Point Of Sale did not have a barrier trial which had some observant punters hot under the collar when she made her debut at Scottsville earlier this month but officials have cut some slack regarding problem horses at a trainer’s request.

Point Of Sale, sporting earmuffs, was in the paddock a good 10 minutes before the rest of the field and left the paddock five minutes before them but showed no signs of being unruly. However, Glen Kotzen, on veterinary advice, was given special dispensation because he had been struggling with the filly’s shins.

In any event, she turned in a cracking first run, gong down narrowly to Angel Bouquet. Warren Kennedy will again be aboard and they can go one better when she lines up in the third, first leg of the Pick 6, on the Greyville poly this afternoon and she is already odds-on in the ante-post market.

Jack’s Bird did have a barrier trial where she was allowed to run along in the hands but turned in a smart debut when finishing second to Captains Love at long odds last month. Other than these two, the field is a little thin on form but the year-older Duchess Lane is far better than her last effort when finishing behind Jack’s Bird while Cop That should prefer the extra.

Miss Jagger has drawn up Marriott Road but should have a bright chance in the fourth. Chesney van Zyl has taken a little time to get to grips with the Summerveld routine since re-locating from the Highveld but his horses are finally turning the corner. Miss Jagger had shown steady improvement before the move and she trialled well.

She will also much prefer today’s 1600m trip but Isikhwami Sami, who has the form to be a big danger, has a plum draw at 2. Her two best runs have been over course and distance and she is a must inclusion in any exotics. Ruby Slippers and Hey Jude look pick of the balance.

Stuart Pettigrew is an accomplished trainer of stayers and American Indian has his first run for the Randjiesfontein trainer after showing consistent form for Ormond Ferraris. This is Pettigrew’s only runner on the day and if American Indian can carry his form through, he is likely to be difficult to beat although he will not be short of opposition.

Silver God was down the field in the Cup Trial but was just over a length back to Eyes Wide Open in the WSB 1900. Silva’s Bullet has been costly to follow but is still marginal favourite with Track And Ball and it is only a matter of time before he lands another victory.

Cape Bluebell has come to hand again and was doing her best work late when beaten less than a length by the promising Marsanne jumping from the worst of the draw. She is back to a sprint when she lines up in the sixth but has drawn mid-field which should help her cause. Call Me Winter tried to make all when stretched to 1400m again but ran out of petrol in the last 100m. She is well suited to today’s trip and should be right there from a good draw. Of the balance, Dream Dancer, current ante-post favourite, was narrowly beaten last run in spite of losing a shoe in the running while top weight Tweed Valley is consistent but does seem best over a furlong shorter.

The seventh is a Fillies and Mares 62 Handicap, a minefield if ever there was one. Blue Flower was not far back in her poly debut and boast some useful Cape form. Written is better than her last effort and has been doing well against stronger. The extra furlong should suit and the Highveld form is generally a little stronger when it comes to the lower divisions.

In the last, another Fillies and Mares 62 Handicap, Oloye is way better than her last effort when drawn badly and she is back on her favourite surface. Current favourite Cherry Pop may have found her last run a touch far but back over shorter with first time blinkers could see her home.

By Andrew Harrison

One of racing’s great characters Raymond Deacon recalled yesterday the moment ten years ago he believed his Glen Kotzen-trained horse Big City Life was going to win the Vodacom Durban July and described a feeling of being in a dream bubble as he charged like a rugby player through a shoulder-to-shoulder crowd for the winner’s enclosure.

His wife Paula turned to daughter Lois and said, “What’s Dad doing, what’s happening?!”

Lois replied, “I think we’ve just won the July!”

Big City life had come into the July off the back of victories in the KRA Guineas and the Daily News 2000, having also won the Investec Cape Derby on J&B Met day.

Raymond described the build-up of “unbelievable pressure” as a seemingly unattainable dream came within grasping distance.

