THE results of the Rising Sun Gold Challenge and The Cup Trial had the selection panel who decided the field for next month’s Vodacom Durban July scratching their heads but when the field was announced at a function at Greyville Racecourse this afternoon, there were few hard luck stories and the field was pretty much as expected.
Ruling ante-post favourite Igugu was numbered among five entries for champion trainer Mike de Kock but trainer, owners and punters alike were left hanging at the draw. In a new format, a trainer’s name was drawn out of the hat and thereafter it was up to the trainer or his representative to draw for their horse’s barrier position in race number order.
De Kock’s name was last out of the hat and among the last five barrier positions left were 18,19 and 20.
Assistant trainer John Buckler, doing duty for the De Kock yard, drew 10 for the super filly, Igugu, who will be ridden by regular pilot Anthony Delpech.
Kevin Shea will need to shed a kilo or two to make the weight on stable companion Galileo’s Destiny who also drew well at 8 while the other De Kock runners, Captain’s Wild, Safwan and Flirtation drew 18, 19 and 20 respectively.
The Mike Bass-trained Super Storm cracked a last minute invite by winning the Cup Trial at Clairwood on Monday, the traditional “last chance saloon” for runners making it into the July field. Bass drew gate 9 for his runner and barrier 5 for SA Classic winner English Garden. Castlethorpe drew even closer in at 3.
The field is:
| SC | DR | HORSE | WGT | M/R | JOCKEY | TRAINER | |
| 1 | 7 | PAST MASTER | 60.0 | 115 | BA | Gerrit Schlechter | Darryl Hodgson |
| 2 | 2 | BIG CITY LIFE | 59.5 | 112 | A | Andrew Fortune | Glen Kotzen |
| 3 | 11 | BRAVURA | 57.5 | 113 | A | Anton Marcus | Joey Ramsden |
| 4 | 4 | PIERRE JOURDAN | 57.5 | 110 | A | Dougie Whyte | Gary Alexander |
| 5 | 18 | CAPTAIN’S WILD | 56.5 | 108 | A | Randall Simons | Mike de Kock |
| 6 | 16 | LION IN WINTER | 56.5 | 108 | A | Glen Hatt | Joey Ramsden |
| 7 | 17 | HAPPY LANDING | 56.0 | 107 | BA | Muzi Yeni | Joe Soma |
| 8 | 15 | VERTICAL TAKEOFF | 55.5 | 106 | A | _________________ | Sean Tarry |
| 9 | 10 | IGUGU (AUS) | 55.0 | 109 | A | Anthony Delpech | Mike de Kock |
| 10 | 14 | RUN FOR IT | 55.0 | 109 | A | Felix Coetzee | Justin Snaith |
| 11 | 6 | THE APACHE | 55.0 | 109 | A | Raymond Danielson | Gavin van Zyl |
| 12 | 1 | BULSARA | 55.0 | 108 | BA | Bernard Fayd’Herbe | Gavin van Zyl |
| 13 | 5 | ENGLISH GARDEN | 54.5 | 108 | A | Karl Neisius | Mike Bass |
| 14 | 20 | FLIRTATION | 54.5 | 104 | A | Gavin Lerena | Mike de Kock |
| 15 | 12 | BLACK WING | 54.0 | 107 | A | Ian Sturgeon | Paul Gadsby |
| 16 | 19 | SAFWAN (AUS) | 54.0 | 103 | A | Billy Jacobson | Mike de Kock |
| 17 | 3 | CASTLETHORPE (AUS) | 53.0 | 108 | A | _________________ | Mike Bass |
| 18 | 13 | EMERALD COVE | 53.0 | 105 | A | Richard Fourie | Justin Snaith |
| 19 | 8 | GALILEO’S DESTINY | 53.0 | 104 | A | Kevin Shea | Mike de Kock |
| 20 | 9 | SUPER STORM | 53.0 | 102 | A | _________________ | Mike Bass |
| Couplings: (3,6) (5,9,14,16,19) (10,18) (11,12) (13,17,20) | |||||||
1 Comment
ITS A ROYAL AFFAIR
On July day the red carpet will be rolled out at Greyville for the Princess of the turf (Igugu , who proved herself as the best filly in SA) trained by the God of racing (Mike De Kock that outshone the best in the world) and will be ridden by the King of jockeys (Anthony Delpech that outshone the best in the world) for those who think I’m crazy to make such a statement go and check the statistics. If ever there was a “sitter” in the July, here`s one for you. Keep up the good work all of you, just wished you could manage Telly track because it is so obvious those guys don’t have a clue.
BREAK A LEG