Paul Reeves celebrated his 51^st birthday yesterday and victory for Photocopy in the opening Itsarush.co.za Welcome Maiden at Durbanville today would be a most welcome present.

The four-year-old is a consistent, albeit frustrating, sort who has been placed in all but one of his 11 starts but for a long time his trainer has been saying that his trip is a mile. Yet he runs over 1 250m here.

“Yes, I always thought he would be best over a mile but I now believe that is in the summer,” Reeves explains. “He doesn’t like the wet and a mile on softish ground at the end of May proved to be too far.

“This 1 250m should be perfect for him and if he doesn’t win today he is not the horse I thought he was!”

Reeves rode nearly 300 winners before a freak head-on collision riding work on the Milnerton training track ended his career. He started training nearly nine years ago and has earned a reputation as a hard-worker who can be guaranteed to get the best out of even the most moderate horse.

Photocopy probably has most to fear from Tyrian who is ridden by Richard Fourie, the rider of Photocopy in five of the latter’s last six starts. The Dynasty colt raced green on debut and was 9-10 favourite with World Sports Betting yesterday when Photocopy was a 5-2 chance. However the weights favour Photocopy. He has only to concede 2kg to the younger horse whereas the weight-for-age scale says he should be giving away 8kg.

Whatever his fortunes on Tyrian, Fourie should win the TAB Telebet Maiden on Margrethe 35 minutes later if he can only keep the Justin Snaith filly calm in the pens. She ran a most encouraging debut only to become fractious in the stalls on her last start. She got extremely upset and reared repeatedly. She was in no frame of mind to race when the gates eventually opened and she only managed fourth.

She has been backed from 11-10 to 8-10 with Touch Of Green (13-2) and newcomer Princess Irene (11-2) also in contention. Beautiful Beat (15-2) is another with claims.

Ikebana (7-10) is the obvious choice for the Tabonline.co.za Handicap after finishing well last time but don’t ignore 15-2 shot China Wolf as she is expected to leave last time’s disappointing effort behind her. “It was her first run out of the maidens and she was taking on the boys,” says Dan Katz. “She got a bit interfered with but she flew home. She is a big runner.”

Forest Prince (13-10) stands out in the Betting World Handicap despite a poor draw and losing ground at the start last time. Those looking for a better price (and a slightly better draw) may like to consider Astrapi at 9-2.

Blue Roller has been second on all his four starts but his turn should finally come in the Play Soccer Maiden, particularly with Aldo Domeyer’s mount stepping up to a mile.

By Michael Clower

The race for the third spot in the International Jockey’s Challenge to take place in Singapore on September 25 is down to the wire with Aldo Domeyer scoring a treble at Flamingo Park in Kimberly yesterday and going two up on rival Greg Cheyne.

Going into the last two days of the 2017/18 racing season just one win separated Cheyne and Domeyer on the jockeys’ log with Domeyer, who started the day on 132 winners, one behind Cheyne, on 133.

Domeyer won the first two races at Flamingo Park for Paul Matchett to edge one clear and went two clear when partnering Bright Flame to victory in the eighth for Steph Miller.

This leaves Cheyne with something of a mountain to climb, needing three winners at Fairview today to claim the final sport in the South African team and a draw is very much on the cards.

The current standings dictate that Lyle Hewitson, Muzi Yeni and either Aldo Domeyer or Greg Cheyne will represent South Africa.

Hewitson, still an apprentice, is set to be crowned the country’s top jockey having ridden 185 winners this season and will hopefully be recovered from a knee injury in time. Yeni, with 147 winners is also guaranteed a place in the SA line-up.

The UK will be represented by Jockeys Hayley Turner (England), Rob Havlin (Scotland) and PJ McDonald (Ireland).

Hugh Bowman, Corey Brown and Kerrin McEvoy will represent Australia.

The Asian team could well be led by Joao Moreira, who has had a tremendous spell in Hong Kong and is currently riding in Japan. His teammates will probably be the top two jockeys from the host country.

