Gold Circle Pty (Ltd)

Today's Racing :

Fair wind still blowing

David Thiselton
Sean Tarry, referring to Aslan’s disappointing last place finish in the Pinnacle Stakes event over 1 800m at Clairwood on Sunday, his last race before the Vodacom Durban July, said yesterday “the run didn’t knock any wind out of my sail.”
“I can’t read anything into that race. If you put Aslan in a race over a mile against those horses they would beat him every time. He is a staying type of horse. I don’t want to criticise Raymond Danielson as he doesn’t know the horse well and obviously felt that he was travelling comfortably in behind the field. But it was a slow pace and turned into a sprint. He is not the type who is going to out-sprint them down the straight.”
Tarry added, “He is fine. He has recovered well and is eating up. I would have preferred it if he had had a bit of a harder race, but there is still his July gallop to come.”
Felix Coetzee, who rode Aslan to victory in this season’s Grade 1 Summer Cup over 2 000m at Turffontein and has ridden him nine times in total, will be reunited with the four-year-old Silvano gelding for the July.
“Felix knows him very well and gets on with him,’’ said Tarry. “He is a difficult horse.”
Aslan showed signs of stubbornness before his last start at Greyville on June 18, refusing to go down to the start. Coetzee had to dismount and lead him for some of the way.
However, this does not appear to affect his performance as he did the same before the Summer Cup.
Coetzee, who was away in Singapore over the weekend riding for Pat Shaw in the Singapore Derby, confirmed Tarry’s opinion on Sunday’s race.
“I haven’t spoken to Sean yet, but I heard the race was slow run and didn’t pan out for him. We know this horse very well and he’s definitely not the type who is going to accelerate from behind and pass them in a slow run race. You could see it in the Summer Cup. He tuned for home handy, they kept coming at him and he kept fighting them off.’’
Coetzee, who has won three Julys, said he was very happy to be aboard Aslan for the big race and added, “He is a very, very genuine horse and will be right there.’’
Tarry was also bullish, although not as confident as he was before the 2007 July when finishing second and an unlucky sixth with Buy And Sell and Succesful Bidder respectively.
“I thought the numbers were in the frame that year,’’ he recalled, “But I think Aslan has a good chance.’’
Felix Coetzee rode for the first time in Singapore on Sunday when he rode the Pat Shaw-trained Escamonda in the Group 1 Singapore Derby over 2 000m.
Escamonda is a front-running type, but the race didn’t pan out well as another horse took him on in the front, and he faded to finish downfield.
However Coetzee said, “It was a very good experience. Pat Shaw is a great horseman and I learnt quite a bit. I hope to go back and ride for him again. The track is simple enough to ride. I was surprised as it is a lot smaller than it looks on TV.’’

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