Durban July trainer comments

Comments from David Thiselton unless stated otherwise


Charles Laird knows what it takes to win the Vodacom Durban July and he, Jane Thomas and the Clairwood environment between them appear to have worked the oracle with Astro News, who becomes more and more of a contender each time he steps out on to the track.



“Kevin (Shea) says every time he rides him he is a new horse,” said Laird.



Laird acquired the Silvano gelding in January and sent him straight to Jane Thomas’ KZN Midlands spelling farm as he had emerged from his previous start on the Highveld with sore feet.



Thomas got his feet right in a month or two, leaving Laird with limited time to qualify him for the July.



However, 39 days later he won the Grade 3 Cup Trial, having won a Graduation Plate over 1400m just ten days earlier.



That got him into the big race and since then he has continued to improve.



Shea was ecstatic with his July Gallop last Thursday and duly tipped him to finish in the first three in a subsequent panel discussion he sat on.



However, Laird does feel Astro News has been a bit harshly treated by the handicapper, considering he is 1kg worse off with Wagner from the Summer Cup, despite having been beaten 1,25 lengths.



“He got five pounds for winning a Grade 3 and Wagner got three pounds for winning a Grade 1. There must be a reason for that, but I’d like to know what it is.”



Laird continued, “I’ve instructed Kevin to ride him for a Place and if something happens and he is suddenly in the first three, who knows.”



In 2007 Laird won the July with the Bridget Oppenheimer-owned and bred Hunting Tower after planning the race for a year.



Hunting Tower went in with 55kg having run with the same weight as a three-year-old the previous year, when beaten just over six lengths.



This year the preparation period has not been as long, but he has a chance of extending the amazing record of the Laird family dynasty in the country’s premier horse race.



Besides his own single triumph, his legendary Uncle Syd Laird won the race a record seven times, his cousins Alec Laird and Dennis Drier have each won it once, his Great Uncle Syd Garret won it three times as a trainer and twice as a jockey and his Grandfather Alec won it once as a jockey.



Laird concluded by saying he felt Astro News’ draw of eight was “perfect” in the July, which is known for the furious scrambling for position down the back straight, meaning horses with low draws risk being shut out.



Laird contests another Grade 1 on the card, the Durban Golden Horseshoe, with Normanz and expected him to bounce back from his disappointing last run.



He had no doubt about him seeing out the 1400m trip.



Laird reckoned Delaware Bay was his “strongest runner on the day by a long way”.



The two-year-old Mogok gelding contests the second, a Juvenile Plate over 1900m, and he said, “I really rate him and he is looking for this trip.”



He was not worried about Delaware Bay having to give the maidens in the field 3kg.



He said Purrveyor, who runs in the first, had been doing “very well”.



He reckoned Indaba My Children in the Listed eThekwini Sprint for three-year-olds over 1200m was “a big runner and just had the draw to beat.”



He added that his draw of nine would be especially tough, considering a lot of the speedier horses in the race had drawn inside of him.



However, he said this Tale Of The Cat gelding had been very unlucky last time and looks to have developed into a good sort

Jeff Freedman’s Vodacom Durban July contender Wild One was still “freshing” at the end of his workout at Clairwood yesterday, a sign of his well being.



He worked on the sand track under Bernard Fayd’Herbe and will be ridden by Raymond Danielson on the big day.



Freedman was bullish about his chances and said, “I think he will finish in the first three. He is still a big baby, but just wait when the penny drops. He has also been an unlucky horse. In the Derby Trial he couldn’t get a run and then finished strongly and was only beaten 0,5 lengths by Wylie Hall (with whom he is now 3,5kg better off). In the Derby he then had to come from 18 lengths off. Wylie Hall and Gothic got first run on him but he finished strongly and was the only horse on the day to run on down the inside (he was beaten 1,75 lengths by Wylie Hall and will be 2kg better off from that run). Then in the Daily News he gets hit sideways, so Bernard decided to drop him out to last. He is then rushed around the field coming up the hill and I thought when he entered the straight he had no chance. However he looks around and then still runs on strongest of all. In racing you can give weight, but you can’t give start. But weight does also stop trains and I can’t see the top weight beating him giving him 7kg. He is very sound and peaking at the right time. He has had a book of excuses in every feature he has run in, but they were all valid excuses.”