He recalled, “It suddenly all gets released, I can’t think of a better drug, it is just an amazing release of joy. It is probably why we still do our pensions on this game. I could hardly see the horses through the crowd as they went past, but earlier when he hit the front I felt almost as if the script had already been written and there was no way he could lose. I have never had a feeling like it. It all happened in slow motion, I can’t remember any noise, it was like being in a dream where you knew the end result.”  

Raymond always watches races at Greyville from the bottom step of the grandstand opposite the finish line as this was where his late father Maynard watched from.    

He reckoned he reached the short distance to the winner’s enclosure almost before Big City Life had crossed the line and was thankful Gold Circle’s media relations manager Gill Mostert (nee Simpkins) was on hand to tell some irate members of the public he had just won the July. Their irritation turned to cheers and they helped him over the winner’s enclosure railings.  

Raymond said, “I would have looked a right royal idiot if he had not won, we often joke about it, although I would also have been happy with second.”

The memory of the victory is ever present in the Deacon home through a painting and all sorts of memorabilia.

Raymond said, “The only thing I haven’t got from that day is my phone!”

He lost his cellphone during the mayhem that followed the win so was unable to field the myriad of congratulatory messages.

One thing which struck Raymond later was, for the only time in his on-course ownership career, he did not lead his winner in.

He recalled, “I was too busy hugging Frikkie (Greyling – assistant trainer at the time to Glen Kotzen) and the groom.”

Upon receiving the winner’s sash Raymond entertained the crowd with an impromptu dance.

He said, “I don’t even remember doing it but have seen the footage and hope I am capable of dancing better than that! It is hard to explain but the emotion grabbed me and it just felt right.”

He also remembers, upon leaving the winner’s enclosure, a punter grabbing him and throwing him in the air. It was the excited man’s way of thanking Raymond as he had just won the July quartet, which paid a massive amount because 11/2 chance Big City Life was followed home by 55/1, 100/1 and 70/1 shots respectively.

Raymond continued, “One of my best recollections of the day was when Patrick Loker and Gill took us through to the Classic Room and showed us Big City Life’s colours displayed on the wall alongside all the other famous silks which have won the race. That’s when I knew it wasn’t a dream and had really happened.”

Raymond inherited the purple and white colours from his father.

The Chairman’s Dinner, a traditional function in those days on the Monday evening after the July, was also memorable and Raymond said he definitely felt the presence of his father that night.

He said, “It was a glamorous, old fashioned occasion and that is the way my Dad used to race, in a formal suit for every meeting. They also had a band come and sing the popular hit song after which Big City Life was named which was special and so were the 400 drinks, everybody wanted to buy us a drink!”

One of the joint-owners was Raymond’s cousin Glen Mitchell. As youngsters they used to sneak on to the course at Clairwood and help Raymond’s grandfather Reg Deacon in his role as the numbers board operator.

The Big City Life story is of course tinged with sadness.

He brought more joy by finishing third in the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate and then winning the Rising Sun Gold Challenge at Clairwood.

However, after the latter race he pulled a tendon during a workout at Summerveld.

He was laid off for almost a year but was able to line up for the 2011 July. He finished a gallant sixth but took a bad step after the line and broke down.

He had to be euthanased on course.

Raymond said, “That memory is why July day is never a good day for me, I will find it hard to go to the July unless I have a runner, so instead watch it on TV.”

Big City Life’s place of honour at Summerveld is kept neat and tidy by the connections and visited perennially.

Raymond said, “He will never be out of our lives and before this year’s July we will visit his grave with Glen and have a glass of champagne.”

Raymond is planning a big July function at his holiday cottage in Port Edward for this year’s big race and said, “It is a hot field, wow, but the only thing that matters to me is they all come home safely.”

He concluded, “Even if The Sheik wins he will be excited!”

By David Thiselton

Image: Raymond Deacon wears the blue Vodacom Durban July sash in the winner’s enclosure after his horse Big City Life had won the country’s premier race in 2009. He will be supporting the Glen Kotzen-trained Eyes Wide Open in this year’s race and any horse Big City Life’s July-winning jockey Greg Cheyne rides.

Photographer: John Lewis

The popular New Turf Carriers Inter-Provincial Rider Cup is scheduled for Sunday, July 21, at Greyville.

