year-old males with the exception of Abashiri will carry 55,5kg including ruling favourite Black Arthur giving those runners who match their handicap rating a big advantage over their younger rivals.

The bottom weight horses will carry 54,5kg and this includes three-year-old filly Bela-Bela.

However, even though the weights have been bumped up, of the three-year-olds only Abashiri is not under sufferance.

What the increase in weights does do is open the field for the jockeys as most of the senior riders were unlikely to make 53kg.

St Tropez (Nkosi Hlophe)

One jockey who will be particularly relieved is Anton Marcus although he was likely privy to what was on the cards. With Legal Eagle out and the weights increased, he now has the option on six Markus and Ingrid Jooste owned horses in Rabada, Deo Juvente, The Conglomerate, Disco Al, St Tropez and Rainy Day Blues, not all certain to get a run however, but St Tropez his most likely choice.

Also scratched yesterday were the Tarry-trained Prospect Strike and Jubilee Line, leaving Mike de Kock in the unfamiliar position of having only a single entry, namely the filly The Centenary, whose chances of making the July will hang on her winning the G3 Gold Circle Oaks at Scottsville on Sunday and even that may not be enough.

With bookmakers probably already having already factored in the likely withdrawal of Legal Eagle, there were only marginal changes to the betting with Black Arthur shortening half-a-point to 7-2 and French Navy steady at 7-1.

Latest ante-post betting for the R4.5million Gr1 Vodacom Durban July to be run at Greyville on Saturday, July 2:

7-2 Black Arthur, 6-1 Marinaresco, 7-1 French Navy, 15-2 Bela-Bela, 11-1 Abashiri, It’s My Turn, 13-1 Solid Speed, St Tropez, 14-1 Mambo Mime, Rabada, 25-1 Deo Juvente, Dynamic, 28-1 Rocketball, Master Sabina, 30-1 Ten Gun Salute, The Conglomerate, Trophy Wife, 35-1 Negroamaro, 50-1 Samurai Blade, 66-1 Balance Sheet, Saratoga Dancer, Judicial, 80-1 New Predator, 100-1 and upwards others.

Andrew Harrison