Wild One carries joint bottom weight of 53kg.



He has yet another wide draw of 16 to overcome.



However, Danielson is a rider who has risen to the big occasion before and with his tactical nous looks perfectly suited to a horse that will likely have something in the tank turning for home.

The Vodacom Durban July favourite and defending champion Pomodoro worked on the grass at Clairwood yesterday with a tongue tie on and it didn’t take trainer Sean Tarry and big race rider Piere Strydom long to decide afterwards that he would race with this equipment on.



Strydom made a rare appearance at morning track work as Tarry wanted to make sure the jockey was happy with his plan to use the tongue tie.



Tarry employed experienced former jockey Rhys van Wyk at the July Gallops last Thursday, where the big Jet Master colt also wore the tongue tie and put in some sparkling work, quickening noticeably well.



Yesterday Pomodoro did some good pace work over about 1000m and was looking in good shape.



Tarry implied that the use of the tongue tie was nothing to be concerned about, but was just something he was trying out.



He was satisfied after the two rehearsals that the plan could go ahead.



Strydom is more confident going into this year’s race than he was last year.



Last year Pomodoro’s final preparation race was in the Daily News and he went down to the start striding short before only managing fifth.



Strydom said, “He is a better horse this year. He’s striding better and his final preparation run was better.”



Furthermore, Pomodoro has a very good draw of seven this year as opposed to 20 last year.



Two of Tarry’s other July charges, Whiteline Fever and E-Jet, worked on the sand at Clairwood yesterday and the former was ridden by big race pilot Bernard Fayd’Herbe.



Tarry was happy that all four of his July charges were where he wanted them to be.

Heavy Metal will travel down from Johannesburg later this week.



Whiteline Fever is the subject of a merit rating appeal and Tarry said that pressure would be exerted if the NHRA had failed to form a panel to hear the appeal by yesterday.



Tarry said his runner in July day’s first race, Money Doesn’t Count, had been scratched with cellulitis on Sunday after rubbing his leg up against the float on a journey, but reckoned he would be right there provided his preparation went smoothly this week.



Gold Onyx runs in the Grade 3 Mango 2200 from a good draw with Strydom up and Tarry said, “He’s spot on and if I considered him unlucky not to get into the July he must be a massive runner here.”



He also made Kolkata a “big runner” in the Grade 2 Gold Vase and was confident he would qualify for the Gold Cup, despite having dropped to a merit rating of 90.



He said his first choice for the Grade 1 Zulu Kingdom Explorer Golden Slipper had been Second Bite, who beat older horses on debut over 1000m, and he had been “shocked” when she was eliminated.



He reckoned For The Lads would be “up against it” in this field, although she is well drawn.



He said Willow Magic would love the step up in trip in the Grade 1 Durban Golden Horseshoe and was doing “very well.”



However he added that his wide draw would be a “big concern”.



General Sherman runs in the Listed Thukela Handicap and Tarry said, “He’s got to be a massive runner. He’s well and loves the course. In the 1900 he was caught wide and battled to settle, but he was the fastest finisher and half that field are in the July.”



He said Happy Archer was doing well in her bid to win the race she won two years ago, the Grade 1 Jonsson Workwear Garden Province Stakes over 1600m, but said he would have preferred a better draw for her.



Tarry was reluctant to single out his best runner on the day and said, “I am upbeat about my runners on the day, I’m taking a nice team. It’s always tough to win any race on July day and I am respectful of the opposition, but my horses are where I want them to be and we just need luck in running.”

Vaughan Marshall said that his Vodacom Durban July runner Hill Fifty Four was “spot on” for Saturday’s big race and he was also happy with the lesser fancied of his pair Tribal Dance.



“I couldn’t have asked for better,” said Marshall about Hill Fifty Four.



He also declared himself “satisfied” with the four-year-old Captain Al gelding’s draw of ten.



He did feel Hill Fifty Four was a bit harshly treated at the weights, considering he was only receiving 0,5kg from Pomodoro, but said this did not concern him.



Hill Fifty Four’s weight could possibly drop if an appeal regarding his merit rating is heard and upheld this week.



Marshall continued, “He has a lovely temperament and is a big strong horse. He has raced in front before or from off them, it doesn’t really matter where he is in the running.”



