The Sean Tarry-trained three-year-old Greys Inn gelding Legal Eagle will almost certainly be the best handicapped horse in the Vodacom Durban July after his 4,5 length romp in yesterday’s Gr 3 Jubilee Handicap over 1800m at Turffontein Standside and he could give Anton Marcus a record-breaking fifth July victory.

Betting World reacted by shortening Legal Eagle to 4/1 second favourite. Futura remained 3/1 favourite, Majmu is at 9/2, Wylie Hall is 6/1 and French Navy and The Conglomerate are both 10/1.

The weights were set for the July last week so Legal Eagle’s weight of 54kg will not change despite the handicapper being expected to raise his 112 merit rating today.

The leggy gelding impressed Marcus even more than he had when winning the Gr 1 SA Derby over 2450m in his previous start. Marcus warned about there being a knee jerk reaction to yesterday’s win and pointed out that the tight Greyville circuit was a completely different course to the galloping Turffontein Standside track. However, he quickly added that if he could choose any horse to ride in the July it would be him. Marcus also revealed there was not much between Legal Eagle and another horse he could choose to ride, The Conglomerate, but added that he would battle to make the latter’s 53kg weight.

Tarry will be going for his third July win in the space of four years and gave Legal Eagle fans even more reason to be confident in yesterday’s post-race interview when saying that he had “taken his foot off the gas” with the horse since the Derby. He said he would now have a good idea how to add the finishing touches for the July.

Marcus’s four July winners to date is the joint-record with Antony Delpech and Harold “Tiger” Wright. Delpech will have a fine chance of breaking the record too as he will be aboard Majmu.

The great six-time July-winning trainer Terrance Millard believed that a July winner needed to be able to stay the mile-and-a-half Derby distance and Legal Eagle could become the second Tarry-trained horse after Pomodoro to do the SA Derby/July double. Legal Eagle’s sire Greys Inn did the SA Derby/July double himself and could become the fifth July winner to sire a July winner.

Yesterday Legal Eagle ambled along at a comfortable gait in the running and after moving up from near the tail of the small eight horse field he showed a telling turn of foot at the business end. He returned generous odds of 2/1. The Tyrone Zackey-trained 25/1 shot Judicial found his usual strong finish after his normal sluggish start and pipped Killua Castle for second. Tarry’s former July winner Heavy Metal finished a well-beaten fourth while the Tarry-trained 15/10 favourite Cagiva found nothing in the straight from a perfect position and trailed in last.

Tarry said he would scratch both Heavy Metal and Cagiva from the July and target them at the Gr 1 Sansui Summer Cup.

By David Thiselton

Picture: Legal Eagle (JC Photos)

Cuban Emerald, who justified a wholesale plunge in the opener at Kenilworth on Saturday, could well turn into the classic horse he is bred to be.

Gaynor Rupert’s homebred Trippi colt is a son of the 2008 Cape Fillies Guineas winner Sparkling Gem and, although the 4-1 shot only gained the advantage in the last 50m, his stable is convinced he has a big future.

Jonathan Snaith said: “He has improved a hell of a lot since his first run and he did a superb gallop at Durbanville two weeks ago. I was surprised when he opened at 16-1 and I told most of our owners to have a little dabble – and they obviously did!

“He is a big horse who needs time and we will probably stick him away to bring him out in the summer. He is definitely one to follow and he could be a Guineas horse like his mum.”

The Snaith team and retained jockey Richard Fourie made a clean sweep of the three two-year-old races and Brandon Morgenrood completed a four-timer for the stable after making light of a horrific accident to spring a 40-1 shock on Harvard Crimson in the Mother City Handicap.

Morgenrood, hobbling like a cripple when he got off, had taken the ride when Craig du Plooy could stand the pain from his injured wrist no longer. Yet 35 minutes earlier he himself had come within a flailing hoof of his own funeral.

The once-raced Princess Ashreya took fright in the pens and panicked. “She wasn’t happy in the gates – she’d been in quite a long time,” Morgenrood related. “But she flipped so fast that her back legs went from under her and I got stuck underneath. It was a scary moment.”

Aldo Domeyer won that race on the Adam Marcus-trained Boomtown Belter, justified two days of near-starvation to do 55.5kg for Piet Steyn on Friendly Tibbs in the 2 000m handicap, and made it four with a Mike Bass double.

