Do It Again wrote himself into the record books as he became only the fourth horse in the 126-year history of the Vodacom Durban July to win back-to-back races, emulating El Picha at the turn of this century, Milisia Pride 1949/50 and Campanajo who won the first two running’s back in 1897/98?

It was a superb performance from a super racehorse who stamped himself as head and shoulders above his peers.

Justin Snaith declared his hand early and would not hear of defeat for his champion in the build-up. “He’s the best horse in the country at weight for age and now he’s shown that he’s the best horse in the country which ever way you look at it.”

Earlier in the week he declared, “I think 4/1 is a crazy price (about Do It Again). There is no ways he is a 4/1 shot in any race in South Africa you put him into. You can give him 65kg and he should be 2/1.”

Prophetic words as Richard Fourie gave him the perfect ride, staying out of trouble and giving his mount a clear run to the line to hold off the challenge of Rainbow Bridge with Twist Of Fate third and Eyes Wide Open fourth.

Mike Rattray, one of the doyens of South African racing, will have to wait another year for a win in the race he has most wanted to win. Rainbow Bridge was game in defeat but found one too good. “When a pressed the button I thought I had the race,” said jockey Gavin Lerena. “He ran all the way to the line but we just couldn’t get there.”

The race was not without drama. Favourite Hawwaam’s hot temperament is well documented and all seemed to be on track as he paraded without fuss. The last to be bundled into the starting stalls, he rushed the front gate and was release from his stall.

Anton Marcus was quick to jump ship and Hawwaam was backed out. It was evident to all that Hawwaam was feeling the effects of his antics and the course vet Roehann Sutherland had no choice but to withdraw him from the race. A clearly upset Sutherland said, “We are here to put on a show and entertain, but I had no choice.”

“It was the right decision,” said a sporting Mike de Kock post-race. “The best horse won and I hope this doesn’t make all the headlines.”

It was poignant win for owners Bernard Kantor and Nick Jonsson and Helga Mitchell, whose husband Jack having passed away a month or two back.

With under a month to go, in a relatively tight battle for the trainer’s championship, Sean Tarry extended his slender lead over De Kock and Snaith with victory in the Gr Jonsson Workwear Garden Province Stakes as Celtic Sea gave Tarry back-to-back wins in the race. Redberry Lane gave current champion jockey Lyle Hewitson his first Gr1 victory as she touched off favourite Snowdance last year and yesterday he gave Celtic Sea another tremendous ride, shooting up the inside rail to hold off favourite Oh Susanna and the luckless Snowdance.

Earlier Tobie Spies showed why he is a master at preparing two-year-olds with a one-two in the Gr2 Zulu Kingdom Explorer Golden Slipper. Cockney Pride caused something of an upset as t 18/1 shot was given a copybook ride by Craig Zackey. He tracked the early pace, took a split through the middle of the pack and never looked like losing in spite of the attentions of stable companion What You Are.

Not to be outdone, Sean Tarry emulated the feat in the Gr2 Durban Golden Horseshoe as the well fancied Eden Roc got the better of stable sibling Putontheredlight and Invidia.

By Andrew Harrison

The July In Jozi meeting is always fun and well attended so there should be a good atmosphere on course at Turffontein tomorrow.

The Vodacom Durban July will be contested by the best field seen in Durban for a long time and should be a thriller.

Hawwaam still has something to prove as this is the first time he will take on top class older horses, but he strikes as being something special and it speaks volumes that Anton Marcus chose him ahead of Rainbow Bridge. He has quirks and the noise on the day and the hustle and bustle of the race might get a reaction from him but hopefully it will not blunt his chief weapon, his exhilarating turn of foot. If he is within striking distance he can justify favouritism.

Last year’s winner Do It Again has developed into a magnificent specimen who just gets better and better and he will be a tough nut to crack. If he wins again, this time carrying topweight of 60kg, he can justifiably be called world class.

Sun Met winner Rainbow Bridge, who is Hawwaam’s half-brother, also has an electrifying turn of foot and on pedigree will relish this trip. He also has his quirks but trainer Eric Sands said his sometimes nervous demeanour appears to be diminishing.  He should be in the shake up from a good draw.