Anton Marcus was riding work at Clairwood yesterday and assessing whether he would be prepared to ride in the July with a thumb that still has a pin in it.



He will make his decision on Thursday and it is unknown at this stage who will replace him on Hill Fifty Four if he decides to pull out.



Marshall said about the four-year-old Tiger Dance colt Tribal Dance, “He’s very well and wherever Jet Explorer runs he will be right there.”



Tribal Dance beat Jet Explorer by a head when winning the Listed Sledgehammer over 1900m at Scottsville and is now 2kg better off from that run.



However, he was beaten 2,85 lengths by Jet Explorer in the Betting World 1900 and will only be 1kg better off from that run.



Last year Tribal Dance won the Grade 3 2200m event on July day and was ridden in that race by his pilot for Saturday MJ Byleveld.



Marshall didn’t feel that Tribal Dance’s win last year would have been enough to have won the July if he had run him there instead.



However, the horse is now a year older and comes in off a good preparation.



Marshall could defend his crown in the Mango 2200 with Dubai Gina, who runs in first time blinkers.



He said that the headgear had made a big difference to her work, so this filly, who has often been unlucky, could be a big runner, although the Gold Cup is likely her main mission.



Marshall runs the Grade 1 Allan Robertson winner Happy Valentine in the Zulu Kingdom Explorer Golden Slipper over 1400m.



She is very speedy and he did have some doubt about her seeing out this step up in trip, saying, “We will have to wait and see.”



However, a good draw of two helps her cause.



Bernard Fayd’Herbe rode Marshall’s Grade 1 Durban Golden Horseshoe runner, Chestnut’s Rocket, yesterday.



Fayd’Herbe said, “I think he will run a big race, it’s his second run at the track, so he’s got the experience.”



Marshall felt that his runner in the Listed Thukela Handicap over 1600m, Act Fast, would be better suited to 1400m.



He runs the improving filly Europe To Africa in the Grade 1 Jonsson Workwear Garden Province Stakes over 1600m and said, “We’ve thrown her into the deep end, it’s a very strong field and she’s badly drawn, but she’s shown good improvement and could sneak a place.”



Marshall reckoned his KZN Yearling Sale Million contender Ace Antonius’ last start could be disregarded as he had pulled up sore.



“He worked very well at the July Gallops and is a big runner.”

Karl Neisius was very pleased with Capetown Noir’s workout at Clairwood yesterday, in which he did some “nice pace work” and this fancied Dean Kannmeyer-trained three-year-old is looking a picture of well-being.



Neisius has to negotiate a wide draw of 15, but his only win in the country’s premier race was from draw 20 in 1991 on Flaming Rock.



He said, “It’s very hard to work out a specific plan from a wide draw as it all depends on what is going on around you, but I am definitely not going to be chasing him up the hill (the back straight has an often underestimated incline up to the first turn). Some horses can do that, but he will only be up there if he can do it comfortably.”



Capetown Noir is the joint-highest merit rated three-year-old in the race and will receive 5kg from the top weight Pomodoro.



Kannemeyer has won the July twice, with the great Dynasty in 2003 and with Eyeofthetiger in 2006, both three-year-olds.



He reckoned his charge this year was a “fit horse.”



Kannemeyer runs Taipan in the Mango 2200 and said, “He is very well and has come down a bit at last in the merit ratings. I shouldn’t have run him in the Betting World 1900 with that big weight from a wide draw.”



Blake runs in the Grade 2 Mercedes-Benz Gold Vase over 3000m and said, “He is slightly down in the weights (to a 104), but it will still be hard for him. The handicapper has stopped him and the last time he was really competitive was off 101.”



Kannemeyer likes his Atso gelding On The Nod, who runs in the KZN Yearling Sale Million over 1300m.



This horse has been at Clairwood for about five weeks.



Kannemeyer said, “On debut over 800m he roared as the stalls opened, then peg rooted and then flew to finish second (to a decent sort in Silk Road). But I don’t know the form of Saturday’s race. He’s also never seen the course and it will be run at night.”



On The Nod won his debut in good style over 1200m at Durbanville last time out on May 22.



Neisius stays aboard from a good draw of two.

