Sean Tarry did not believe he had the firepower to win last season’s National Trainers championship so it came as a bonus along with his season’s chief target of “getting Chris (van Niekerk) over the line.”

Loyal owner Van Niekerk will receive the South African Champion Owner award for the second time at the Equus Awards next week, where Tarry will receive the Trainer’s trophy for the fourth time.

Tarry said, “I thought Mike and Justin had the goods last season. It is usually the trainers who win the R4 million races who win it, so maybe it was days like Scottsville which kept us in the race.”

Tarry won three Grade 1s in one day for the first time in his career at Scottsville’s annual Festival Of Speed meeting in May and was unlucky not to clinch a Jackpot of Grade 1s as Cavivar was hampered in the Allan Robertson Championship and lost by a head. Tarry also sent out the trifecta in the main race, the Tsogo Sun Sprint.

Tarry will approach this season like last and said, “I will just tack on and if things look good will start worrying.”

His dual Grade 1 winning sprint-miler Celtic Sea will remain in training although she is not a certainty to go down for the Cape Summer Of Champions season.  

Grade 1-winning sprinter Chimichuri Run is also not a certainty to travel down as there is only one proper race for him, the Grade 1 Betting World Cape Flying Championship over a five furlong distance which is a touch sharp for him, although it is a tough five furlongs.

Tarry said realistically speaking he did not appear to have a Sun Met horse, unless the three-year-olds put their hands up, as Cirillo, whilst having proven class, was not as good as the like of Do It Again and Rainbow Bridge.

He said a line could be drawn through Grade 1 Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion winner Eden Roc’s run on eLan Gold Cup day in the Grade 1 Premier’s Champion Stakes over 1600m as something had worried him on course and he had become uncontrollable in the parade ring.

He labelled Putontheredlight, runner up to Eden Roc in the Grade 2 Durban Holden Horseshoe, as another of his three-year-old classic hopes for the season although added races like the Dingaans and Cape Guineas were the true tests which showed whether a horse was up to it or not.

He mentioned a number of horses as candidates to clinch him a third successive Gauteng Summer Cup. 

He said, “I have a couple of nice horses off decent marks. Lord Silverio had a premature injury last season which put paid to his campaign and he is back in training, there is Al Mutawakel (unbeaten in three starts), Zillzaal has had the gelding he needed badly, although the Summer Cup might come too soon.”

He will also target the defending champion Tilbury Fort at the Summer Cup and will consider running his Grade 1 SA Fillies Classic, Grade 2 SA Oaks and Grade 2 Gerald Rosenberg-winner from last season, Return Flight, although he said it was not the perfect race for her.

Tarry’s chief jockey Lyle Hewitson has departed for a stint in Hong Kong, so will need to be replaced. He said, “I don’t want to force any new relationship but have got a lot of horses and those who put in the hard work will get the opportunities.”

Gold Circle have allowed Tarry to take a “sabattical” from his KZN satellite yard at Summerveld which he will open again for the SA Champions Season.

By David Thiselton

Unless you make a big splash in your apprenticeship, and those riders are few and far between, it can be really tough when you come out of you time. The academy is no longer a safe haven and you have to rely on wits, ability and just plain hard work if you are going to make a decent career as a jockey.

Serino Moodley is not long out of his time and his hard work is starting to pay off as he collected a double at Hollywoodbets Scottsville yesterday.

Ashburton-based trainers generally have to rely on apprentices to ride the majority of their work and fully-fledged jockeys are a rare sight.

Moodley’s efforts to make the trip up from Durban in the mornings are starting to pay dividends as he is picking up some good rides and proving well worth his booking.

Gary Rich has a small string but he has been around the block a time or three and when he gets a good one, he makes the most of it. Connect Me picked up her fifth win as Moodley made all the running and kept her firing all the way to the line to comfortably hold off the attentions of Philae and favourite Stelvio in the fifth.

Earlier, Moodley judged a perfectly timed run for Karen and Greg Anthony on the filly Abbey in the fourth.