However he was fined R500 for using his whip more than three times in successive strides as Castlethorpe earned a reprieve from retirement in the Pinnacle. Grant van Niekerk, who has form for this particular offence, was fined twice as much for doing the same on runner-up Waiting For Rain.

Blarney Bay, four lengths clear a furlong out, weakened just as Mike Robinson predicted he would but he thrilled both his connections and himself, and victory number seven cannot be far away. Lockheed Jetstar (sixth) also tired in the closing stages and is entered for the so-called Super Sale at Greyville on Thursday week.

Bass trained his first winner in the world-famous Niarchos colours when 10-1 shot Three Balloons led a furlong out in the concluding maiden.

Favourite backers got their money back when Petty Officer, 3-1 for Castlethorpe’s race, failed to jump. The stipes declared her a non-runner as this huge 564kg filly had her head in the neighbouring stall when the gates opened.

But trainer Greg Ennion was most unhappy, claiming that his warnings about such an eventuality had gone unheeded.

He said: “I asked the starter to load her last because of her size – she doesn’t fit in – and that, if he had to load a few after her, he was not to close the back gates until the last horse had gone in. But the gates were shut after she was loaded and she had to stand with her head turned sideways.”

By Michael Clower

Picture: Richard Fourie (Liesl King)

Leading Vodacom Durban July fancy The Conglomerate is having a few days rest and relaxation as Joey Ramsden carefully gears the colt’s preparation towards the big day.

Ramsden, who has yet to win the historic race, said: “The Conglomerate is doing fab and at the moment he is having a bit of a break – there is quite a big space between the Daily News and the July. He still has to do the July gallops and I feel you are better off leaving them a bit underdone rather than killing them.”

The Conglomerate, now generally available at 10-1, is one of the best backed horses in the race. He was shrewdly supported at 33-1 on the morning of his KRA Guineas win and he was backed again before finishing third in the Daily News.

However stable companion Flying Fiona, who made such a big impression when comfortably landing the odds on her Greyville debut, has had a setback and has been ruled out for the rest of the season.

Ramsden said: “She has had a hiccup but hopefully I will bring her back for the Cape season. I think she is quite useful.”

The Dynasty filly was to have gone for the Devon Air Stakes nine days ago but was scratched the previous day after going lame on her left fore.

By Michael Clower

Picture: The Conglomerate (John Lewis)

Duncan Howells and Dennis Drier are once again out in front in the race for the KZN Trainers Championships and they dominated the three R200,000 KZN Winter Challenge Finals races at Scottsville on Saturday.

Ashburton-based Howells won the KZN Trainers Championship for the first time last season, usurping many-times champion Drier, but ended Saturday 12 winners behind the Summerveld-based maestro. However, he landed both the Winter Challenge 1950m and 1600m finals through Crime Victim and the exciting three-year-old gelding Saratoga Dancer and four of his other five contestats finals contestants earned cheques in their respective races.

Crime Victim, who started 3-1 favourite in the 1950m final despite carrying third top weight of 59kg, was a bit slowly away, but settled well on the rail from the off. He looked to be enjoying himself throughout and turned for home full of running. Jockey Anton Marcus switched him inward and he easily made up the leeway on the Mike de Kock-trained Semra before being given his head at about the 300m mark. He readily repelled the persistent Semra as well as the Paddy Lunn-trained Cat In Command, who was running on down the inside rail, before finding another gear and going on to win by 3,5 lengths. Semra held on for second from a fast finishing Howells-trained His Approval. Cat in Command was next best and the Alyson Wright-trained Go West McGraw was 7,5 lengths back in fifth. Crime Victim is a four-year-old gelding by Bezrin and is owned by Barry Reardon, who bred him at Yellow Star Stud. He is a consistent sort and from 18 career starts has won three times and laced nine times.

In the 1600m final Saratoga Dancer started second favourite at 4/1 behind his stablemate Baltic Amber, who was backed into 7/2, but this classy three-year-old gelding by Mambo In Seattle never looked in danger of defeat under championship-chasing jockey Gavin Lerena. Saratoga Dancer jumped from a tricky draw of eight carrying 57,5kg and took a little bit of time to settle as Lerena looked for a good position. The top jockey managed to slot him in just before the first turn. He settled well in about fifth place behind a steady pace set by Baltic Amber. The rangy Saratoga Dancer gained more and more momentum down the straight, despite hanging inward late, and won easing up by 3,5 lengths from the Garth Puller-trained Translunar with the Howells-trained Entrée just pipping his stablemate Baltic Amber for third. The Gavin van Zyl-trained Silver Spring finished fifth. Saratoga Dancer, bred by Gary Player Stud, is owned by Howells himself in partnership with Rodney and Jane Trotter, CV Winter, Mr and MRs RAJ Nidd and S Westwater. Howells has deliberately avoided running him in the big Champions Season features this year as he believes he will be at his best as a four-year-old. He definitely looks one with the potential to win a feature or two next season and to date had won four times from nine starts.