The Highveld Hawks defended their New Turf title last year and will be out for three-on-the-bounce.

Last year’s Hawks team of Muzi Yeni (captain), Craig Zackey, Ryan Munger and Raymond Danielson (subbed in for the injured Lyle Hewitson) amassed 146 points to the Cape Eagles total of 137 and the KwaZulu-Natal Falcons 127.

The Victor Laudorum prize for the leading individual jockey went to Aldo Domeyer of the Eagles.

The teams are chosen from the top three riders on the national log in each province with the fourth member of each team being decided by the captain.

Based on the NHA’s National Stats at May 31, the following would be the makeup of the teams for the 2019 Rider Cup.

HIGHVELD HAWKS

L Hewitson (Captain)
M Yeni
G Lerena
+ Captain’s Pick

CAPE EAGLES

G Cheyne (Captain)
R Fourie
B Fayd’herbe
+ Captain’s Pick

KZN FALCONSA

Marcus (Captain)
W Kennedy
K de Melo
+ Captain’s Pick

Under the competition rules, winning rides collected 20 points for a team, second places 16 points, thirds 14 – on a descending scale over the 12 runners, with last place garnering a single point.

As winning team member last year Munger said: “It’s a great initiative, with everyone trying really hard – right down to last place.”

By Andrew Harrison

Lyle Hewitson and Muzi Yeni take their title fight to Kenilworth today with Yeni on 185 and leading the current champion by one after yesterday’s Flamingo Park treble.

Four-time champion Anton Marcus takes the day off but, with 180 on the board and an infinitely better strike rate, his shadow looms ominously over the other two.

The tireless Yeni is not far short of 1 600 rides so far this term and Hewitson (who missed the early part of the season) has ridden in some 1 325 races. Marcus, an astute judge of form who picks his rides accordingly, has had just over 600 rides.

Hewitson rides in all eight races today and, according to the bookmakers at least, he has the stronger hand with one favourite (Russet Air), a joint favourite (Lesedi La Rona) and a second favourite whereas Yeni, with five rides, partners  favourite Stormin Norman in the first and one joint second favourite.

Stormin Norman does not have much to spare over Matchless Captain (who disappointed last time, possibly because he got worked up down at the pens) and Fighter but Joey Ramsden is fitting blinkers and that may just swing the balance.

Fortunately the ground will not be as soft as it was on Saturday when the change in going cost punters dear but there will be a bit more give in it than at earlier meetings so backers need to tread carefully.

Lesedi La Rona is 33-10 joint favourite with stable companion Crowded House and Vaughan Marshall’s Charge D’Affaires for the Play Soccer 6 Pinnacle but she was beaten nearly 11 lengths in the Olympic Duel and over six in the Sweet Chestnut on her previous start. Candice Bass-Robinson is fitting blinkers and a tongue tie in a bid to get her back to her best.

Glen Kotzen is responsible for three of the six runners and his trio come out best on adjusted ratings. However they have all been off since January and February. Crowded House is, theoretically at least, the worst in at the weights but she has good recent form and has won with give in the ground so she gets the vote.

Hewitson has a good chance on 9-2 chance Indian Song for the Bass-Robinson stable in the Tellytrack.com Handicap but the Snaiths have a high opinion of Sleeping Single. True, she has gone up three points for last time’s win – and it was only by half a length – and she has not raced on anything softer than good but the 33-10 favourite is a name to note and hopefully she can make it three on the bounce here.

By Michael Clower

The unbeaten Captain Of Stealth, odds-on for the Langerman at Kenilworth on Saturday, was a shock absentee from yesterday’s declarations for the two-year-old Grade 3.

Vaughan Marshall said: ”He has had a bit of a setback. He wrapped himself below the joint and just above the coronet. John McVeigh says that he has only seen one case similar to this. We are waiting for the scan results but hopefully it is not serious.”

