Gold Circle Pty (Ltd)

Today's Racing :

Tough task awaits July panel

David Thiselton
The panel that decides upon the final Vodacom Durban July field, which will be announced at a function at Greyville on Thursday, will have a few headaches this year. There are 29 horses still in the reckoning, but those with realistic chances of getting into the 20 horse field can be narrowed down to 24.
The five that look likely to be automatic eliminations are Sangria Girl, who was injured in the Canon Gold Cup and has a merit rating of only 98, Saluki who was merit rated only 91 before running fourth in a Pinnacle Plate on Sunday, Bouquet-Garni, who is merit rated 98, Fort Petersburg, merit rated 97 and Galanthus who had some good Johannesburg form but is merit rated only 100 and has never raced beyond 1 600m. There are 15 horses that look certain to get in and the nine likely to fight it out for the remaining five places are Captain Scott, Al’s Deputy, Grafton Street, Russian Sage, Goat, Service Ace, Vertical Takeoff, Here To Win and Winter’s Night. Only four of these nine are actually in the handicap, Captain Scott, Grafton Street, Russian Sage and Goat.
Captain Scott finished a close second in a traditional July pointer, the Grade 3 Cup Trials in his penultimate start. This season he has also won a Listed race over 1 450m, finished third in the Grade 2 Charity Mile, finished a 0,35 length fourth in the Grade 1 Summer Cup when giving the winner, Aslan 1,5kg, and finished second in a Grade 3 over 1 800m. Grafton Street, the fairytale horse who has come back from a hack yard, won the Grade 2 Premier’s Trophy way back in 2005 and has done little wrong this season, winning four of his last six starts in handicaps from 1 600-2 000m. Despite his age of eight, he is unexposed in big races this season, which gives him dark horse status.
Russian Sage was the Equus Champion three-year-old in 2008, although the three-year-old male crop that year was weak overall. Still he did finish only 3,35 lengths behind Pocket Power and Dancer’s Daughter in the July. This season, after returning from overseas, he has run two thirds, one over a too short 1 200m and the other in a Listed handicap over 1 600m at Greyville. He would appreciate the step up to 2 200m. Goat, winner of the Grade 2 Gold Circle Oaks last season, made a cracking start to the Champions Season, finishing a flying second in the Listed Scarlet Lady over 1 800m with topweight, before running on very well for third in a traditional July pointer, the Betting World 1900 behind Bold Silvano and Aslan, beating the likes of joint-July favourite, Fort Vogue. She had excuses in her poor Cup Trial run, returning with a sore hoof, and wasn’t disgraced in the Gold Bracelet over 2 000m, finishing four lengths behind River Jetez at level weights. She probably needed that run after her hoof problem and will receive 3kg from River Jetez in the July.
Al’s Deputy, 1kg under sufferance, earned his high 105 rating on the grounds of a third place in the KRA Guineas and a fifth in the Daily News 2000.
The question is how strong those that finished behind him were. He finished way back in the Grade 2 Gold Circle Derby and in his only stakes race against older horses, in Sunday’s Listed KZN Breeders over 1 600m, he finished midfield.
Vertical Takeoff is a four-year-old rated only 101, thus being 1kg under sufferance, but he won the Grade 2 Colorado King Stakes over 2 000m in April and finished runner up in the Grade 1 Canon Gold Cup. Service Ace is a three-year-old rated 104 and is thus 1,5kg under sufferance. He is lightly-raced and finished third, albeit pretty well beaten, in both the Grade 1 SA Derby and Grade 2 Gold Circle Derby respectively. Here To Win, a three-year-old filly rated 102, is 1,5kg under sufferance. However, she has won a Grade 1 race, the SA Fillies Classic, and also finished second in the recent Grade 2 Gold Circle Oaks. She also has two Grade 2 fourth places this season. Winter’s Night is a most interesting candidate, for whilst being a 3-year-old rated only 100, and thus 3,5kg under sufferance, he has been cleaning up in Zim under Lisa Harris.

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