Paul Lafferty said that his Vodacom Durban July contender Love Struck had come out of his race on Sunday, the KZN Breeders Million Mile, very well.



“His legs were ice cold this morning,” said Lafferty, and that is a good sign of the horse’s soundness.



The three-year-old Kahal gelding won the Grade 1 SA Classic over 1800m at Turffontein in March, but his July prospects haven’t taken an upswing since.



He finished unplaced in the Grade 1 Daily News 2000 and was then unplaced on Sunday at Clairwood, albeit with top-weight.



However, Lafferty confirmed that the rangy bay gelding had not acted in the conditions on Sunday.



“The jockey drops his hands a long way out and he only finishes 4,8 lengths back, giving weight to all of them. With 53kg on Saturday it might be a different story.”



In fact, he did not run too far behind the form of his SA Classic win on Sunday, as he gave 5,5kg to the winner, Gitiano, whom he had beaten at level weights in the Classic by 2,25 lengths.



Greg Cheyne, who rode Big City Life to July glory in 2009, flies out from Hong Kong to take the ride and the horse jumps from a nice draw of nine.



The yard also runs Admiral’s Eye in the Grade 1 Zulu Kingdom Explorer Golden Slipper over 1400m.



They rate her, a quality filly, but reckon it might be a bit short for her.



Her wide draw of 16 is not too much of a concern then, as long as the pace is on, as she will be coming from off them.



She will be ridden by in form Sean Cormack.

Gothic provides a first Vodacom Durban July runner for trainer Kumaran Naidoo and the three-year-old Silvano gelding will be ridden by experienced Glen Hatt.



Hatt said at Summerveld yesterday, “Prior to his July gallop I thought it would be a bit hard for him as a young, light-framed horse, but afterwards I was very happy. He gave me that same elastic feel he did in the Derby, he does it so effortlessly. He loved his gallop and pricked his ears at the end.”



Naidoo added, “He’s doing really, really well. He’s going along nicely and we’re just keeping him ticking over into the race.”



Gothic goes into the race as the winner of only one race, a work rider’s maiden over 1800m.



However, the number of wins has no relevance in the merit rating system, that has been in place in South Africa for many years now, and form is a far more important guide to a horse’s ability.



He finished a 0,5 length second in the Grade 1 SA Derby over 2450m last time out and that followed a close up fourth in the Listed Derby Trial over 2000m.



Both those runs confirmed the ability that he had always shown previous trainer Weiho Marwing.



The winner of both those races, Wylie Hall, franked the form by then running just 0,25 lengths back in the Grade 1 Daily News 2000, which earned him a merit rating of 107 and a July weight of 55kg.



Therefore, Gothic is potentially well weighted as he only carries 53kg and will be receiving 2kg from Wylie Hall for that 0,5 length beatin

Gavin van Zyl believes that his Vodacom Durban July trio, Seal, Shogunnar and No Worries, all have good chances and didn’t feel that tipping them as his top three at the July Gallops panel discussion was unrealistic.



No Worries, a handsome chestnut, was looking a picture of well-being at Summerveld yesterday, and put up some nice work under big race rider Brandon Lerena.



Lerena said, “I was very happy with him. He has improved a lot since the Daily News, he’s a different horse.”



No Worries’ wide draw of 19 is a concern and he will need some luck in running.



However, the three-year-old Kahal gelding finished like a train when coming from near last in the Grade 1 Daily News 2000, failing by a short-head, so his draw is not insurmountable.



He is quoted at 28-1 in the betting, which is good value when considering Capetown Noir, whom he beat a short-head in the Daily News, is at 15-2.



The other two horses will travel down from Johannesburg late this week.



Seal has been a model of consistency and has four wins and two seconds in his last six starts.



The smallest weight this five-year-old Silvano gelding has carried in those races has been 60kg.



With that sort of form, Van Zyl reckoned he deserved to just about be the favourite.



Instead he is out at 18-1.



Van Zyl said, “He is extremely well and is in the best space he’s ever been in.”



He also pointed out that Seal had been wearing a tongue tie for the first time when winning the Grade 3 Jubilee Handicap in impressive style over 1800m at Turffontein last time out carrying 61kg.



Francois Herholdt picked up a chance ride that day and keeps the ride.