In the 1200m final The Drier-trained Sea Fever, who started at odds of  6/1, broke well under Sean Cormack and showed pace throughout. He was able to go straight the whole way from a low draw and from the halfway mark was able to sit behind the Howells-trained 18/10 favourite Hunting Owl, who had tracked over to the inside rail from a draw of eight to set the pace. The Mark Dixon-trained second favourite London Call, carrying a welter 62kg, tracked over all the way from draw 13 and threw down a strong challenge. However, Sea Fever stayed on resolutely and got up to beat a gallant London Call by 0,25 lengths with Hunting Owl a further 0,5 lengths back. The Tony Rivalland-trained Lucky Break finished fourth ahead of Kumaran Naidoo-trained Royal Roy. Sea Fever, a three-year-old gelding by Argonaut, was bred by Cheveley Stud and is owned by Jack and Nancy Mitchell. He has won three times from seven starts.

Gold Circle’s Challenge series’ have always been a good incentive for smaller owners to race for good prize money.

Mumsy’s Jet emerged leading horse of the Winter series, earning 32 points, and landed a cheque of R30,000 for his trainer Alyson Wright. Discourse was second on 31 points, earning a cheque of  R15,000 for trainer Craig Eudey, and joint-third on 30 points were Libertine and Fire The Rocket, whose trainers Colin Scott and Doug Campbell shared prize money of R7,500.

By David Thiselton

Picture: Saratoga Dancer (Nkosi Hlophe)

Castlethorpe can bounce back from last time’s flop to take the Racing.It’s A Rush Pinnacle Stakes at Kenilworth tomorrow.

The seven-year-old started second favourite for a mile handicap four weeks ago on the strength of a smart sprint second to Brutal Force but he finished stone last. The course vet reported that he was not striding out behind.

“He is getting on a bit and he is probably not as consistent as he used to be,” acknowledges Mike Bass. “But he is moving OK now and this 1 400m is probably his optimum distance.”

It’s also the ideal for Blarney Bay who reappears after a six-month break. It’s not hard to see him galloping the others into the ground and loving every moment. But Mike Robinson is keeping  his own feet firmly on the ground.

“We’ve done lots of sand work with him and I have given him a grass gallop but he will probably just need it,” reports the Philippi trainer. “I think he will probably get caught out in the last 200m.”

The race conditions favour the top horses. The weights are calculated on merit rating bands but, instead of the horses moving down 2.5kg at a time, they only go down 1.5kg for each five points. Matador In Red, for example, should receive 10.5kg from Castlethorpe but only receives 6kg.

ReadyToGoRightNow, officially the best horse in the race, has been scratched (Justin Snaith: “We feel he is not quite ready so we will give him a couple more weeks”) and there are doubts about Lockheed Jetstar’s readiness.

“All the horses that we took to Cape Town had to stay for two weeks on the way down and could only trot then,” explains Geoff Woodruff’s son Tim. “It is taking a little while to get them back to match fitness. This horse does go well fresh but I think he will probably need the run.”

Bernard Fayd’Herbe’s mount was 15-10 favourite in the Betting World forecast yesterday with Greg Ennion’s  recent winner Petty Officer next best at 5-2. Castlethorpe was 5-1 and Blarney Bay 8-1.

The Snaiths have run more two-year-olds than any other stable in Cape Town – 42 individual runners so far – but their juveniles are really beginning to fire and have won at least one race at each of the last six meetings. A Time To Dream looks nailed on for race two.

Things are nothing like so clear cut in the first. Top Of The Rock ran well against older horses last time, Bold Aspen has come on (Robinson: “I scratched him from the May 23 race because he went a bit shinny but he is now 100% and working very well”) and Brilliant Crimson gets only a tentative vote.

By Michael Clower

Picture: Castlethorpe (Liesl King)