Eyes Wide Open has come tumbling down the betting.  In mid-May you could get 75-1 about him but he is now as short as 12-1 with only four horses – Hawwaam, Do It Again, Rainbow Bridge and Barahin – considered to have a better chance in Saturday’s Vodacom Durban July.

“Do the maths,” says Glen Kotzen. “In last year’s Cape Derby he beat Do It Again by a length and three-quarters at levels and now he is 7kg better.”

In fact Eyes Wide Open was to have gone for last year’s July – he was the early favourite – until Kotzen saw signs of a chip when the horse’s fetlock was x-rayed. He had it removed and gave him the necessary rest. That patience has been rewarded with the World Sports Betting 1900 and a close second in the Cup Trial.

“Eyes Wide Open is back to his best, back to when he won the Cape Derby,” the Woodhill trainer enthuses. “He put up a fantastic gallop last Thursday and the jockey battled to pull him up.”

An 18 draw briefly took the wind out of his sails but Kotzen is blessed with a supremely optimistic outlook on life that owners find both encouraging and infectious. It didn’t take long before he was back looking on the bright side. “I won’t say that we were not worried about that draw but we were dealt it and we are going to deal with it.

“In fact it might be a blessing in disguise and maybe it will keep him out of trouble. We just have to pray that Warren Kennedy finds a nice clear passage and doesn’t end up running wide.”

Kotzen has been following the progress of the favourite with particular interest because of the parallels he sees with Big City Life ten years ago. “He has had a not dissimilar prep to Big City Life who won the Cape Derby, the KRA Guineas and the Daily News.

“The one real difference is that the conditions of the July have changed and, whereas Big City Life came in off 51kg, Hawwaam has to carry 56kg. He is the best three-year-old in South Africa but it is going to be tough for him.

“My horse is absolutely flying and he is making it all so exciting for us. All we need now is to have luck in running.”

As if to gather that luck around him Kotzen looks back to ten years ago. “It was the most amazing thing – the horse was on a roll and we were on a roll. You just couldn’t stop us and with every race that went by we got more and more confident. In fact I was so confident about the July that I felt almost invincible.

“The only time I got butterflies in my stomach was when I saw that Big City Life was cruising and Pocket Power was some seven or eight lengths behind him. I thought: “Oh my God, I am going to win this!”

By Michael Clower

Probably the most popular bet on Vodacom Durban July day is the quartet on the main race where punters need to forecast the first four horses past the post in the correct order.

The pool on Saturday is expected to top R16 million so if you catch it right you will earn enough to buy more than just a pie and coke.

Justin Snaith, who saddled the first three past the post last year, saddles last year’s winner DO IT AGAIN (5/1). Although he shoulders top weight his form is impeccable and from a good draw he should be right there. He is second favourite in the ante-post betting and Justin Snaith is supremely confident. Mike de Kock saddles two runners, ruling ante-post favourite Hawaamm and BARAHIN (7/1). 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 Jubilee Handicap and he has won at Hollywoodbets Greyville.

RAINBOW BRIDGE (7/1) has had the ideal preparation and this race has been his specific target since the day he was bought by Mike Rattray after the winning the Sun Met. He has done everything right for Eric Sands and a win will not be out of turn. MADE TO CONQUER (20/1), another Snaith runner, was second last year and carries the same weight this year. He has been catching the eye of late and jockey Mark Khan is confident of a big showing. EYES WIDE OPEN (14/1) has come to hand of late and beat Do It Again in the Cape Derby last season. Here he is very well weighted in comparison to Do It Again but a lot of water has passed under the bridge since their meeting in the Derby.

HAWWAAM (22/10) is all the rage and beaten only once in his career. There is no doubt that he is a top contender and is well in at the weights with a good draw. 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. LADY IN BLACK (75/1) is a smart filly who is well in at the weights. Trainer 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 (16/1) was runner up to Hawaamm in the KRA Guineas and is now 2kg better off with the ruling favourite. Trainer 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 will come from the top seven in the betting with HEAD HONCHO (28/1), LADY IN BLACK (75/1), MADE TO CONQUER (20/1), LEGAL EAGLE (33/1) and DOUBLEMINT (33/1) runners that could make the first four.

Remember that you can always take a percentage should your combinations exceed your budget.

To take a bet go to www.tabgold.co.za or www.trackandball.co.za

By Andrew Harrison

Summerveld trainer Frank Robinson pointed out form was a big factor going into any Vodacom Durban July, whether it be the jockey, horse or trainer, so is pleased to have Marco van Rensburg aboard his charge Roy Had Enough.