According to International Executive Director of Phumelela, John Stuart, Phumelela has been in a very successful relationship with the Singapore Turf Club (STC) for over a decade. The PGI Jockeys Challenge, will entrench this relationship and promote betting across international boundaries.

“Singapore offers magnificent opportunities and we would love South Africans to get seriously involved in Singapore racing,” he said.

By Andrew Harrison

Piet Botha trades in his jockey’s licence for a trainer’s one tomorrow and the man who made a comeback as a rider when all seemed lost is intent on making a big success of his new career.

He said: “I have had training in mind for some time and I have Barn Nine with 33 boxes in the old section of the Milnerton Training Centre where trainers like Dean Kannemeyer, Dan Katz, Billy Prestage and Ronnie Sheehan are also based.”

Botha, 41, was forced to hang up his boots after a bad fall at Summerveld in 2010 caused a broken rib and endless pain that led to his being medically boarded with apparently-permanent nerve damage.

He had a string of Grade 2 and 3 winners to his credit (plus two Grade 1s in Mauritius) including the Green Point and Matchem on Roman Charger, the Peninsula Handicap (Dunford), the Chairman’s Cup, Odessa, Sceptre and two J & B Reserve Stayers.

He began a new career developing a coffee-machine business but the lure of the turf never left him and he returned in April last year to ride for Glen Puller. He has ridden 14 winners since then – Jay Rock being the first and last of them – and has also worked as Puller’s assistant.

He said: “The nerve damage was alright when I resumed race-riding but then it started playing up and it has been causing me problems for quite a while now.”

He passed the trainers’ exam at the first attempt (“although it wasn’t easy, I can tell you!”) and he is keen to build up his string from its present nine horses.

By Michael Clower

Sean Tarry scored the first Grade 1 winner for the promising new sire Pomodoro on Saturday through Thekwini Stakes winner Return Flight and this was fitting as Pomodoro not only won Tarry his first Vodacom Durban July but his dam Golden Apple, bred by Sean’s brother Mark, also provided him with his first Graded winner.

Pomodoro also once recovered from death’s doorstep, so his life has been the stuff of fairytales.

Tarry said, “People forget how well our South African-bred stallions have done. You only have to look at Jet Master (seven times National Champion Sire). Pomodoro was a champion racehorse and is by Jet Master, his dam Golden Apple was a champion broodmare and her sire Northern Guest was a champion broodmare sire, he has every box ticked to be a very successful stallion.”

Furthermore, Pomodoro, like one of history’s greatest stallions, Danzig, is a direct descendant of the 1860 born mare Old Orange Girl, who was a half-sister to the first British Triple Crown winner, West Australian.

Tarry pointed out too that Pomodoro’s progeny were likely to be good three-year-olds and then train on from there, as Pomodoro did himself.

“And here they are doing well at two, which is phenomenal,” he said.

He added, “Pomodoro got good numbers in his first two seasons but received very little quality. Now that he has done what he had to do it would be nice to see him get some quality.”

Pomodoro’s dam Golden Apple was sent to the sales. Sean’s opinion was she was a bit on the small side and should be let go and Mark had agreed. However, in the back of Mark’s mind was her beautiful balance and on the spur of the moment, after she had passed her reserve, he bought her back. It was an inspired decision. She grew into a medium sized filly and provided Sean with his first ever Graded winner less than two years after he had taken out his trainer’s license. She got up by half-a-length under Anthony Delpech to win the Grade 2 Gosforth Park Fillies Guineas at odds of 9/2 in March 1999. She later finished a half-a-length second in the Grade 1 Woolavington 2000 at Greyville and Sean felt if had not been so early in his career she would have done even better. The precocity of Pomodoro’s progeny this season might stem from Golden Apple’s influence as she was placed in two stakes races as a two-year-old.

Golden Apple, who is deceased, went on to become an Equus Champion Broodmare. All eight of her runners have been winners and she has produced four stakes horses.

