Justin Snaith’s response to learning he had delivered the most dominant finish by a trainer in Vodacom Durban July history was to say “That is incredible, there is no history like the July.”

Terrance Millard did the 1-2-3 in both 1986 and 1990, although in the latter race one of his horses dead-heated for third. However, Snaith went one better by doing the 1-2-3 and fifth place. He did have five runners in the race, while Millard only had three runners on each of those two occasions. However, Snaith’s winner Do It Again was 6,75 lengths clear of the first non-Snaith-trained horse home while Millard’s winners in those two years, Occult and Illustrador, were respectively 1,85 lengths and 3,3 lengths clear of the first non-Millard-trained horse home.

Some will argue Millard’s horses faced much stronger fields and they would probably be correct as this year’s race did not have a vintage field. However, the winner might turn out to be something special. Snaith was forced to ride him work last Wednesday as there was a groom’s strike on and he phoned Anton Marcus immediately afterwards excited about the horse’s prospects.

Snaith said, “I have sat on a lot of champions in Australia and South Africa and the feel he gave me was as good as any horse I have ever sat on. His movement and the whole package he has, there is a lot of potential. I have to thank Malan Du Toit too because he put in a lot of work at the starting stalls with him.”

Do It Again had in fact been a real handful upon arriving at the yard.

Snaith said, “He was a very naughty horse. If ever there was a horse you would have wanted to have gone to war with it was him. You just had to point him in the right direction and he would have run through a wall. He has always been a very strong-minded horse. The first time we wanted to take him to the gallops we couldn’t get him on the float.”

Not surprisingly he was gelded about two-and-a-half months before his debut on July 27 last year. Snaith explained, “Gelding gets them to focus more. But a year of effort has been put in to get him to have full trust in humans. He is now comfortable around humans. Even in the lead-in on Saturday people were able to touch him. A year ago if that had happened he would have lashed out. His groom Isaac Mwelafse has learnt a lot about horsemanship over the last year. He has done a very good job looking after him and also looks after my polo ponies.”

Do It Again won his first two starts over 1200m and 1600m respectively and then ran a close third in the Selangor Cup over 1600m at Kenilworth. He disappointed when unplaced in the Grade 1 Cape Guineas. However, Snaith earmarked him for the July after he had produced a flying finish to run second in the Grade 1 Cape Derby.

In KZN he won the Grade 2 KRA Guineas in his first start and Snaith pointed out that not having the best horses competing there, like Eyes Wide Open, had meant he escaped punishment by the handicapper and helped his July chances. However, he added, “The way he won on Saturday it would not have made a difference anyway.”

Snaith said he was not an easy horse to get to right and he had been a bit flat for the Daily News but had then turned the corner.

The Northfields Stud-bred Do It Again is owned by Nick Jonsson, Bernard Kantor and Jack Mitchell.

He is by Twice Over and hails from a strong female line. His dam Sweet Virginia is a three-time Grade 3 winner and did the Winter Classic and Winter Derby double, beating the boys. Do It Again is a half-brother to Listed winner Strongman, who also did well in Hong Kong, and is from the family of stakes winners of the like of Grade 1 winners Smart As Paint, Mill Hill and Dancewiththedevil.

He was a strapping individual at the National Yearling Sales of 2016. Nick Jonsson made him his pick of the sale, but bloodstock agent John Freeman had also selected him in unison with Jack Mitchell. Bernard Kantor was also interested as a shareholder in Klawervlei Stud where Twice Over stands. Jonathon Snaith approached the trio of investors and suggest they try and secure him together instead of bidding against each other. All were agreeable to the partnership, but they still had to go to R1,1 million to secure him.

Snaith said everything had gone “like clockwork” for all five of his horses going into the July. The only disappointment on the day was the favourite African Night Sky and Snaith had to confess his team were not impressed by the ride he was given. It had definitely not been the plan to come around horses at the 800m mark and take the lead. Grant van Niekerk had battled to hold the horse behind the pedestrian pace but Snaith believed he should rather have taken a stronger hold than come around them as the horse had been in a perfect position. However, he did admit African Night Sky’s move had inadvertently helped Do It Again as Marcus was able to get on to the train provided by both him and Matador Man.

Snaith said all of the horses had so far appeared to have pulled up well, but it was too early to tell for sure. It was also too early to speak about their futures.

He was also frustrated by cut off for the nominations for Gold Cup day being 11 a.m yesterday, before the new merit ratings for his July day horses had come out. He felt Made To Conquer was a perfect horse for the Gold Cup but would not want to run him with too much weight and he was thus going to have to estimate his new merit rating.  Snaith concluded by saying he hoped Ben Jonsson had been watching from a high with a smile and a sip of champagne as his son led in the winner.

By David Thiselton

It is the dream of every owner in South Africa to win the Vodacom Durban July and on Saturday Durban businessman Nick Jonsson described the moment his two Justin Snaith-trained geldings Do It Again and Made To Conquer powered clear in the straight as “almost surreal.”