The stable has won the 1 500m race in the past two seasons with subsequent Cape Guineas winner Tap O’Noth and One World. It will be represented this time by Silver Operator (M.J. Byleveld) and Path Of Choice (Sandile Mbhele). The former looked something special when storming home three and a half lengths clear on debut earlier this month and he was odds-on at 0.85-1 when Track And Ball put up it prices yesterday afternoon.

There are 11 declared for the Winter Derby on the same card making it the first time in four years that the race will be in double figures. Majestic Mozart and Herodotus, third and fourth in the Winter Classic, would appear to dominate the race on ratings but the East Cape Derby winner St Vladimir joins them in the betting. T & B make them all joint favourite at 2.85-1. Helen’s Ideal is 18-10 favourite to complete a clean sweep of the fillies winter series in the Winter Oaks.

Marinaresco, the 2017 Vodacom Durban July winner, has been moved from Dubai to Singapore and is temporarily on the sidelines.

Marsh Shirtliff, in whose famous colours the now six-year-old races, said: “He recently had a minor op – a chip taken out of his near-fore knee – but we hope to race him again in about four months and he will then go for staying races. Ricardo Legrange, a protégé of Pat Shaw, is to train him. He will stay in Singapore but, when we retire him, we may bring him back to South Africa.”

Pretty Young Thing, who won the finale at Kenilworth last Wednesday with scarcely believable ease, is to run again quite soon.

Brett Crawford said: “She has definitely improved and I will probably give her one more run during the winter. It will be in the next three weeks and we will see how she gets on in her first race out of the maidens. We will then put her away.”

Ridgemont’s Jackson filly with the Australian pedigree had finished second on her first two starts at Durbanville but last Wednesday’s run was in a different league. She came right away in the straight and, even though Anton Marcus let her ease down in the closing stages, she still won by three lengths and, in the words of commentator Jehan Malherbe, “She could have won by a dozen.”

By Michael Clower

English international racing journalist, tipster and broadcaster Neil Morrice’s lifelong sporting hero has been the legendary jockey Lester Piggott and thanks to his determination to have the great man recognised in perpetuity nine statues have been sculpted, two of which have already been unveiled at Epsom and Ascot respectively.

The Epsom statue was unveiled by The Queen on the day of the Derby and Morrice pointed out that this could well have been interpreted as an unofficial pardon for Piggott’s brush up with the taxman in the 1980’s which cost him his OBE.

The second one was unveiled on the first day of Royal Ascot last Tuesday.

Morrice lives in Wantage in Oxfordhire, England, where Piggott was born on November 5, 1935.

He regards Piggott as the greatest sportsman England has ever produced.

Lester’s career encompassed almost five decades. He dominated the golden age of jockeys in the 1960s and 1970s and won the British Flat Jockeys Championship eleven times. He rode 4493 winners in all, including 116 Royal Ascot winners, the Gold Cup a record eleven times, the Derby a record nine times, the 2000 Guineas five times, St. Leger eight times, the Oaks six times and the 1000 Guineas twice.

Piggott also made one of the most celebrated comebacks in sporting history.

The racing world were staggered when he announced his plan to return to the saddle in 1990 at the age of 54. He had retired at the end of the 1985 season and a burgeoning career as a trainer, sending out 34 winners, had been ended by his brush with the taxman.

Within ten days of his return he rode the Charles O’Brien-trained Royal Academy to victory in the Breeders Cup Mile. There have been few moments in racing history which have caused as big a media sensation.

Morrice believed it was high time Piggott was officially recognised for his contribution to British sport.

Lester was happy with Morrice’s idea of drumming up support to have a statue of him erected in Wantage.

Morrice consequently formed a project partnership with Geoffrey Hughes, owner of the Osborne Studio Gallery in Belgravia, London. The project was expanded to three statues, one for Wantage, one for Newmarket and Piggott was asked which site he would like for the third and he chose York racecourse. Morrice was personally thrilled with the latter choice as it was the first racecourse his father had taken him to as a boy.

Piggott loved the York racecourse and was adored by Northern England racing fans, as he won all of their big races.

The next step was to find a backer to fund the project.

