Sean Tarry’s chances of reaching R30 million in earnings for the season became a formality on Saturday after he added the Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Sprint with Bull Valley to the earlier Gr 1 SA Fillies Sprint he had won with Carry On Alice.

Meanwhile, veteran trainer Paul Matchett rolled back the years by winning the Gr 1 Allan Robertson Championship with outsider Brave Mary.

Sean Tarry (Nkosi Hlophe)

Tarry carefully planned Bull Valley’s attempt at the Tsogo Sun Sprint, a Gr 1 handicap, as he is not the soundest individual. He avoided running him in the Gr 1 Computaform Sprint as a good run there could have added weight on to his back for the Tsogo Sun. The four-year-old Toreador gelding, carrying 58kg off a 109 merit rating, hardly ever looked in danger of defeat in a race run at a furious pace. He ran away from them in the end to win cosily by 1,5 lengths under S’Manga Khumalo. Search Party gave Brett Crawford a second runner up spot in this race within three renewals and the horse who had done it for him two years ago, Gulf Storm, finished fourth. In third place was the Dennis Drier-trained Barbosa and this gallant seven-year-old thus achieved his first place in the Tsogo Sun Sprint in his fifth attempt at it. The Gr 3 Kings Cup winner Bulleting Home enjoyed this sprint trip too and finished fifth.

Tarry and Khumalo won the first three races together on yesterday’s card at Turffontein. By then Tarry’s earnings for the season had climbed to R29,143,350.

Paul Matchett’s Brave Tin Soldier filly Brave Mary caused a 30/1 shock under Gunther Wrogemann in the Allan Robertson, where she showed a fine turn of foot to win by 1,75 lengths from the Tarry-trained Green Plains. The Duncan Howells-trained Neptune’s Rain finished third and was beaten a whopping 4,75, which shows how convincing Brave Mary’s victory was. Brave Mary was unable to run a place in a Maiden Juvenile Plate over 1000m at the Vaal three runs ago in her second career outing. However, she was unlucky there and had always showed plenty of zip. Two runs after that race she won her maiden by 6,5 lengths over the same 1000m and finished 8,2 lengths clear of a horse who had previously beaten her. The latter statistic signified how much she had improved. However, she was still ignored in the market on Saturday and caused the Pick 6 to pay R927,683.20.

Matchett, a three-time Zimbabwean Champion trainer, won the Gr 1 Golden Horse Casino Sprint (Tsogo Sun Sprint) with Let’s Rock‘N Roll in 2006 and that same season he won the Gr 2 Post Merchants with Tiza. Hopefully Saturday’s result will herald the beginning of a revival for his yard’s fortunes.

By David Thiselton