Twist Of Fate appears to have a lot of class and a big engine and has been prepared by a fine trainer. This R20,000 purchase is 2kg better off with Hawwaam for a 1,60 length beating and should be thereabouts, although he does have a tough draw to overcome.

Eyes Wide Open has come back to himself and has been looking in fine shape. Considering he beat Do It Again as a three-year-old at level weights in the Grade 1 Cape Derby and is now receiving 7kg he has to be a big runner.

It is tough to choose just one more for the all important sixth place as there are so many good horses involved.

However, the vote goes to the big-striding Head Honcho, who has enjoyed a good preparation and is probably continuing to improve.

It was tough to leave out Made To Conquer, Barahin, and Doublemint as well as three rank outsiders Lady In Black, Roy Had Enough and Camphoratus.

The Grade 1 Jonsson Workwear Garden Province Stakes over 1600m is another away race to look forward to and Snowdance might upset Oh Susanna as she might well be effective running from the front. Front And Centre is also top class but due to her tendency to lug in will likely have to be dropped out from a wide draw before flying down the inside.

At Turffontein punters should get off to a good start in the first race over 1160m with Magic School, an impressive specimen who was unlucky last time. He should be too strong for this field.

Later in the eighth race Running Brave should have too much class over 1400m in an Assessment Plate and can be bankered.   

The Sunday meeting at Turffontein sees some classy racing and particularly interesting is the return of the exciting prospect Buffalo Bill Cody. This horse has won all three of his races over a mile in comfortable fashion and can beat the classy Cirillo, who is not as well drawn. Soldier On is a useful sort whose form has been standing up well and he could fill third place.

By David Thiselton

Mike de Kock pretty well summed up this year’s Vodacom Durban July as probably the toughest he has seen and he’s been around a few years.

The four-time winning trainer said mid-week. “Barring Soqrat, all the best horses in the country are there.” The race will be run over 2200m at Hollywoodbets Greyville tomorrow.

He also had a little dig at the jockeys who he says will dictate the tempo of the race. Speaking to TABnews he said, “What has happened previously in the race is that many of them are duped into following the leader rather than judging the pace they need for their own mounts.”

“I think whoever sizes it up properly early on, who gets his horse into a good position, will have the advantage. The race can be won and lost over the first 200m.”

Justin Snaith, who saddled the first three past the post last year, saddles last year’s winner Do It Again. Although Do It Again shoulders top weight his form is impeccable and from a good draw he should be right there. His was one of the stand-out gallops last week and is obviously in a good space. He is second favourite in the ante-post betting and Snaith is supremely confident.

De Kock saddles two runners, ruling ante-post favourite Hawwaam and Barahin. The latter is off the minimum mark for a three-year-old colt and is probably still under the radar as far as the handicappers are concerned. He came from a long way back to win the recent Jubilee Handicap and he has won at Greyville. “Barahin is a one-dimensional horse,” De Kock surmised. “He’ll relax near the back of the field and run on late.”

Hawwaam on the other hand is a different kettle of fish. He is all the rage in the market and beaten only once in his career. However, De Kock was sceptical of his short ante-post price. “18-10, you must be joking,” he said on Tuesday. “That’s just hype.”

“Hawwaam is not straightforward. You don’t know what he’s going to do – whether he will jump slowly, or whether he will pull. This is also the first time he is running in an 18-horse field so we don’t know how he will cope.”

There is no doubt that he is a top contender and is well in at the weights with a good draw. But as De Kock alluded, his one concern is his temperament. He can be difficult in the preliminaries and a big crowd could upset him. He also has an inside draw in what is invariably a rough race which could set him off. That said, he was perfectly behaved when winning the Daily News 2000.

Eric Sands has given Rainbow Bridge the perfect preparation and this race has been his target since the day he was bought by Mike Rattray after the winning the Sun Met. He has done everything right for Sands and a win will not be out of turn.

Made To Conquer, another Snaith runner, was second last year and carries the same weight this year. He been catching the eye of late and big race rider Mark Khan is confident of a big showing. “He will be spot on for the July,” Khan told Snaith in the fourth box after the Cup Trial.

Glen Kotzen appears to have got on top of all the problems that he had with Eyes Wide Open and the colt has come to hand of late. He beat Do It Again in the Cape Derby last season at level weights and is now 7kg better off. But a lot of water has passed under the bridge since their meeting in the Derby.