Piggott suggested the family of the late Charles St George, a flamboyant owner whose offices as an underwriter for Lloyd’s were in Upper Brook Street in Mayfair, London. Piggott twice rode Ardross to victory for St. George in the Gold Cup, he rode his horse Giacometti to win the Group 1 Champion Stakes, Abergwaun to win the Group 1 Vernons (Haydock) Sprint Cup and he rode the St. George-owned Bruni to victories in the Group 2 Yorkshire Cup and Group 3 Cumberland Lodge Stakes. Piggott became a close friend of St. George’s and was a pall bearer at his funeral.

Charles’ widow Christine put the proposal to her sons David and Christopher after lunching with Morrice, Hughes and top racing journalist Brough Scott at Claridges.

The St George brothers agreed and nine statues were then commissioned.

Piggott chose William Newton to both design and sculpt the statues.

The next statute to be unveiled will be in the Wantage museum and significantly it will take place on August 18, the date of a twelve-year-old Piggott’s first winner 71 years ago at Haydock racecourse on a horse called The Chase trained by his father Keith. The unveiling date will also see the launch of an exhibition in the Wantage museum of the life and times of Lester Piggott, which will run for four months.

The fourth unveiling will take place on the first day of the York August meeting on Tuesday 20 August, the day of the Group 1 Juddmonte international.

Piggott won this race five times, including on Rodrigo de Triano, who gave him the last of his 30 English classic winners when winning the 2000 Guineas in 1992.

The fifth statue will reside in the paddock of the Rowley Mile course in Newmarket.

The fate of the other four statues is still to be firmed up, although one of them has been pencilled in to be auctioned at the annual Sir Peter O’Sullevan charity lunch towards the end of the year.

The bulk of the money raised will go to racing charities.

Piggott and Morrice have been very good friends for a long time and have become closer since the statue project began.

Morrice has an enviable collection of Piggott memorabilia.

The various Piggott-worn silks he has include the Ardross Gold Cup-winning set.

He has many racecards signed by Lester, including all nine of his Derby-winning and all eleven of his Gold Cup-winning racecards.

He also has a signed racecard of a meeting in which Piggott, unbeknown to many, rode Red Rum. This flat horse subsequently switched to jumps and became a living icon by winning the Grand National a record three times.

Piggott has a hearing and a speech impediment which has resulted in his reputation as a taciturn character.

However, Morrice concluded, “Lester chooses his words parsimoniously, but this brings about a greater resonance and meaning when he puts forward his opinion. I feel privileged to have learned so much about the man and become closer to him over the two and a half years it’s taken to see the statues project bear fruit.”

By David Thiselton

Image: Lester Piggott in front of the statue unveiled in his honour at the first day of the Royal Ascot meeting on Tuesday last week. He is alongside racing media personality Neil Morrice, who drove the project to have Piggott officially recognised.

Roy Had Enough’s win in Saturday’s Track And Ball Derby has made barely a ripple in the Vodacom Durban July market. Track And Ball themselves cut the winner from 250-1 to 150-1 but left favourite Hawwaam unchanged on 18-10.

Indeed the firm made no changes to any of the other leading contenders, going 3.85-1 Do It Again, 11-2 Rainbow Bridge, 7-1 Barahin, 16-1 Eyes Wide Open, Twist Of Fate, 22-1 Head Honcho, 25-1 Magnificent Seven, 28-1 and upwards others.

Runner-up Charles has been marked out from 100-1 to 150-1 and most expert opinion is that he is unlikely to make the cut. Brett Crawford said: “Maybe he could run in the Betting World 2200 consolation or I might bring him home – he is still a young horse.”

Declarations for the Johnsson Workwear Garden Province Stakes are tomorrow but Track And Ball already has Oh Susanna favourite at 13-10 and goes 4.2-1 Front And Centre, 13-2 Santa Clara, Snowdance, 17-2 Fresnaye, 12-1 and upwards others.

Majestic Mozart is 2.55-1 favourite for the Winter Derby at Kenilworth on Saturday with Brett Crawford’s East Cape Derby winner St Vladimir on 2.9-1 and Herodotus next on 3.05-1.  The unbeaten Captain Of Stealth is odds-on for the Langerman at 0.55-1.

