Justin Snaith has scratched the Byerley Turk runner up Baritone from the Vodacom Durban July following his disappointing Canon Guineas run last Friday night, but is upbeat about his respective Canon Guineas and Daisy Guineas winners Black Arthur and Bela-Bela.

He said Baritone had pulled up a bit “jarred up” and had also “choked up” due to the pressure of the tight finish in a fast run race.

The current restrictions placed on travel back to Cape Town, due to a recent case of African Horse Sickness (AHS) in the AHS Surveillance Zone, means Baritone has no option but to stay put in KZN.

Snaith said the Trippi colt would be monitored before a new route was decided upon. He believed there would be a question mark over the Daily News 2000 trip, but would nominate him for the Gr 1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge and check how strong the field was before accepting.

Otherwise a race like the Listed Darley Arabian over 1600m on the poly on Super Saturday could be an option.

Black Arthur has been accorded a 106 merit rating and Bela-Bela 107.

As things stand this would see them in the July with the minimum respective weights for three-year-olds of 53kg for a male and 52kg for a filly, although Black Arthur would officially be 2kg under sufferance and Bela-Bela 0,5kg under sufferance.

Snaith said a lot of thought would have to be put into planning their SA Champions season routes from here but added, “The main thing is they have both pulled up out of their races in fantastic shape.”

By David Thiselton

Picture: Baritone (Nkosi Hlophe)

Final Field for the Gr 2 Betting World 1900 to be run over 1900m at Greyville racecourse on Friday May 20: 

SC# DR HORSE               WGT  M/R     JOCKEY             TRAINER

1  16 GOLD ONYX (NZ)     60.0 107 T A  ……………   Sean Tarry

2  12 KING OF PAIN       60.0 106   A  ……………   Joey Ramsden

3  11 HALVE THE DEFICIT  58.0 103   A  M Yeni            Sean Tarry

4   5 MASTER’S EYE       58.0 103  BA  R Fourie          Justin Snaith

5  10 SOLID SPEED        58.0 103  BA  A Delpech         Dean Kannemeyer

6   1 IT IS WRITTEN      58.0 102   A  S Randolph        Dean Kannemeyer

7   7 DISCO AL           58.0 101   A  ……………   Joey Ramsden

8  17 DYNASTIC POWER     58.0 101   A  M Byleveld        Vaughan Marsh

9  14 THE CONGLOMERATE ( 58.0 101   A  ……………   Joey Ramsden

10   6 ST TROPEZ          56.0  99   A  ……………   Joey Ramsden

11  15 DYNAMIC            56.0  98   A  G van Niekerk     Justin Snaith

12   4 MASTER SWITCH      56.0  98 T A *C Murray          Geoff Woodruff

13   8 SERISSA            56.0  98   A  K de Melo         Sean Tarry

14  13 SILVER SPRING      54.0  92   A  K Zechner         Gavin van Zyl

15   3 GREEK LEGEND       54.0  91  BA  J P v’d Merwe     Mike Azzie

16   9 NIGHT SHADOW       54.0  86  CA  W Kennedy         Gavin van Zyl

Reserve Runners

17   2 DEPUTY JUD         56.0  95   A  Reserve 1         Mike Azzie

Loredo, Spain – Harry’s Son is trotting again after a small abscess on his right foot was caught early, treated and burst last week.

Assistant trainer Roy Waugh, who is enjoying his adventure with Harry’s Son, reported on trainer Paul Lafferty’s website that he will start tuning Harry’s Son up next week – a bit later than expected – in preparation for his comeback late next month. Harry’s Son was given a holiday after an “intensive” Dubai campaign.

Before the abscess, Harry’s Son was being given light work, “trotting and paddling in the cool waters of the Atlantic Ocean”.

“He has gained weight quickly and has already been put on a calorie restricted diet!” wrote Waugh. “He appears very content, displaying overly boisterous and ebullient behaviour whenever he greets me, a sure sign all is well. I have added fresh dandelion leaves and clover leaves to his diet which has gone down particularly well with our man Harry!”