History was to repeat itself as Pomodoro, Golden Apple’s fifth foal, was sent to the sales by her breeder Chris van Niekerk.

“We were in two minds, so put a reserve of R1 million on him at the National Yearling Sales and bought him back for about R650,000,” recalled Tarry.

Pomodoro, which means tomato in Italian, took a while to develop so didn’t run as a two-year-old despite being taken down to Durban. He spent the first part of his three-year-old career in Tarry’s satellite yard at Summerveld and after finishing second on debut over 1200m at Scottsville he won his next two starts over 1600m, including the Listed Guineas Trial at Clairwood. His first Graded win was in the Grade 3 Tony Ruffel Stakes over 1450m at Turffontein.

Tarry said, “People didn’t realise how good he was, he was unlucky not to win the Grade 1 SA Classic as he was interfered with and when he finally got a clear run he took off and only just failed (by a head) to catch Slumdogmillionaire.”

Pomodoro then won the Grade 1 SA Derby in a dead-heat and after a below par comeback in the Grade 1 Daily News 2000, he won the 2012 July.

In his reappearance he put up two devastating displays to win over 1160m and 1600m at Turffontein.

However, he was required to stay in quarantine at Kenilworth due to the African Horse Sickness protocols and his preparation for the L’Ormarin’s Queen’s Plate and Met were consequently “a mess”. He did well to finish third and fourth respectively in those two events.

He then went to KZN and ran a fine third in the Grade 1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge.

He was declared to race in a tongue tie in the defence of his July crown but ran well below par.

He was sent immediately to the Baker and McVeigh clinic at Summerveld to have a minor procedure performed to solve “intermittent entrapment of the epiglottis”, which is not considered a serious breathing problem.

However, on the way there he kicked out in the float and attained a deep gash from the coronet down to the hoof. A life-threatening Infection set in. After some serious scares the “superbug” was eventually killed by an expensive “super-anti-biotoc” and he pulled through.

He made a comeback in March the following year and had a few more races but was not the same horse, although he did finish third in the Grade 1 Champions Challenge.

He received rave reviews at Klawervlei’s Stallion day when being paraded for the 2015 breeding season and started at a fee of R20,000.

His first crop also includes twice Graded runner up Cirillo and multiple stakes placed Royal Italian.

Tarry said about Return Flight, “She is typical of the family as she has a deep girth and is very athletic. Physically she reminds me of Pomodoro’s half-sister Quest For Gold.”

He added, “We were pretty confident on Saturday although I was not confident Greyvile was the right track, I definitely think she will be better at Turffontein.”

Her target for the season will be the Wilgerbosdrift Triple Tiara series of races.

Meanwhile, Pomodor’s service fee is now R12,000 which could prove to be a bargain.

By David Thiselton

Dean Kannemeyer, Anton Marcus and It’s My Turn were the headlines in another day of history-making at Greyville on Saturday and Mike de Kock, Brett Crawford, Sean Tarry and Mike Azzie were a line of stars among the supporting acts.

There were plenty of talking points and the handicappers were criticised by more than a few for their lenient treatment of It’s My Turn.

The Vodacom Durban July and the eLan Gold Cup are traditionally Durban’s two biggest races, despite the latter having been downgraded to a Grade 3, and Marcus became the first rider since Robbie Hill in 1999 to do the July-Gold Cup double in the same year.

Hill’s double was on the Geoff Woodruff-trained 14/1 shot El Picha and the Pat Shaw-trained 8/1 chance Place Of Gold. Marcus did it with the Justin Snaith-trained 9/1 shot Do It Again and the Kannemeyer-trained 26/10 favourite It’s My Turn.

In the year which marked the 100^th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s birth it was somewhat ironic that Marcus broke a 27 year drought in the Gold Cup, his only other win in the country’s most prestigious staying race having come in 1991 aboard Icona.

