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

Apprentice Dennis Schwarz is one of the hardest working riders from the South African Jockeys Academy and it paid dividends today at Scottsville as he landed his first win in his 14^th career race ride aboard the  Gavin van Zyl-trained Cronological.

Assistant trainer Gareth van Zyl kept Schwarz aboard at the request of owner Brian Burnard and the horse won the Maiden for fillies and mares over 1000m comfortably after showing pace throughout.

Schwarz hails from Gauteng and is in Grade 11.

By David Thiselton

There will be exhilarating high-speed action at and above Greyville Racecourse in Durban on Saturday, May 28, with aerobatic aircraft tumbling, twisting and flashing across the heavens prior to the start of one of the country’s iconic racemeetings featuring the R2-million, Grade 1 Daily News 2000 and the R1-million, Grade 1 Woolavington 2000.

Gold Circle, the South African Aerobatic Club and the Daily News are collaborating in the two presentations with the Sky Grand Prix of Aerobatics taking place over the grassy expanse of the Royal Durban Golf Course during the morning and the horseracing getting underway in the afternoon.

Greyville Racecourse will be the perfect vantage point to view the aerobatic manoeuvres performed by five world class South African and five leading international pilots from 9am on the day with the gates to the course opening an hour earlier.  The live expert commentary and big screen coverage of the Sky Grand Prix will be unique to those attending the event at Greyville Racecourse.

Entrance tickets to Greyville for the air show, at a cost of R220 per person and R50 for children under 12, can be obtained through Computicket.

The public attending both events should note, however, that due to the health and safety regulations related to air shows, there will be no parking at the Greyville in-field area and certain roads around the area will be closed.

However, from 13:00 entrance to Greyville for the Daily News 2000 racemeeting will be FREE and the main action will be on the racetrack where the focus will be on the many horses fighting to establish their authority as the best three-year-olds in the country and to secure places in the 18-horse field to face the starter in the R4.25-million, Grade 1 Vodacom Durban July a few weeks later.

The classic three-year-old level weights race was first run in 1961 and came under the banner of The Daily News in 1987. With runners from all parts of South Africa it is rated as the ultimate test of the young horses and in its 55-year history seven winners of the event have gone on to win the Vodacom Durban July in the same year.

Daily News 2000 raceday is a highly entertaining meeting and one of the popular features at the Theatre of Champions, as it is now known, is the Galloping Gourmet Beer & Braai Festival next to the Braai Zone area at the course. The Festival will be in action throughout the day including during the aerobatic display, and will feature live music, food stalls offering a variety of casual dishes, and popular brews. The popular Kids Zone will not be in operation on the day.

The Daily News is also running a fabulous competition for the public that offers a two night stay for four people, inclusive of breakfast, worth R64 000 in the magnificent Penthouse Suite at the Fairmont Zimbali Resort.

The Sky Grand Prix of Aerobatics will have viewers searching the skies but when the racetrack action begins they will be brought back to ground for some of the most exciting thoroughbred racing they will ever see.