Moodley has been on the wrong end of the new 12 strikes and you are out whip rule but hefty fines kept his arm in check yesterday.

Luke Ferraris is one apprentice that has made a splash and although he comes from a family steeped in racing and as a result has been given ample opportunity to prove himself, he has made the most of his good fortune and the started the new season as champion apprentice.

Bay Tibbs was something of an armchair ride for Garth Puller in the third but the favourite was last for most of the race. In the straight, Ferraris was aware that he had plenty of horse under him and instead of ducking for a clear run up the inside, he anticipated an opening and drove Bay Tibbs through to win well. It was not the greatest of opposition but Bay Tibbs won with authority.

By Andrew Harrison

The 2019-20 horseracing season has started and TAB is making changes to its betting menu for the new season.

Betting turnovers highlight that the R1-unit Rolling Double on all consecutive races at South African race meetings holds little appeal for the majority of TAB customers.

Consequently, Rolling Doubles on local races will fall away from Friday, 9 August, and be replaced by a Daily Double with a R6 unit.

The first leg of the Daily Double on South African meetings will always be the race after the first Jackpot leg. Thus, on a nine-race programme the Daily Double will be on Races 6 and 7 with the BiPot starting on Race 2, the Place Accumulator on Race 3 and the Pick 6 and Jackpot on Races 4 and 5 respectively.

The Daily Double should put the spotlight on the big race at most local meetings because it will normally incorporate the main event. That coupled with a R6 unit, which should ensure significant payouts and will hopefully re-energise the bet and renew its appeal to TAB customers.

The Daily Double will also be added to the betting menu for selected international race meetings screened on Tellytrack. When the Daily Double is offered on such international race meetings, it will always be on the last two races with the exception of Dubai, Mauritius, Kenya and Zimbabwe. Those four countries will be treated identically to South African meetings with the race after the first Jackpot leg forming the first leg of the Daily Double.

The Vaal straight course has a nine race card tomorrow which should provide a few opportunities for punters.

The highest rated race is a MR86 Handicap over 2400m and Snorting Bull is made the value bet of the day.

Last time out over this trip he moved up strongly but perhaps went to early and it was also his second run after a layoff, so he could not maintain it. He did still finish a good 1,75 length third and should have come on from the run. He is drawn two and is 1,5kg better off with Top Shot, who beat him by 1,25 lengths in that last start. Top Shot must be respected on that effort although Tirzan is preferred for the runner up spot. Tirzan was beaten three lengths into second by the exciting staying prospect Horace last time he tried this trip and that was no disgrace. It was the second time he had finished runner up over this trip this year.

Bondiblu will be near the top of the boards following her 2,70 length fifth in the Grade 3 Track And Ball Oaks over this trip. However, the handicapper gave her six points for that effort and she will now have a hard task with Top Shot. She beat the latter by three lengths when they last met but even if her apprentice claim is included she is now 4,5kg worse off. Furthermore, for a mare to carry 59,5kg and give come decent males weight is not going to be easy. The other two runners, Earth Sky and Hands Of Man, are 3kg and 6,5kg under sufferance respectively so are up against it. 

The fourth over 1600m is the first of two fillies and mares MR 84 handicaps. I Like It looks the one to beat although with the lightweight jockey Ryan Munger up she is going to be carrying a lot of deadweight with 62kg on her back. Last time out she was just 2,25 lengths behind Vistula when receiving only 2kg and the latter went on to finish fifth in the Grade 1 Jonsson Workwear Garden Province Stakes. One reason she is chosen is because there are question marks about most of the other runners. Eightfolds Lass won well last time over this trip and is consistent but she was given a seven point raise. Elusive Butterfly could be a threat as she will likely find this trip ideal and is only two points higher than her last win. Both Scent Of Evening and State Star are talented but they have both had breathing issues so are not ones to rely on. Soul Of Wit has been disappointing over sprints lately and tries 1600m again. In her only previous attempt at this trip she finished fifth but she is by Ideal World so should have a chance of getting it. 