Icona was the last topweight to win the race and although It’s My Turn was half-kilogram off topweight on Saturday the 59,5kg on his back is the biggest weight ever carried to victory in the Gold Cup.

It was Kannemeyer’s third Gold Cup victory and probably his most satisfying as his five-year-old Dynasty gelding completed a staying race treble in the space of five weeks, although he appeared to have been given some help by the handicappers.

It’s My Turn, owned by Fred Crabbia, won the Grade 1 Investec Cape Derby for Justin Snaith as a three-year-old and his first run for Kannemeyer, at Scottsville on 28 February this year in the Fever Tree Handicap over 1400m, followed a seven month layoff. In his next start he ran an excellent, close-up third in the Kings Cup over 1600m. However, he over-raced in the Betting World 1900 and needed a good win in the Grade 2 Track And Ball Oaks over 2400m at Scottsville to book his place in the July. He duly delivered that requirement but the final field panelists decided the field has been to weak to justify a July berth.

The handicappers were of the same mind as they made the surprise decision to drop him two points for the win to a merit rating of 106. He still had to race off his old 108 merit rating in the Grade 3 Gold Vase over 3000m on July day as the weights had already been set, but he once again won easily. He could have feasibly been raised to a 109 merit rating for the win if runner up Flichity By Farr had been used as the line horse but instead the handicappers decided to keep him unchanged on 106. This was particularly surprising in light of the ease of his two victories and furthermore they were also his first two attempts at staying distances.

Some of the other trainers believed they had now been given a mountain to climb to beat It’s My Turn, especially as the Gold Cup is a compressed handicap, which thereby favours the horses at the top of the weights. They were proven correct, although this should not detract from the fine training feat by Kannemeyer. It’s My Turn had in fact not won a race since the Cape Derby, so the gifted Cape Town trainer has turned his career around in one season.

Last year’winner Hermoso Mundo ran a gallant second and the talented but somewhat frustrating Wild Wicket was a revelation in third. Strathdon proved his staying class by running fourth and Made To Conquer ran on well for fifth despite carrying topweight and having come off a tough runner up finish in the July.

Earlier, De Kock joined Terrance Millard when clinching a South African record-equalling 117^th career Grade 1. His Australian-bred colt Soqrat by Epaulette is owned and bred by Sheik Hamdan and was highly impressive in the Premier’s Champions Stakes over 1600m under Randall Simons, defeating Australian-bred stable companion Alyaasaat, also owned and bred by Sheik Hamdan, by two lengths.

Tarry had an equally satisfying win earlier in the day when Return Flight won the Grade 1 Thekwini Stakes over 1600m under Anton Marcus as it provided first season sire Pomodoro with his first Grade 1 win. Tarry trained Pomodoro to July victory and the family of this horse was one of the foundations upon which he has built his championship-winning yard.

Later the Crawford-trained stalwart Captain America bowed out with a third career Grade 1 victory in the Champions Cup over 1800m under Corne Orffer. He will now retire to a plot next door to the property of one of the owners Lance Sherrell.

Azzie scored in the Grade 1 Mercury Sprint as the six-year-old Imperial Stride gelding Will Pays, who often flies under the radar, galloped home under Craig Zackey, albeit from a good draw. Second and third-placed Attenborough and Trip To Heaven flew from the back of the field to be beaten just a length and 1,25 lengths respectively.

Duke Of Marmalade scored his first Graded success in South Africa when the Glen Kotzen-trained Temple Grafin won the Grade 3 Debutante over 1200m under Richard Fourie and the Tarry-trained Trippi colt Chimichuri Run was impressive when winning the Grade 3 Umkhomazi over 1200m under S’Manga Khumalo.

The practice of using visiting commentators for big races might end after two incorrect calls were made in the Gold Cup and Champions Cup. Greyville is known by callers to be a particularly difficult course to call at in fading light or under floodlights due to its inner city location and the consequent effect of the surrounding lights and when faced with a big field of unfamiliar colours this task becomes particularly onerous.

By David Thiselton