FOLLOWING the second declaration stage on Monday morning, 34 of the original 71 entries stood their ground and the Geoff Woodruff trained Yorker retains his top spot on the Vodacom Durban July log ahead of the Daily News winner Legislate.

Following his close second to Legislate, Rake’s Chestnut has launched himself up the ladder from complete obscurity to position number 6 on the log. His stable companion, Louis The King, holds third spot followed by Capetown Noir and the Woolavington winner, In The Fast Lane.

A maximum field of 16 runners will face the starter for the 2014 Vodacom Durban July and today’s log reflects the composition of the field as if the race were to be run at this point in time.

Espumanti looks solid at No 10 on the latest Durban July Log.

However, with Clairwood playing host to the Rising Sun Gold Challenge (Gr 1) and the Cup Trial (Gr 3) on Saturday, there is still an opportunity for others to stake their claim for inclusion in the final field. The following weekend sees the running of the Jubilee Handicap (Gr 3) in Johannesburg and the Betting World Stakes and Betting World Oaks as last gasp opportunities for consideration.

Weights for the Vodacom Durban July will be published on Tuesday 10 June and the final declarations fall due on Monday 23 June.

LOG AS AT TUESDAY 3 JUNE 2014

TOP 20

No. NAME Trainer MR

1 YORKER Geoff Woodruff 118
2 LEGISLATE Justin Snaith 110
3 LOUIS THE KING Geoff Woodruff 109
4 CAPETOWN NOIR Dean Kannemeyer 112
5 IN THE FAST LANE Justin Snaith 106
6 RAKE’S CHESTNUT Geoff Woodruff 109
7 BEACH BEAUTY Dennis Drier 112
8 TELLINA Geoff Woodruff 110
9 CHERRY ON THE TOP Ormond Ferraris 107
10 ESPUMANTI Mike de Kock 108
11 ALONG CAME POLLY Gavin van Zyl 105
12 WYLIE HALL Weiho Marwing 109
13 PUNTA ARENAS Stan Elley 108
14 JET EXPLORER Justin Snaith 109
15 CAPTAIN AMERICA Brett Crawford 106
16 WHITELINE FEVER Sean Tarry 110
17 HALVE THE DEFICIT Sean Tarry 104
18 POMODORO Sean Tarry 107
19 JET BELLE Glen Kotzen 103
20 MASTER SABINA Geoff Woodruff 100

NEXT 5 IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

ASTRO NEWS Charles Laird 109
FUTURA Brett Crawford 101
ICE MACHINE Dean Kannemeyer 108
RIO CARNIVAL Charles Laird 112
RUN FOR IT Justin Snaith 108