Gold Circle Pty (Ltd)

Today's Racing :

Tarry on the GommaGomma

David Thiselton
Sean Tarry has a strong hand for Africa’s richest race, the R3,5 million GommaGomma Challenge over 2000m to be run at Turffontein on Saturday, and he was bullish about the chances of his trio, Succesful Bidder, Bound By Honour and Fork Lightening.
“In my opinion Succesful Bidder is the best horse in the race and has had an excellent preparation,” he said.
The six-year-old Jallad gelding’s form has appeared to have tapered lately on paper compared to his excellent five-year-old year but form can sometimes tell a lie.
Certainly in his last race in the Grade I Horse Chestnut over 1600m on the standside track he enjoyed no luck at all. First of all he was drawn widest of all in stall 13 and had to be dropped out into last position. Brett Smith brought him wide into the straight for his challenge only to find his path blocked by a wall of horses. He elected to shift him all the way across towards the inside but found more traffic problems there before running on for 3,6 length eighth to Our Giant, whom he faces on the same terms on Saturday.
Tarry added, “He travelled badly to Cape Town and never really recovered in his stint down there. However he still finished a close up 1,85 length third to Pocket Power in the Queen’s Plate and in the Met his tongue tie came loose in the pens but he finished only 3,35 lengths back. In his comeback 1400m on the Highveld I didn’t have him ready and then in the Horse Chestnut he couldn’t get a run for 400m. My one concern is that I’m not convinced that the tough Turffontein 2000m is ideal for him. His best track in the country is Greyville, despite his excellent record at Clairwood, as he just seems to turn it on more on that track in the straight than anywhere else.”
Succesful Bidder has a good draw of five and stable jockey Brett Smith will ride him.
He has drifted out from 9/2 to 6/1 with bookmakers although he is still second favourite behind Our Giant who has remained firm at 5/2.
Tarry’s second runner according to bookmakers is 12/1 shot Bound By Honour who will be ridden by Anthony Delpech. The former champion jockey has as expected made a big impact since his return from Hong Kong like all jockeys coming from that ultra-competitive centre where sectional timing is used in both training and racing.
Bound By Honour has won his last two races, both on Turffontein standside, a Listed event over 2450m and the Grade II Colorado King Stakes over this course and distance.
That last win was particularly impressive as he fought off Likeithot with whom he was 2,5kg under sufferance according to Merit Ratings and the pair were eight lengths clear of the rest of the field. He has duly received a five point Merit Rated raise.
Tarry said, “I always thought he would improve as a four-year-old but thought he would have made that improvement to run a big race in the Summer Cup. However he let us down there so we took it easy for a while and then brought him back into the features and six months down the line he has now made that improvement we always expected. The only concern is his wide draw.”
Fork Lightening, who will be ridden by high-flying Kevin Shea fresh from his big win in Hong, is the outsider of the trio at 25/1 but Tarry is not discounting his chances.
He said, “I’ve always said that this horse does not handle cut in the ground and since returning from Durban, where he was unlucky not to win the Grade II Astrapak at Greyville over 1900m, he has never got his ground. His form can basically be ignored since then. I don’t want to say it too loudly but there has been no hint of rain up here. He came third in this race two years ago as a four-year-old so you can’t tell me that as a six-year-old he won’t stay the trip. He has me beat, I’m not sure what he likes and doesn’t like as he has performed well on all sorts of tracks and from 1400m up to 2000m. One thing is that he had a blinding turn of foot as a youngster and so we used to drop him out but then he sometimes had to contend with slow run races and couldn’t make it up. He has Kevin Shea aboard, what more can ÿ¿O

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