The other MR84 for fillies and mares is the fifth over 1000m. Elbi is a pacey and consistent sort who was beaten by a firecracker in What A Red last time. However, if recapturing the form which saw her going close to Ulla in her previous start then she is the one to beat. Nawaasi disappointed in two runs in June but last time out was full of running when winning over this trip. She was given a six point raise and is half-a-kilogram under sufferance here but has the same 1,5kg claimer Nathan Klink aboard and if carrying that form into this race has a chance. The topweight Winter Watch is talented but a touch enigmatic. She has a shout with a 4kg claimer up if having a running day.

In the first leg of the PA the hard knocker Orchid Street is interesting dropped in trip to 1200m as she had some decent earlier form over that distance. She looks likely to fight it out with Pidgeon Rock who has had four seconds in succession from 1000-1200m.

In the sixth race over 1000m Boundless Deep might have chased too hard too early last time as she had no extra in the final 200m. She is now three points lower in the merit ratings and has a 4kg claimer up so can afford to be a bit more patient and is selected to win. Phillydelphia could be in the shake up for the in form Paul Peter yard if reproducing her penultimate start. However, Queen Of War, Claremorris and Moggie Brown also warrant consideration.

The eighth is a difficult 1600m handicap event. Sovereign Reign finished strongly last time over 1500m and is off an attractive mark so is the selection. However, all of Changing Seasons, Winter Crusade, Sammi Moosa, Hidden Agenda, Don Pierro, Movie Magic and In The Game must be included in the Pick 6.

In the last race over 1600m Mr Cuddles has a good opportunity to get off the mark in an uninspiring event as she has two seconds to her name over this trip. She is taken to beat Free Deal, who is improving and should enjoy the step up in trip, and Blanco, who has been disappointing but should go close here.  

The best bet of the day is taken to be Afrostar in the second as he has class and should now be coming into his own.

By David Thiselton

“I will stay in Hong Kong as long as I am doing well but, if I find myself in a position where I have to fight for rides and winners, I will probably come back to South Africa or try somewhere else.”

Grant van Niekerk has found himself in both positions during his first season out there, starting off with a bang and then having to make the best of 20-1 shots for weeks before really motoring in the last couple of months. “I got a few chances and got the winners home. I then started to get more support and better rides and by the end of the season I was doing really well.”

He found it something of a culture shock to begin with, starting with the way the morning work is organised. “There the trainers book you to ride work and they can book you from 4.35am to around 7.30am.” Not the easiest for man who has long since admitted to not being much of a morning person!

And there was more. “Everything there is precise and has to be done according to the clock. The trainer will give you a distance and time for the work and you have to go the speed to do it in that. I found this difficult but you get used to it and it makes you a good judge of pace.”

That’s an important attribute in any country but particularly so there. “The pressure is on from the jump and you need to be quick out of the pens – South African racing is very laid back by comparison – and riding over there has made me a lot sharper.”

But homesickness, never far away, really hit home on the day of the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate. “I was stable jockey to Drakenstein so I felt I was missing something, and it all looked really good.

“You do get homesick out there – you miss your family and your friends – but you tell yourself you are there to work. Also you are in a racing jurisdiction where it is the best in the world so you want to be out there.

“My family (the couple have two small children, Kiara and Aidan) were with me but Nicole and I are not married so the visa was a bit of an issue and we had to travel (backwards and forwards) all the time which is tricky.”

The money he earns is huge. His 422 rides produced 31 winners and stakes of just over HK$45 million. If you work on the same percentage as jockeys get here (9%), he would have made the equivalent of R7.7 million plus riding fees.

But he is adamant that it’s not money that drives him. “It’s the racing and the environment you race in, the sort of environment you want to be in as a jockey. You get 50,000 people at the course and that makes it all so much more fun. Also I enjoy Hong Kong – it’s vibrant and a great place – but,” he pauses and breaks into a grin, “home will always be best.”

By Michael Clower