Highveld-based Van Rensburg has won the Listed Sledgehammer on Orpheus, the Grade 2 Post Merchants on La Bella Mia and the KZN Breeders Million Mile on Morning Catch on three of his rare raids to Greyville this season. 

Roy Had Enough snuck into the July after winning the Grade 3 Track And Ball Derby over 2400m at Scottsville two weeks ago.

However, he is the biggest outsider in the race and Track and Ball have him at 100/1.

However, Robinson is not concerned and recalled when working as assistant trainer to Herman Brown how Sleek Machine just failed to catch the favourite London News in the 1996 July despite being one of the biggest outsiders.

Robinson said, “Roy Had Enough is as good as Sleek Machine and is not far off Orbison (third in 2010).”

He continued, “If you watch the Sledgehammer, Roy Had Enough runs away from Eyes Wide Open, who probably needed it but so did our horse, so why is one of them 12/1 and the other 100/1?”

He said, “His last race was only two weeks ago but that is not a concern, he is a very tough horse and is such a good eater, he never leaves anything. Nine out of ten good horses are very good eaters, they have good constitutions and that is why they are top horses. At the July gallops it was clear to see how well Roy Had Enough was.”

Robinson added, “The July is often won by a horse who can win over 2400m because they usually go a cracking pace.”

Roy Had Enough is drawn 15. 

He said, “I’ve been watching past Julys and the wider drawn horses stay out of trouble. As long as you have something in front of you. Do It Again won from draw 15 last year and if he had been stuck on the fence he would not have been able to build up the same momentum coming into the straight.”

Roy Had Enough has a good turn of foot and can maintain a strong finishing run, so is suited to the tight Greyville track. 

He is being underestimated by the bookmakers.

Robinson said he had freshened up his Jonsson Workwear Garden Province Stakes runner Roy’s Riviera and pointed out she had not lost any weight from before her run in the Track And Ball Oaks to now. 

He said, “I think there will be a good pace which will suit her. I think she is definitely up to this class. Her draws and the way her races have panned out this season have been against her yet she still won one of them and was close up in others. She is a beautiful horse. She must be the fittest horse in the race too.”

Roy’s Riviera possesses an exceptional turn of foot and from draw five under Van Rensburg should be in the shake up.

Robinson has particular respect for the Justin Snaith pair Oh Susanna and Snowdance, especially as they have been built up in distance coming into the race.

He concluded, “Johnny Nicholson, who I used to work for and who won the July with Beau Art in 1980, came to my yard the other day and was so impressed with both horses. He looked at them and said, ‘These two are top horses.’

Robinson runs Shogun in the 12^th over 1400m on the poly and said he had been “jumping out of his skin.” He believed he only had Red Shift to beat.

By David Thiselton

Mike de Kock has a high regard for his Vodacom Durban July favourite Hawwaam but said his general price of around 2/1 was ridiculous and was based purely on hype.

He added, “For anybody to even make a comparison to Horse Chestnut right now is completely ridiculous and out of order and not forgetting that I have had other good horses since (the like of Ipi Tombe, Vercingetorix, Igugu, Variety Club etc.). There are also two horses in the July field, Do It Again and Rainbow Bridge, who have achieved more than he has”.

However, he did agree that Hawwaam was still unexposed and nobody truly knew just how good he was yet.

He said, “I don’t think he knows how good he is himself. Nothing went right for him last time in the Daily News 2000 and he still won. Before that he won very well in a weight for age Grade 1 against older horses albeit against a field I thought was pretty ordinary.”

He continued, “This is the first time he will race in a big field.”

It is a top quality field too and there is sure to be some hustle and bustle out there.

De Kock said, “It is the first time he is going to have to get involved with so many horses and I think that is going to test his mettle.”

He continued, “He does like to win though and he is versatile, he has won from handy positions and coming from off the pace. He is volatile, but he is certainly not a mad horse at all. He is just a manly horse, he is a boytjie. He has never done anything stupid before. That time at the SA Derby meeting he reacted like that simply because he was alone in the ring. He just loves being around other horses. He has always been sociable and bonds quickly with any horse we stable next to him.”

De Kock has good regard for the Daily News 2000 runner up Twist Of Fate and reckoned the 2kg swing in the weights for a 1,60 length beating would put them closer.

