THE entries for the other Graded races to be run on Vodacom Durban July Day next month were opened yesterday, with Ebony Flyer and Princess Victoria heading up the entries for the R500,000 Garden Province Stakes (Grade 1, weight-for-age) over 1600m.
Justin Snaith-trained Ebony Flyer is a top-class four-year-old, who is at her best from 1200m to 1600m. She won the Cape Fillies Guineas last season and has taken two other G1 titles, in the Klawervlei Majorca Stakes (1600m) at Kenilworth in January and the South African Fillies Sprint (1200m) at Scottsville last month.
Atlantic Oak, Garden Province entry.
Princess Victoria finished behind Ebony Flyer in the South African Fillies Sprint, but Sean Cormack elected to hold his position down the middle of the course when the better going was on the inside. The jockey did say that trainer Glen Kotzen’s charge did not run to her true ability that day.
Princess Victoria, also a three-time G1-winning filly, redeemed herself with a good win in the G3 Tibouchina Stakes at Clairwood last Saturday and on merit ratings there should not be much separating the two horses. They look head and shoulders above the other horses in the entry.
Two G1 juvenile events will be run at the meeting, the R500,000 Golden Horseshoe over 1400m and the R500,000 Golden Slipper (Fillies) over 1400m.
G1 Gold Medallion winner Potent Power is one of the 32 entries for the Golden Horseshoe. Trainer Dennis Drier’s runner is unofficially the highest-rated runner on the list – two-year-olds are not assessed by the handicappers. Ziparana, runner-up to Soft Falling Rain in the SA Nursery but only fifth in the Gold Medallion, has also been nominated.
The first and third runners past the post in the recent G1 Allan Robertson Championship at Scottsville, All Is Secret and Valdivia, have been entered for the Golden Slipper, as has SA Fillies Nursery winner King’s Temptress.
The other feature races to be run at the 12-race meeting are the R350,000 Gold Vase (Grade 2) over 3000m, the R200,000 Campanajo 2200 (Grade 3) over 2200m (the Durban July Consolation), the R125,000 Thukela Handicap (Listed) over 1600m and the R110,000 Ethekwini Sprint (for three-year-olds) over 1200m.
The entries for the Grade 1 races (excluding the Durban July) on Saturday 7 July in order of horse, age sex, merit rating and trainer:
R500,000 Garden Province Stakes (G1, F&M, WFA) over 1600m:
EBONY FLYER (4F) 111 Justin Snaith
PRINCESS VICTORIA (3F) 109 Glen Kotzen
MOMBASA (4F) 103 Mike Bass
TRINITY HOUSE (3F) 103 Joey Ramsden
WITHOUT MALICE (4F) 103 George Scott
FREQUENT FLYER (4F) 102 Brett Crawford
THUNDER DANCE (3F) 102 Brett Crawford
HAPPY ARCHER (AUS) (4F) 101 Sean Tarry
FELIX THE CAT (3F) 100 Duncan Howells
REASON TO BELIEVE (3F) 100 Wendy Whitehead
GIVE ME FIVE (5M) 99 Sean Tarry
ATLANTIC OAK (GB) (5M) 98 Mike de Kock
CROC VALLEY (5M) 98 Mike Bass
CHECCETTI (4F) 97 Mike de Kock
GO INDIGO (3F) 97 Leon Erasmus
COUNTRY ROSE (4F) 94 Jeff Freedman
LOUVRE (4F) 94 Weiho Marwing
SECRET BABE (5M) 93 Dennis Drier
AWESOME BEAUTY (3F) 88 Kumaran Naidoo
SUE FOR PEACE (3F) 83 Dennis Drier
TAYBA (2F) 83 Mike de Kock
UP FRONT (3F) 82 Barend Botes
WEST END (5M) 79 Jeff Freedman
SEXY AND FREE (3F) 76 Deon Visser
R500,000 Golden Horseshoe (G1) over 1400m (the merit ratings shown are not official because juveniles are not assessed):
ACT FAST (2C) 87 Vaughan Marshall
ALBERT (2C) 87 Michael Miller
AMERICAN STORM (2C) 86 Spike Lerena
BID FOR SPEED (2C) 69 Alyson Wright
BLACK TOGA (2C) 95 Vaughan Marshall
BLIZZARD OF OZZ (2C) 86 Dennis Drier
BLUSHING PETER (2G) 84 Sean Tarry
CAPTAIN DINO (2G) 86 Greg Ennion
DANESCO (2C) 84 Weiho Marwing
DESERT SHEIK (2C) 83 Mike de Kock
FLY ME OVER (2C) 91 Glen Kotzen
FOREST FIGHTER (2G) 84 Ivan Moore
GO AGAIN (2C) 83 Herman Brown/Frank
I AM WILL (2G) 86 Craig Eudey
INDABA MY CHILDREN (2C) 91 Charles Laird
JOHNNIE QUID (2C) 81 Coenie de Beer
KING’S JET (2G) 84 Alyson Wright
LIVING WITH HEART (2C) 84 Weiho Marwing
LOVE STRUCK (2C) 85 Paul Lafferty
LUXARDO (2C) 82 Herman Brown/Frank
MY JELLY BEAN (2G) 100 Ivan Moore
OTTIMO (AUS) (2C) 92 Justin Snaith
POTENT POWER (2C) 104 Dennis Drier
ROCK OF ARTS (AUS) (2C) 87 Weiho Marwing
SABADELL (2C) 68 Geoff Woodruff
SHIMMER AND SHINE (2G) 83 Greg Ennion
STRONGMIND (2C) 43 Paul Peter
THE HANGMAN (2G) 91 Sean Tarry
TRIPLE PLAY (2C) 68 Adam W Kethro
WAR HORSE (2C) 97 Corne Spies
ZESTFUL (2C) 91 Stuart Pettigrew
ZIPARANA (2C) 98 Weiho Marwing
R500,000 Golden Slipper (G1, Fillies) over 1400m (unofficial ratings; * = unraced):
ALL IS SECRET (2F) 100 Vaughan Marshall
ANNE TRULOVE (2F) 85 Dennis Drier
CATALONIA (2F) 80 David Rahilly
COUNTER RIDGE (2F) 95 Herman Brown/Frank
DIVA’S DAUGHTER (2F) 79 Justin Snaith
DYLAN’S PROMISE (2F) 91 BCharles Laird
FIRE WHEEL (2F) 87 Sean Tarry
ILHA DA ROCK (AUS) (2F) 90 Geoff Woodruff
KING’S TEMPTRESS (2F) 100 Kumaran Naidoo
LADY BIANCA (2F) 78 Herman Brown/Frank
LADY DE WINTER (2F) 83 Wayne Badenhorst
LIZZY GREY (2F) 90 Gavin van Zyl
*MELANCHETE (2F) 0 Alyson Wright
MESMERISING MELODY (2F) 83 Sean Tarry
MURMERING SKY (2F) 87 Dennis Drier
PIRATE GIRL (2F) 85 Alec Laird
PREAMBLE (2F) 83 AT Pat Lunn
SCHIFFER (2F) 86 Dennis Drier
SIZE DOES COUNT (2F) 89 Weiho Marwing
STRAIGHT SET (2F) 96 Corne Spies
TAYBA (2F) 83 Mike de Kock
VALDIVIA (2F) 96 Vaughan Marshall