Shogunnar has attracted a flood of money since the final field announcement last week, shortening in from 33-1 to 16-1.



This is not surprising when considering that the yard have sorted out a leg problem and this has apparently brought out a ton of improvement.



“Chesney reckons he has improved five lengths since the Summer Cup,” said Van Zyl, referring to his son, who runs his Turffontein satellite yard.



The leg problem was sorted out after his below par run in the Jubilee, which he apparently needed anyway.



“He’s better than he’s ever been,” concluded Van Zyl about the four-year-old Solskjaer gelding.



The yard’s Grade 1 Zulu Kingdom Explorer Golden Slipper contender, Along Came Polly, put in some eye catching work on the Summerveld sand yesterday, cruising along, while her maiden companion was flat to the boards.



This Judpot filly is also actually a maiden, but has finished runner up in two features, including the Grade 1 Allan Robertson over 1200m, which was her first start for the yard.



She was bought out of the Duncan Howells yard after her promising debut and Van Zyl said she was bred to go 2000m, so will love the step up to 1400m.



The yard are also bullish about their Grade 1 Durban Golden Horseshoe runner, Buffalo Bill.



Van Zyl said about this Stronghold colt, “He was about 30kg overweight for his penultimate start (in the Listed Gatecrasher Stakes over 1450m at Clairwood), so did well to run just six lengths back. We needed to give him just one more run to get him cherry ripe for Saturday, which was why we ran him on Sunday, and I felt he ran very well as he was running on strongly. He is a big runner and must go into Quartets.”



The yard will run Balse from a handy position in the Grade 2 Gold Vase over 3000m, as he didn’t enjoy hold up tactics in the Betting World Derby last time out.



“He will run a better race,” said Van Zyl.



Wild Type, the yard’s Grade 1 Golden Horse Casino Sprint runner up, runs with top weight in the tenth, a MR 104 Handicap over 1000m.



Lerena reckoned he would be “fine” over the shorter 1000m trip.



The yard expected a better run from him than in the Grade 2 Post Merchants over 1200m at Greyville last time out, as he is now better treated at the weights.



They run Angie and Princess Julietta in the last race, the KZN yearling Sale Million, and Van Zyl said, “We are fixing a pulled muscle in Princess Julietta’s rib and are hoping she will be ready in time. Angie has got a bit of talent, but is in and out and you never know what to expect. They are up against the colts so it won’t be easy.”



The other runner on the day is Arabian Princess, who has a tough task carrying top weight against the boys in the first race.



However, she put in some quite good work yesterday and does have a fair turn of foot, which will give her a chance of running on from a wide draw.



Six of Van Zyl’s runners, including No Worries, Along Came Polly and Buffalo Bill, are owned by Brian “Buffalo Bill” Burnard.



He was given his new nickname by Mick Goss as he breeds disease-free wildlife and owns a number of buffalo bulls.



He bought Buffalo Bill as an unnamed yearling and breeder Rupert Plersch apparently named him upon learning of the buyer’s nickname from Goss.

The small but talented filly Do You Remember was moving very easily in a light workout at Clairwood on Monday and trainer Geoff Woodruff reckoned her gate speed would help her stay out of trouble in the early stages of the Vodacom Durban July on Saturday from her good draw of four.



Interestingly, the Silvano three-year-old filly, at 428kg, weighs about the same as Faralmond, who finished fourth and second respectively for Woodruff in 1997 and 1998.



Woodruff said, “She is certainly as good as Faralmond was.”



He added that another comparison was her “good, long action.”



He continued, “She has blossomed at the right time.”



Do You Remember finished second to the brilliant Cherry On The Top in all three legs of the Triple Tiara in Johannesburg and then won the Grade 1 Woolavington 2000 at Greyville, beating the latter into fourth place.



“Cherry On The Top is a serious horse,” said Woodruff, who agreed that she had run well below her best in that last race.



Do You Remember was ridden by heavyweight jockey Bernard Fayf’herbe at the July Gallops last Thursday and was carrying about 7kg more than the companion she finished alongside, the two-year-old feature winner, Arcetri Pink.



“It’s just maintenance work from now on,” said Woodruff.



The neat bay filly will be ridden by twice-July winning jockey Robbie Fradd and will love the 2200m trip, so will be running on all the way to the line.