According to Waugh, Harry’s Son will probably run over 1600m at the “revived” Madrid Racecourse in a Grade A race before heading off to race in France in July and August.

“We plan on taking Harry to the Madrid Racecourse at the end of May to show him the course. From what I have seen from the live racing telecasts, it looks a very good surface and quite a nice wide track with a fairly short run in of around 450m, exiting a left hand turn. And by June, we are most likely to be running on good-to-firm ground.

“There is a chance we may look at two international races at Woodbine and Keeneland in September and October but this will largely depend on the outcome of his European races,” he reported. “If he races well in (Europe), there are quite a few options in France and Germany with excellent purses that may prove more prudent alternatives, especially given the travel and quarantine protocol involved in traveling to the US. There is only so much you can ask a racehorse to take after all.”

TABnews

Public hero Abashiri is “getting better everyday” in the aftermath of his ultra tough SA Derby run, which saw him hard driven to win narrowly, thus becoming the third horse in history to land the SA Triple Crown.

However, trainer Mike Azzie said it was still too early to say whether the Go Deputy gelding would participate in the Vodacom Durban July.

He added, “If he gets topweight I don’t think he will run.”

A condition of the July is three-year-old males being limited at the publications of the weights to carry a maximum of 57kg.

However, if the current highest rated horse among the entries, Legal Eagle, is scratched after the publications of the weights, the weights will then be dragged upward.

In that case French Navy would be dragged up from 57,5kg to 60kg and Abashiri would go from 56,5kg up to 59kg, which would be the highest weight a three-year-old has ever been asked to carry in the July.

Azzie has a good back up horse in Gr 1-winner Rabada.

He felt this Brave Tin Soldier colt was unlucky in Friday night’s Gr 2 Canon Guineas. He pointed out Rabada had to be used up to find a handy position from a wide draw and the pace up front had then been a blistering one. He added Black Arthur had consequently had the run of the race coming from a good draw. Black Arthur was soon relaxed at the back on the rail and was able to stride out throughout, due to the fast pace. In fact he had to be scrubbed along by Anthony Delpech to keep up.

Azzie said, “He only beat us by half-a-length, but I think it could be a different story in the Daily News, provided we get a good draw.”

Azzie has a high regard for the four-year-old Black Minnaloushe gelding Greek Legend, who won a good race over 1600m at Turffontein in his second run after a layoff for a suspensory injury, prevailing over the previously unbeaten Chepardo. He added Greek Legend had been doing “very, very well” at Summerveld. He has drawn well in seven among the long list of Gr 2 Betting World 1900 nominations, although off just a 91 merit rating it remains to be seen whether he will get into the race or not.

Azzie will aim former SA Derby runner up and Supreme Cup winner Deputy Jud at the Gr 3 Track And Ball Derby at Scottsville on June 19. He said his last run could have a line drawn through it, because this horse needed cover to be affective.

He reckoned his sprinter Splendid Garden, who finished a fine fifth in the Gr 1 WSB Computafirm Sprint considering he jumped from an unfavourable low draw, would be in the “shake up” in the Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Sprint at Scottsville on June 4 and added he would appreciate the step up to 1200m.

Azzie also has three nice two-year-old campaigners in colts Rivarine and Aussie Austin and filly Announcing Rain.

Meanwhile, Shatoosh, who finished 7,25 lengths back in the Gr 2 Daisy Guineas on Friday night will be put away until next season as Azzie believes time given for her to mature will be beneficial.

By David Thiselton

Picture: Abashiri (Nkosi Hlophe)

Justin Snaith will be three-handed in his bid to win a fourth East Cape Derby in Sunday’s World Sports Betting-sponsored Fairview feature. He runs Elusive Silva (Bernard Fayd’Herbe), More Than Grand (Callan Murray) and Captain Splendid (Lyle Hewitson).

Snaith said: “Bernard likes Elusive Silva and so he might be the pick of  the three. The horse was very unlucky in the Winter Guineas last time.”

Cape Town trainers have won the last six runnings and ten of the last 11 but their challenge is not as strong this time – at least numerically. Andre Nel with course winner Solana (Aldo Domeyer) is the only other with a runner.

Michael Clower