THE stable’s new acquisition Wild One has a small chance of making the 2014 Durban July field after his narrow win under Anthony Delpech in Saturday’s Gr3 Lonsdale Stirrup Cup over 2400m at Greyville. (Headline photo shows Wild One, yellow silks on the far side, sticking gamely to his task).

Mike de Kock described Wild One as a runner who has more wins in him. The four-year-old will also be considered for the Gr3 Campanjo 2200 (the old Durban July Consolation) and the Gr2 Gold Vase over 3000m, which means that owner Sean Phillips is likely to have a runner on July Day whichever way the cookie crumbles.

Wild One, placed in the Gr1 SA Derby as a three-year-old, also ran within 3.5-lengths of Vercingetorix and Cape Town Noir in the 2013 Gr1 Daily News – a formline franked a number of times in South Africa and Dubai in the year since.

Mike said: “Wild One was well in at the weights in the Lonsdale due to his low rating, but he’ll be competitive going forward even off a higher mark. We’ve only had him for a month, he will improve more. He’ll also be suited to a quicker pace than the slow clip we had in the Lonsdale. Who knows, maybe we’ll get lucky when they decide on the final field for the big race!”

Wild One is a son of Mogok bred by Scott Brothers. Bought for only R95,000 at the 2011 KZN Suncoast Sale, his earnings after 14 runs is now in excess of R450,000.

Mike gave his post-race views on Whistle Stop (beaten 11.5 lengths in Saturday’s Daily News) and Square Dance (a distance behind in the Woolavington), rapping himself over the knuckles.

He commented: “We rushed Whistle Stop into the Daily News after a long rest and illness, giving him two tough runs within a week because he was due to go into quarantine this weekend and it was the last roll of the dice. This was completely out of character for us, this is not the way we prepare runners for an ordinary race, let alone a Gr1 feature. It was a mistake, a stupid thing to do. Just shows you, one never stops learning in racing.

“Square Dance failed to fire, she was uncomfortable on the poor racing surface. She’s immature still, we’ll put her away for a while.”