Final Field - Mercury Sprint

After contesting last weekend’s Vodacom Durban July run over 2200m, Our Giant reverts to sprints next Sunday, July 19, where he is due to line up in the R600,000 The Mercury Sprint (Gr 1) to be run over 1200m at Clairwood.

Our Giant ran an excellent race in the July, finishing in seventh place beaten just over three lengths by Big City Life. Many pundits felt that the Charles Laird-trained runner was not certain to see out the July distance, but the Australian import will certainly strip a mighty fit horse for The Mercury Sprint and may well prefer this reduced trip.

As has become the norm this winter, trainer Mike Bass holds a strong hand and will saddle Blue Tiger and Gaultier. Both ran in the recent Golden Horse Casino Sprint (Gr 1) at Scottsville with Gaultier finishing a neck ahead of his stable companion in fourth place. Gaultier arrived in KZN with the Golden Horse and The Mercury Sprint at the top of his agenda and Bass is sure to be looking for a bolder showing this time round.

Blue Tiger has had an outing since the Golden Horse and finished fourth, beaten just over two lengths by Pocket Power in the Gold Challenge (Gr 1) run over 1600m at Clairwood. A head behind him that day was Our Giant.

Summerveld-based trainer Dennis Drier will also saddle a brace of runners in the form of Post Merchants winner Sharks Bay and Archipeligo.

Another antipodean import, Sharks Bay , is one of the more promising young sprinters around and finished with a rattle to catch Thunder Key on the line in the Merchants run at Greyville. He is a little out at the weights in this Weight-For-Age contest but is sure to be among the more fancied runners on the day.

Glen Kotzen has had a dream Champions Season and will be hoping that Thunder Key can turn the tables on Sharks Bay although his charge will be 1,5kg worse off at the weights this time round.

Gary Alexander sends out Lightning Lecture who finished just two lengths back in a blanket finish to The Post Merchants and could possibly fare better down the Clairwood straight.

The highly consistent Colin Scott-trained Extinct was fourth in the Post Merchants and will be looking for his eighth career victory and his first Grade 1.











Andrew Harrison

Communications Department

I like Sharks Bay to win this. Is it just me or does this race have a weaker feel this year. There seems to be gaps appearing in our major races. Dollars killing these races off.

Must say strange to see Our Giant in a sprint field, but sure the connections have some plan?

Jockey bookings say anything about the bass pair?

Would guess Blue Tiger?

Scotia - I stand to be corrected but Kildonan won a big sprint beating Mythical Flight before going into the July.

Succesful Bidder won the Merchants grade 2 at Turfies in 2007 beating some good sprinters.

Some times class just shines through over any distance.

not to forget my fav Flaming Rock

Our Giant is the only Gr 1 winner in a field much watered down by injuries, retirements, and suspensions. Neisius regularly rides Gaultier so I think there is nothing to be gleaned from Bass jockey bookings.

Noticed blue tiger has been added to the Champions cup Field,read anything in this?

Champions Cup Field

Pacemaker...? He did the job in the Gold Challenge and lo and behold, we got the 'right' result. Hopefully he will again allow PP to run his true race.

Im not sure that it was the intention to let Blue Tiger lead in that race. I think that he found himself in front by accident and just continued to run.

I may have miss understood Hotlines comments on track that day though.