Prolific owner Bernard Kantor, whose colours were carried to victory by Do It Again, was still lyrical hours after the running and said, “What an experience!” Jack Mitchell is the third part-owner. It was his second July win, having done it with Legislate in 2014.

Jonsson became the first owner since Luke Bailes in 1990 to run one-two in the big race.

Bailes and Jonsson are close friends, just one irony in a day filled with drama.

Bailes feat was achieved with the Terrance Millard-trained pair Illustrador and Olympic Duel in 1990, which was also the second time Millard had done the July trifecta. However, Justin Snaith now holds the record for the most dominant July performance as he trained the first three on Saturday and was just half-a-length away from doing the quartet as favourite African Night Sky faded late into fifth place.

Jonsson believed he had the two best jockeys in the race, Anton Marcus and Jeff Lloyd, and felt the key to victory was that they had ridden their races exactly as discussed.

Marcus became the first to ride five July winners. He had been stuck on four together with Harold “Tiger” Wright, since Hunting Tower’s victory in 2007. Anthony Delpech, currently recuperating from a serious injury, joined that pair on four wins with back-to-back victories in 2010 and 2011.

Marcus settled Do It Again near the back from a wide draw, while Lloyd took the ultra-relaxed type Made To Conquer forward from a draw of eleven. Lloyd settled Made To Conquer on the flank of the initial pacemaker White River, who had boiled over during the lengthy fifteen minute delay at the start and was over-racing.

Marcus remained patient behind a pedestrian pace. However, Grant van Niekerk appeared to be battling to hold African Night Sky and from a well-nigh perfect position in midfield eventually allowed him to circle the field and take the lead. This horse’s best asset, his turn of foot from off the pace, had now been negated. Made To Conquer, still beautifully relaxed, had by this stage found the rail in front. However, African Night Sky’s surprise move then provided him with the perfect tow into the straight. Everything was unfolding perfectly for “The Guv”, Jeff Lloyd, the 56-year-old six-times South African Champion Jockey who had flown out from Australia to make likely a last attempt at breaking his July duck.

However, Marcus was also having a fine trip, largely due to his brilliance as a big race rider. He got on to the back of the train provided by African Night Sky and Matador Man and was given a tow up the hill. 2013 July-winning jockey S’Manga Khumalo had kept Matador Man out wide in the back straight despite the latter’s usual slow start. However, the usual rush for the first turn never materialised and Khumalo suddenly found himself trapped wide on a fighting horse and his chances were gone.

Lloyd, knowing Made To Conquer stays further, sent his mount for home while still turning into the straight. However, Do It Again was by now just three lengths behind and still looking full of running.

Kantor was watching in a box at the 200m mark and at this point nudged the top South African Singapore-based trainer, Pat Shaw, standing next to him, and said, “Let’s go.” He was so confident of victory he knew he could make his way to the winner’s enclosure.

Indeed, Do It Again then fulfilled a statement Justin Snaith had apparently made to a racing enthusiast earlier in the week, “I don’t train horses, I train machines.” He passed the line 1,25 lengths clear. Third-placed Elusive Silva was beaten 5,50 lengths, 1,25 lengths ahead of fourth-placed Majestic Mambo.

It was Justin Snaith’s third July win.

It was a best ever July finish for Lloyd, who had finished third eight times.

Even as Jonsson celebrated his momentous achievement with close friends in a second floor box his eyes were filled with sadness. He had thought of his late father Ben “all the time” during the emotion charged day. “Benji”, much loved and appreciated by the entire racing community for his friendly demeanour and the passion he had poured into his administrative roles in the sport, passed away in February this year having never realised his dream in 50 years of ownership of having a runner in the July.

A KZN owner had not won the July since Raymond Deacon and Glen Mitchell did it in 2009 as part-owners of Big City Life and one has to go back to 1994’s winner Space Walk to find the previous KZN-based owners.

Pat Shaw celebrated in the box with Kantor. He has trained for Kantor in both South Africa and Singapore for thirty years. Also in the box were Sean McCarthy and family. The latter part-owned the 1993 winner Dancing Duel, who had provided Luke Bailes with a third July winner.

Kantor was out from London for a meeting between Phumelela and horseracing owners and praised Gold Circle for “the incredible job they do with the July.”

The Investec kingpin has witnessed the emotions of Epsom Derby-winning owners and said winning the July was just about as good. The Derby is regarded as the premier horse race in the world and is now sponsored by Investec.

Indeed, the roar which ascended above Greyville when the horses jumped probably outdid the Cheltenham Festival’s world famous roar and on course the top Australian racing journalist Steve Moran described the July as world racing’s “best kept secret.”

Jonsson drew the short straw when deciding whether his or Kantor’s colours would be carried by Do It Again, so it will the familiar yellow with royal blue epaulettes which will become the latest new set of silks to make it on to the July victory wall in Greyville’s Classic room.