By Michael Clower

The Vodacom Durban July final field panellists often face a nightmare but this year they look to have a relatively easy task if the last July log and recent results are the guideline.

The final field of 18 and two reserves as well as the draws will be announced at a function at Gateway tomorrow (Tuesday).

The last July log was published on June 3.

Subsequent events have not complicated matters.

Roy Had Enough won the Grade 3 Track And Ball Derby at Scottsville on Saturday so deserves to be given the place vacated in the top 18 by the scratching of Hero’s Honour.

The result of the Grade 3 Cup Trial run on June 8 did not cause any headaches.

The winner Kampala Campari is not a July entry, the runner up Eyes Wide Open had already earned his place by winning the Grade 2 WSB 1900. The third and fourth-placed horses Doublemint and Made To Conquer ran well enough not to be dropped from their positions of 11^th and 17^th respectively on the last log.

The Grade 1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge did not cause any problems either as all of the July entries in that race had already earned their berths.

The traditional Johannesburg July pointer, the Grade 3 Jubilee Handicap, was won by Barahin, who had already earned his berth. July entries Shenanigans and Dazzler finished second and fourth respectively but they are both merit rated in the 90s and did not do enough to warrant inclusion.

Miyabi Gold, winner of the Grade 2 Gold Bracelet over 2000m last year and the Listed Scarlet Lady over 1750m this year, was 18^th on the last July log and Fresnaye was 16^th. The latter won the Grade 3 Victress Stakes over 1800m in December and in the SA Champions Season she has finished a close fourth in the WSB 1900 on favourable weight terms and then won a Pinnacle Stakes race over 1600m.

These two fillies might come under pressure for their incumbent positions.

Their competition for a place will likely be Bunker Hunt, who caught the eye running on strongly for third in the strongly contested Grade 2 KRA Guineas, Charles, who has finished runner up in both the Grade 1 Cape Derby and Grade 3 Track And Ball Derby, log 20^th placed Zillzaal, who placed in all three legs of the SA Triple Crown including finishing second in the Grade 1 SA Derby, log 19^th-placed Camphoratus, who won the Grade 1 Empress Club Stakes, and possibly Elusive Silva, who finished third in the July last year.   

So the final field as it stands and barring further scratchings will likely be Do It Again, Rainbow Bridge, Hawwaam, Return Flight, Head Honcho, Twist Of Fate, Lady In Black, Legal Eagle, Tilbury Fort, Eyes Wide Open, Made To Conquer, Magnificent Seven, Divine Odyssey, Barahin, Roy Had Enough, Doublemint and then any two of Fresnaye, Bunker Hunt, Charles, Camphoratus, Zillzaal, Elusive Silva and Miyabi Gold.

By David Thiselton

Had there been racing 2 000 years ago the Good Lord might well have changed his famous ‘camel through the eye of a needle’ analogy to it being harder for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven than for a trainer starting from scratch to get off the ground.

Yet ex-jockey and coffee machine businessman Piet Botha looks like making it. The Ossie Noach-ridden Tiger Roll at Kenilworth on Saturday was Botha’s second winner in as many meetings and his fourth since his first runner in September, and his numbers have increased from ten to 18.

“I own half of them so it is not that good,” he said modestly. “But people want to see results and things are now expanding a bit.”

Peter Wrensch, who took over the late Ronnie Sheehan’s horses ( there weren’t many) and had his first runners six months ago, is still at the nervous nought stage but half the racecourse was willing him on as Over Again headed for the line in the Interbet.co.za Handicap. Just when it looked as if he was going to hang on, the Richard Fourie-ridden Spirit Festival came with a wet sail to kick the legs from under the celebration table and the trainer in the teeth. Hopefully “Lester” won’t have to wait much longer for consolation.

The winner was the second leg of a quick Justin Snaith-Fourie double with Frank Lloyd Wright’s victory in the Tellytrack.com Handicap coming too late for Qatar Racing. There were big hopes for this horse and the encouragement that he would give the rulers of the oil-rich country to increase its investment in South African racing. But Qatar Racing is no longer involved and Etienne Braun now shares ownership with the gelding’s breeder Drakenstein.

