2011 June

Stable’s runner comments

June 30, 2011 By admin 2 Comments

THE Mike de Kock yard has 20 runners on Vodacom Durban July day [Read more...]

Filed Under: Featured

Ramsay’s 69th July

June 30, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

JACK Ramsay, a doyen of racing journalism through much of the 20th century, will be watching his 69th Vodacom Durban July on Saturday and fancies the favourite Igugu very strongly.

Ramsay will turn 90 about a week after Africa’s Greatest Horseracing Event event and racing has been in his blood for his whole life.

Jack Ramsay. (Gold Circle).

He said, “Next to Dynasty (the 2003 winner) Igugu has the best characteristics I’ve seen to win the July. I think she is something special. She has a magnificent stride and just wants to win. She has that ‘come and get me’ presence about her. I felt as confident before Dynasty’s win. People tried to find fault with him even though, like Igugu, he had done everything. What did they want him and what do they want her to do – sit up and sing?!”

Ramsay views The Apache and Run For It as Igugu’s main dangers.

He said, “Seldom does a bad horse win the Dingaans and The Apache won it very easily. Then, considering he had come back from a long break, his win in the Daily News was excellent. Run For It’s J&B Met run (third place) was very good. He has done nothing wrong and I think he is only now coming to his peak.”

Regarding the pace, Ramsay said, “I don’t think the pace will affect Igugu. She has the speed to be up there and has the stamina to stay all day. She also has a very good jockey (Anthony Delpech).”

Ramsay said that two July’s stood out as his most memorable.

“Sea Cottage’s dead-heat with Jollify in 1967 and when Mowgli beat Radlington in 1952 were the best,” he said.

He was working for the Rand Daily Mail in 1952 and The Mercury in 1967 and tipped both of those great horses to win.

Ramsay’s parents both owned horses and as a fifteen-year-old he worked on the racecourse counting money.

“I also used to punt illegally at that age,” he laughed. “I grew up with racing and loved it. I rode work and have been racing all around the world. I saw Secretariat winning the Belmont by 31 lengths. He was the greatest horse I’ve seen. I also saw Brigadier Gerard, Mill Reef, Nijinsky and Blue Peter. I rode in amateur races at Scottsville and in England.”

Ramsay was a racing journalist for 52 years and said, “My work has been my life and I’ve loved it. I have met very nice people all over the world and have made lots of friends.”

He reckoned the July was a “great race.”

“It is one of those races that has something about it and it hasn’t lost anything over the years,” he said.

Ramsay belies his age very noticeably.

He rides his bicycle everyday for about two hours along the beach front and follows this by swimming 10 lengths at the local baths.

Ramsay is likely the longest standing member of Gold Circle, having joined the Durban Turf club in 1946.

He has earned the respect of many generations with his immense racing knowledge and his July views are sure to be taken note of.

Filed Under: News Briefs

TAB All-To-Come July bonus

June 26, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

THE Vodacom Durban July at Greyville this Saturday is South Africa’s biggest betting day [Read more...]

Filed Under: News Briefs

Mdk on July, a week away

June 25, 2011 By admin 1 Comment

MIKE de Kock is happy with all five of his Vodacom Durban July contenders, and is expecting good runs from all of them in Africa’s Greatest Horseracing Event. DAVID THISELTON filed this interview with Mike a week away from the big day.

Mike’s charge Igugu is the ruling 28-10 favourite and will attempt to become the fourth three-year-old filly in history to win the July following Peerless in 1903, Migraine in 1957 and the de Kock-trained Ipi Tombe in 2002.

Comparing Igugu to Ipi Tombe, De Kock said, “They are two different types of horses as Ipi Tombe had a lot more speed.”

In contrast Igugu appears to get better the further she goes and De Kock pointed out that she can run from the front or come from off the pace.

De Kock finds the three-year-old colts difficult to assess this year, but has no such qualms about the three-year-old fillies, especially the Triple Tiara-winning superstar Igugu.

“She ran against older fillies like Headstrong, Miss Turbulence and Alderry at weight-for-age terms in just her third career start and killed them,” he said. “In her last start she beat the Grade 1 winner Emerald Cove comfortably.”

Ipi Tombe, 2002 VDJ winner.

Ipi Tombe won the Woolavington hard held in her last start before the July by 2,25 lengths, while Igugu led all the way to win that same race by 2,75 lengths.

De Kock is very happy with Igugu’s draw of 10, while the 12-1 shot Galileo’s Destiny is drawn even better in stall eight.

Like Igugu, Galileo’s Destiny is by Galileo, one of the world’s leading sires.

He had his first run for the De Kock yard in the Grade 3 Cup Trial over 1800m on June 13 and lost by 1,5 lengths to Super Storm, whom he will face on 0,5kg better terms in the July.

He said, “Galileo’s Destiny is doing very well. He needed his last run and is improving all the time.”

Galileo’s Destiny finished in the top three in five Graded races for Charles Laird, including the Grade 1 SA Classic over 1800m and Grade 1 SA Derby over 2450m.

De Kock said about the three-year-old colts, “A new one seems to win every time, but the one three-year-old who did run against older horses, Run For It, ran third in the J&B Met. That was a helluva run, although it was in a very slow run race. He hasn’t produced that form again, but I make him the best of the three-year-old colts.”

He said of his Grade 1 Summer Cup winner, Flirtation, who hasn’t run since finishing third in the Grade 1 Champions Challenge, “She is doing very well and I think for an older filly she is well weighted. She runs very well fresh.”

She unfortunately has the widest draw of all but that didn’t stop the de Kock-trained three-year-old filly Zirconeum from finishing second in 2009.

De Kock’s other two runners are the 66-1 and 100-1 outsiders Captain’s Wild and Safwan respectively.

Many suspect the latter could be used to set a good pace like the yard’s runner Red Rake did last year.

“I will decide on the day how we will run him,” said De Kock.

Captain’s Wild showed his suitability to the trip when running on well, albeit in a slow run race, for a narrow second in the Champions Challenge over 2000m, beating Vdoacom Durban July contenders Flirtation and Bulsara.

He ran well down the field in the Cup Trial last time in soft ground in what was likely a preparation outing and he has a tough draw of 18 in the July.

De Kock views Run For It as his main danger and also mentioned Bravura as a horse who was at the top of a good generation.