De Kock also believes Hawwaam’s stablemate Barahin will finish close to Hawwaam.

He said, “I think Barahin is fitter than he has ever been and he has only been beaten two or three lengths by Hawwaam so at the weights he has got be right on top of him. Barahin has a completely different style of running, he relaxes well in the running and takes time to unwind and the further he goes the better he gets. I like Barahin over ten furlongs and further, so this trip will be right down his alley.”

De Kock was impressed with Barahin’s win in the Grade 3 Jubilee Handicap over 1800m at Turffontein last time.

He said, “He gave weight away and ran past older horses like they were looking for parking.” 

Hawwaam is to be ridden by Anton Marcus from draw four and Barahin will be ridden by Muzi Yeni from draw six.

De Kock would have preferred a wider draw for Hawwaam, away from the hustle and bustle, but he added, “It is what it is, I’m certainly not complaining and would prefer this good draw to a bad one.”

De Kock runs the David Ferraris part-owned Soft Falling Rain colt Aqua Delta in the Grade 2 Durban Golden Horseshoe over 1400m. He scratched Frosted Gold because of his wide draw and kept Aqua Delta after attaining a reasonable draw of ten.

He said, “He is unexposed and is a nice type, I like what I see. We will see how good he is against tougher company and if he does well he might be sent over to Hong Kong.”

He runs Soft Falling Rain filly Mawsool in the Grade 2 Zulu Kingdom Explorer Golden Slipper over 1400m and said, “Again, she was the one who drew best of my entries. I’m not quite sure she is this league yet, but I’m running her to expose her.”

He runs The Dazzler in the Grade 3 Betting World 2200 and said, “He had a training gallop on Saturday thanks to Muzi not riding to instruction, they hacked around, the race was a joke. So we are running him again here. He is fit and well and will be competitive.”

By David Thiselton

“You could say that his last run in the Rising Sun Gold Challenge was a bit disappointing but I don’t know that it was.” Eric Sands is assessing Rainbow Bridge’s chances of becoming the first since Pocket Power 11 years ago to win the Met and the Vodacom Durban July in the same season.

“He ran into a pocket that day and he came off second best. But, if it had opened up for him, would he have passed Do It Again?” Sands pauses, but no direct answer to his own question is forthcoming. “That said, Do It Again is a top miler and – after what happened to my horse – I was happy with where he finished (third, beaten a fast-diminishing length and three-quarters).”

Rainbow Bridge is the first horse the 63-year-old Milnerton trainer has run in the July since Money Bags in 2006. Ridden by Jeff Lloyd, he started one of the most fancied at 8-1 but hung badly throughout and finished with only one behind him. Four years earlier Grand Jete, carrying golfer Lee Westwood’s colours, was almost as strongly fancied but he was cramped for galloping room and Karl Neisius was forced to ease losing lengths.

Sands, understandably, prefers to concentrate on the present and goes back no more than a few weeks. “Everything has gone well since the Gold Challenge and I couldn’t have asked for a better prep. Indeed all the boxes are now ticked.

“His gallop last Thursday was good and, although the time didn’t matter to me, it was quite fast for a horse that was not being chased along. I don’t know much about the companion – he was loaned to me – but Rainbow Bridge did exactly what we wanted which was to have it easy from the mile and then to quicken at the top of the straight. Gavin said he gave him a kick and the horse was gone – just galloped through his hands.”

It is in the 6-1 third favourite’s favour that much of his excessive nervousness has gone. “From that point of view he has matured a lot and he travelled well going to Greyville last Thursday. He came down off the float with a bit of sweat on him but it was nothing like it used to be.”

Fourth on Tellina five years ago is the closest Gavin Lerena has come in eight previous July rides but the former champion is leaving no stone unturned in his bid to land the great prize on Saturday. “Gavin was riding him the whole of the previous week and he is back this week to do pacework. He gets on well with the horse and he will ride him when we do the final workout tomorrow (Thursday).”

And the owner? Mike Rattray bought Rainbow Bridge specifically to try to achieve his lifetime ambition of winning the July. The octogenarian former Greyville chairman has had two seconds – most recently with Yard-Arm, beaten three-quarters of a length by Dynasty in 2003, while Jagged Ice went under by little more than half a length when third four years later, and in 2012 Solo Traveller (fifth) was unlucky.

“Mike is very positive,” says the trainer admiringly. “We speak every day and I can see where his heart lies. It will be wonderful if we can bring all this to fruition on Saturday.”

By Michael Clower