Gold Circle Pty (Ltd)

Today's Racing :

Judges can't seperate Pocket Power and Dancer's Daughter

David Thiselton
The Vodacom Durban July drew a crowd of 50 000 to Greyville yesterday and the race couldn’t have been better scripted as the two class horses of the race, Pocket Power and Dancer’s Daughter, went past the line as one, the first dead-heat since the famous Sea Cottage shared first place with Jollify in 1967.
Winning trainers Mike Bass and Justin Snaith, both from the Cape, are good friends, but ultra competitive too, and they have watched each others horses every morning at Clairwood in what had been a fascinating Champion’s Season build up to Africa’s most prestigious race.
The two trainers have proven themselves brilliant conditioners, Bass over a number of years as he bagged his third July, and Snaith latterly but especially this season, having now won seven Grade I races since August 1 last year. This was his first ever runner in the July, although his father Chris had won the race with Flaming Rock in 1991.
Kevin Shea, who rode Dancer’s Daughter, was the last jockey to win the July on a filly, on Ipi Tombe in 2002, and this was his second win in the big race while Bernard Fayd’herbe, who rode Pocket Power, was in the July winner’s enclosure for the first time.
Pocket Power, who became the first horse to win the Queen’s Plate and J&B Met twice each in successive seasons since the great Politician in 1978 and 1979, now joins the latter as a winner of the July and there is now no doubt that he deserves his place among the greats.
The critics had questioned his ability away from his home town, having never won outside Kenilworth in four attempts, but he has now done it and in the process he gave the great sire and ruling champion stallion, Jet Master, his first win in the big race too.
Dancer’s Daughter also went into the race with question marks, her habit of pulling for her head creating a doubt about whether she would see out the 2 200m trip.
In fact jockey Weichong Marwing, who was originally booked to ride her, decided to opt for the Ormond Ferraris-trained She’s On Fire three weeks ago, apparently believing she wouldn’t see out the July journey.
The pundits largely got it right this year, the majority of them believing that the three-year-old male form was dubious, and indeed the first six places were filled by older horses.
The inexperienced Sean Tarry-trained three-year-old filly, Wendywood, put up a fine effort, finishing in eighth just a short-head behind the first three-year-old male home, the Snaith-trained Russian Sage.
Pocket Power and Dancer’s Daughter, burst on to the scene towards the outside at the 200 m mark, courage and power etched into every bone.
The two fought out a finish as the crowd roared and rose to their feet.
Pocket Power, looked the winner and was hailed as such by many, but Dancer’s Daughter had fought all the way and as the attention turned to the replay the sentiment began shifting towards her, as her nose was ahead just a fraction before the line.
It was literally decided on the nod of the head, as Dancer’s Daughter would have won inches before the line while Pocket Power would have won inches past it, but the best result prevailed.

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