However, with 54,5kg on her back, she doesn’t have an easy task receiving only 0,5kg from the highest rated three-year-old colts and geldings, Capetown Noir, No Worries and Wylie Hall respectively.



Arcetri Pink, an Australian-bred by Rock Of Gibraltar, runs in the Grade 1 Zulu Kingdom Explorer Golden Slipper over 1400m.



She was found to have injured a pelvic joint after jumping awkwardly and then “not feeling right the whole way” in the Grade 2 Fillies Nursery.



Woodruff said, “Her runs before that were very good. She showed her wellbeing at the July gallops and possibly some of her ability. She is quite smart.”



He has always felt she would get this trip.



Considering the pace and acceleration she showed when winning the Grade 3 Pretty Polly Stakes over 1100m at Turffontein, she can’t be discounted, although her draw of ten will be a bit tricky.



Fradd also rides Arcetri Pink.



Woodruff runs Delicious Darwin, an Australian-bred gelding by Hussonet, in the second, a Juvenile Plate over 1900m.



He said, “We expect a better run than last time (over 1400m). He was trapped wide and ran on strongly from way out of his ground.”



He looks likely to enjoy this trip.



The yard also runs Sabadell in the Listed Thukela Handicap over 1600m.



Woodruff said this three-year-old Var gelding, who has been at Clairwood for about a week, was beginning to flourish into a nice horse.



“If he had a good draw, I would have been pretty confident. From draw 16 he will need a lot of luck, but is not out of it.”

Punta Arenas is thought by many to be one of the best handicapped horses in the Vodacom Durban July and trainer Stan Elley reckoned the four-year-old Silvano gelding would be “spot on” for Saturday’s big race.



“His work has gone very well,” he said.



Jockey Aldo Domeyer will have to contend with a wide draw, but this did not stop him winning the J&B Met aboard Martial Eagle in February.



Elley said, “We’d rather be drawn lower, but we’ve got to deal with it and if you look through the list of July winners there have been a lot that have won from out there.”



He continued, “Punta Arenas likes to have a lead and will settle better if he’s in behind horses, but that’s the jockey’s problem. You can lay out plans, but in the July you need a lot of luck.”



In his final race as a three-year-old, he won the Grade 3 Winter Derby over 2400m at Kenilworth by a comfortable three lengths and it wasn’t long afterwards, about a year ago, that Elley began planning his July bid.



He said, “I thought at the time that he stayed well and would keep on improving. I reckoned that if we chose his races carefully and could get into the race with a decent weight, he would be competitive. We skipped races where we could have got big penalties. We were also a touch lucky, as his last run in the Cup Trial was a touch below his best. But rather have a below par run there than in the July. Also, if he’d won it he would now be carrying 55,5kg.”



As it happens, he goes in with 53,5kg, which means that at the weights he will have a chance on paper of finishing alongside three July horses he has met this season, Hill Fifty Four, Astro News and Pomodoro.



Two of the owners of Punta Arenas, Mike Fullard and James Drew, were also connected to the Elley-trained Red Badge, who finished third in the July in two successive years, 2003 and 2004.



Punta Arenas is also part-owned by Butch Watson-Smith, a former Springbok rugby manager, although he will race in the familiar white, gold and blue colours of Fullard and Drew.

Anton Marcus will make a decision tomorrow (Thursday) whether he will ride in the Vodacom Durban July or not.



The reigning champion jockey snapped a tendon in his thumb earlier this year and had to have a pin inserted.



He is booked to ride the Vaughan Marshall-trained Hill Fifty Four in the July and said on Sunday, “The thumb is still pretty sore and I will stretch it this week and assess whether I can handle the pain or not. I would like to ride in the July, but if I feel that I won’t be able to do a proper job I won’t ride.”



Marcus hasn’t ridden in any races since bringing home the Equus Horse Of The Year Variety Club in the Grade 1 Gold Challenge over 1600m at Clairwood on June 8.



The pin will come out next week (the week after the July) and the thumb will then require at least a two week recovery period.



Marcus said that after the removal of the pin he would have a period of rest, but hoped he would make it back for the Gold Cup on Super Saturday.

Durban July Trainer Comments - Winning Form