By David Thiselton

Snowdance, well-nigh invincible in Cape Town, has now been beaten in all three of her Durban starts. As in the Fillies Guineas and the Gold Challenge, she wasn’t beaten far in the Jonsson Workwear Garden Province and the odds-on shot looked all over the winner well inside the final furlong only to be pipped on the post.

“She is not the same horse here, she hasn’t settled in Durban and she hates it under the lights,” declared Justin Snaith but the Lammerskraal owner-bred Redberry Lane carried rather more stable confidence than her 22-1 price might suggest. “We came here upbeat about her chances,” said Sean Tarry and the way Lyle Hewitson kept driving was a sure indication of his belief that victory was well within the realms of possibility.

Jeff Lloyd flies back to Australia today to bring down the curtain on his great career and there was a huge cheer when he rode into the winner’s box for the final time in South Africa after landing the KZN Yearling Sale Million on Givinitsum.

This was the most valuable victory of Candice Dawson’s two and a half years as a trainer and for good measure she followed up with the Nooresh Juglall-ridden Infamous Fox in the finale.

By Michael Clower

It was on last Wednesday’s strike-ridden morning at Summerveld that Justin Snaith realised that Do It Again could be the pick of his five runners in the Vodacom Durban July.

“I rode 12 horses that day but he was the only one of the July five that I actually rode work on. When you ride them yourself you really get a feel and I just knew,” he related. “I thought he was really impressive and I immediately rang my brother Jonathan to tell him. Do It Again is not an easy horse to get right but we were able to do so on the right day this time.

“It was our race to lose on Saturday and the slow early pace didn’t matter to Do It Again. He is on the up and he has been showing signs of becoming a top horse. As regards the future, we will talk to the owners and then decide.”

The 9-1 chance was Snaith’s third July winner – Dancer’s Daughter dead-heated with Pocket Power ten years ago and in 2014 Legislate got the race in the boardroom – but this time he also sent out the second, third and fifth. It was a record-breaking fifth July win for Anton Marcus who made light of his considerable achievement, preferring to give credit to the Northfields-bred son of Twice Over, saying: “Records are pictures on walls but this horse has got a very bright future ahead of him.”

There is a brass plaque in the pagoda in the Greyville parade ring inscribed in the memory of ‘Benjamin Jonsson, 24 July 1929- 15 February 2018 – a life dedicated to horseracing.’ This polite, distinguished-looking man would have been proud of the horse who is owned by his son Nick in partnership with Jack Mitchell and Bernard Kantor. The last-named was understandably thrilled, declaring: “Winning this race means everything. Forget about the Derby, this is home turf and there is only one July.”

For Grant van Niekerk, though, the race turned into a living nightmare. African Night Sky, for so long the obvious winner, hated being restrained and fought for his head. “I was hoping the pace would hot up but they just went slower and slower,” the favourite’s rider reported. “I thought that if I went on he would settle but he is a horse who comes from behind.”

Many of those who tore up their betting slips went home convinced that those rumours last week that the horse had suffered a setback must have been true after all. Indeed they were staggered to see the favourite’s Tote odds rise to a scarcely credible 6-1 just five minutes before the off. But Snaith, the one man in a position to know, dismissed all such suggestions, saying: “He was 100%. If there had been anything wrong with him he wouldn’t have run fifth. It was just that he over-raced.”

Others were more worried about Abashiri. The Triple Crown winner was pulled up before the line and was loaded into a horsebox, very obviously lame on his left fore. I saw some racegoers turn away in tears, clearly expecting to hear the fatal crack of the humane killer.

But, thankfully, Adam Azzie was able to report a couple of hours later: “He did a suspensory but he is going to be alright and in a couple of months we will decide whether he races again or is retired.”

The race itself, or rather the start, made a little bit of history because it was the first July in more than 30 years for which the stalls were opened manually. Repeated attempts to find the cause of the electrical failure in certain sections resulted in a 13-minute delay and saw the starter pulling a lever to open the gates rather than pressing a button.

By Michael Clower

The Triple Crown hero Abashiri damaged a suspensory ligament in Saturday’s Vodacom Durban July and was pulled out of the race in the straight by jockey Piere Strydom.

It is the end of the star gelding’s racing career.

The good-looking chestnut will spend a week in hospital and will then enjoy a likely pampered retirement being looked after by his trainer Mike Azzie and family.

He won six races in 19 starts and earned R4,289,250 in stakes.

He is by the Lammerskraal Stud sire Go Deputy and was also bred by Lammerskraal.

He was purchased for R400,000 at the 2014 National Yearling Sales.

Gold Circle’s Tote turnover for Saturday’s event was 7% down on last year but they were nevertheless pleased as it had come on the back of two increases in turnover in the previous two years and the July was also competing this year with two World Cup football quarter-final matches.

By David Thiselton