Lady In Black is a smart filly and Dennis Drier is supremely confident that she will run a big race. “I’m not sure if she can beat the boys but she will be right there,” he said at the gallops. “She’s been crying out for this trip.”

Twist Of Fate was runner-up to Hawaamm in the KRA Guineas and is now 2kg better off with the ruling favourite. Joey Ramsden won this race with The Conglomerate from 20 draw so knows what it takes to win this race.

For my money the bulk of the quartet – that will have a total pool in the region of R16 million – will come from the top seven in the betting with longer priced runners Head Honcho, Lady In Black, Legal Eagle, Made To Conquer and Doublemint all horses capable of a first four finish.

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By Andrew Harrison

Andre Nel is happy with his Vodacom Durban July contender Head Honcho and the sizeable gap between his runs has been part of the plan.

Assistant trainer Byron Foster spoke of how Head Honcho had “definitely” become “sharper” following a gallop three weeks before the July gallops.

Jockeys Keagan de Melo was pleased with his demeanour in the pull up area after the July gallop.

He said he had a good bounce in his step all the way back to the parade ring, suggesting he had recovered well from the workout.

Nel said because Head Honcho was now an older horse he had been able to look back on his career and see what had worked with him and what hadn’t. He said the type of gaps they had given him into this race, seven weeks from his last race which followed a layoff since the Sun Met, had seemed to have worked well for him so that was how they had planned to take him into the July.

He concluded, “He’s feeling good, he’s a sound horse, we’re happy with where we have him at the moment.”

They have Run Red in the Grade 3 Betting World 2200 and said, “Tough race for him, but a lot’s going in his favour. I think he is a decent type of a horse and has a lowish weight and a fair draw. He’s coming into the race pretty well and he will give a good account of himself.”

The yard fancy Red Shift in the last race over 1400m on the poly as he fine form over that course and distance. His last run on turf over 1600m did not pan out at all well and can probably have a line drawn through it. 

They run Q The Music in the Listed Engen Performance Stakes over 1600m and Nel said, “He’s a fair type of a horse and always tries hard enough so he won’t be far off them.”

By David Thiselton

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Justin Snaith said the bookmakers price offered about the defending Vodacom Durban July champion Do It Again was “ridiculous”.

He said, “I think 4/1 is a crazy price. There is no ways he is a 4/1 shot in any race in South Africa you put him into. You can give him 65kg and he should be 2/1. So, I am quite surprised. I think it is that Mike de Kock factor.

“Hawwaam has beaten small fields, three-year-olds and the Champions Challenge wasn’t the strongest field. These horses Do It Again and Rainbow Bridge are phenomenal horses, phenomenal. You have to be world class … which maybe Hawwaam is, maybe, but he’s got to prove it.

“So for me, I think the older horses are still very, very strong in this race, I always have said it and I stick by my guns. Before I came to Durban I thought it and I still think it.”

He said about his four runners, “They are extremely well. When they turn for home they are going to want to take off. All is well, Do It Again is flying, he looks magnificent, I couldn’t be happier. Doublemint, I am really impressed with him so far, all good. Everybody is saying Barahin is well weighted but he’s a three-year-old giving Doublemint weight, why’s he well weighted? Those three-year-olds will have to be phenomenal to give weight away to these four-year-olds who are all carrying 53kg. I’m not saying they can’t win, but they’ve got their work cut out.

“Made To Conquer ran second last year and those three-year-olds must give him weight? Made To Conquer is flying. Even if he doesn’t win the July he’s a runner in the Gold Cup if we decide to go that route. The July is a bit harder than last year but in saying that he’s weighted to run a big race. I don’t think I have ever seen a horse run second in the July and the following year carrying 53kg.

“It will be very hard for Miyabi Gold but she has a nice draw and quite frankly you never know. She’s never far behind the top fillies in the country, she really can compete at Group 1 level with the fillies. I don’t see why she should be counted out then, but she has her work cut out.”

At time of writing Hawwaam was 2,35/1 and Do It Again had drifted out to 5/1 with Track and Ball.

Considering Snaith believes Do It Again is ridiculously good value and Mike de Kock said on Tuesday Hawwaam was ridiculously short in the betting there might be a shake up in the market before Saturday.

By David Thiselton

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