Chris Snaith said: “The handicapper was brutal with this horse and he lost his form totally. He has now got to the stage where he is competitive again (he has come down 20 points) but it has taken a long, long time.”

More than an inch of rain turned the going to officially good-to-soft (“soft but even, ie soft throughout” was the opinion of the jockeys.). However it played havoc with the form and punters were left feeling like investors in the South Sea Bubble. Six favourites floundered and half the winners started at prices varying from 18-1 to 36-1.

The Candice Bass-Robinson-trained newcomer Arctic Drift was the rank outsider in the Tabonline Maiden Juvenile – “A great surprise,” said Mark Bass. “We chucked him into the race for a gallop.”

Anthony Andrews, who rode the gelding, was fined R1 500 for using his whip more than the permitted dozen – it was his third offence – and Bernard Fayd’Herbe paid the same penalty for the same thing when scoring on the Glen Kotzen-trained Miraculously Ours.

Randall Simons, who came down from Johannesburg at the request of Adam Marcus, doubled his Cape Town score with victories on two-year-old newcomers Late At Night and Templeton (Dean Kannemeyer).

The former carries the colours of Tony Millard patron Robert Ng and so has Hong Kong as his eventual destination. “I was pleasantly surprised even though he has done so well in the last four to six weeks,” said Brett Crawford. “He is going to keep progressing.”

Jabu Jacobs impressed when making all on the Andre Nel-trained Suite Francaise at 28-1 in the last. It was the apprentice’s second winner.

By Michael Clower

Stradivarius (IRE) is the reigning Stayer of the Year in the UK and after back to back victories in the £500,000 G1 Gold Cup (4014m) on soft ground at Royal Ascot last Thursday, he seems unlikely to relinquish his crown any time soon. The dramatic victory by the five-year-old Sea The Stars (IRE) entire, trained by John Gosden, was also the fourth consecutive victory on the card for jockey Frankie Dettori, who famously won all seven races on the card at Ascot in September 1996.

On the rain-soaked course, Dettori chose the shortest way home, keeping Stradivarius on the rail and tucked in behind front runners Dee Ex Bee (GB) and Master Of Reality (IRE). In the home straight it appeared as if Dettori had made a costly mistake with Donnacha O’Brien on Capri and Cross Counter under James Doyle moving up on his outside, effectively shutting the door on the even money favourite. Dettori however, who has now ridden 66 winners at the Royal meeting, was unperturbed and when a small gap opened during the closing stages, he was quick to send Stradivarius through and after the leaders.  

The horse, who apparently “loves getting into a fight” according to Dettori, wasted no time in catching and passing the longtime leaders, to win by a length with Dee Ex Bee in second and Master Of Reality back in third. It was Stradivarius’s seventh straight victory for owner/breeder Bjorn Nielsen, who was on hand to collect the Gold Cup trophy from Her Majesty The Queen. Nielsen admitted that he was a bit concerned after Dettori’s victory in the first three on the card. “I did not believe he could win four races in a row, but he’s riding so confidently, and he rode Stradivarius confidently.  He’s such a good stayer, he has a huge heart, and his mind is so relaxed. I hope it can continue for a while.”

A delighted Dettori, who launched himself skywards in his famous flying dismount, was full of praise for the gutsy stayer. “Stradivarius does not know how to lose. All I have to do is get him amongst other horses and he does the rest – what a horse.  Everyone loves him, including me.  Every time he runs, he delivers, he is unbelievable.  I wasn’t worried about the trouble in the home straight as I just had to wait for the split. It got tight, but when I got the split, it was all over.”

Interestingly, the dam of Stradivarius, Private Life (FR) only produced one filly before her untimely death and that filly, an Oratorio daughter named Magical Eve (IRE), resides at Ridgemont Highlands Stud in Robertson. According to the Stud, Magical Eve currently has a lovely weanling filly by Silvano (GER).

By Liesl King