Mike de Kock, who has won the Vodacom Durban July four times, might have a fair hand in this year’s race after his good looking colt Yakeen won the traditional July pointer, the Grade 3 Jubilee Handicap, over 1800m at Turffontein yesterday under Muzi Yeni.

Muzi Yeni

Yeni did a fine job in settling the three-year-old Australian-bred colt by Teofilo as he threw his head up for a few strides in the early stages. Yeni managed to keep him covered behind Fort Ember and he relaxed well in the second quarter of the race. He turned for home in fourth place about three lengths off the pace set by Trading Profit. Yeni took Yakeen to the inside rail and he stayed on resolutely. The Sean Tarry pair Social Order and Tilbury Fort burst through from midfield to challenge. Tilbury Fort was going particularly well and looked likely to get up, but Yakeen dug down deep and held on by a whisker. Social Order faded in the final stages and was overtaken by Arctica. Romany Prince and Deo Juvente were next best.

Yakeen was merit rated only 99 going into the race and carried 53kg, but as it is a traditional July pointer he will come under strong consideration by the final field panelists. Coral Fever was eliminated by the July final field panelists last year after winning this race and it was likely due to his low merit rating at the time. However, he has since proved the panelists wrong as he is the highest merit rated horse still standing in this year’s race. He might have inadvertently helped Yakeen’s cause. Tilbury Fort, merit rated 100, is also a July entry and his recent form will also see him being considered. Social Order is merit rated 106 and has been in good form. After winning the Kings Cup at Greyville he ran third in the Grade 2 Colorado King Stakes over 1800m. He was a borderline horse on the July log but considering the pressure for a place this year he might have dented his chances with yesterday’s 1,8 length fourth. Deo Juvente is a July entry and would probably have needed to do better, despite his 2,9 length sixth with topweight being a good performance. Two other July entries Glider Pilot and Fort Ember likely saw their chances of making the July field disappearing with disappointing runs, beaten 4,5 and 21,25 lengths respectively.

One of De Kock’s other two July candidates, Cascapedia, was scratched from the Jubilee with an elevated temperature, but she was high on the log and has likely booked her place. De Kock’s third July entry is Royal Crusade, who finished third in the Gauteng Guineas and fifth in the SA Derby. The yard might be looking to qualify him at the last gasp saloon in the Grade 3 Track And Ball Derby at Scottsville on June 23.

By David Thiselton

Clouds Unfold has next season’s Cape Fillies Guineas as a major target after comprehensively outpointing her male rivals in the Cape Of Good Hope Nursery at a rain-softened Kenilworth on Saturday.

Aldo Domeyer, who also won this Grade 3 on fellow What A Winter-sired Dutch Philip 12 months ago, rode a waiting race on the Drakenstein homebred but was able to pick off those in front without recourse to much more than hands and heels. He had runner-up Seventh Sea three lengths back and apparently it was even more impressive than it looked.

He said: “I thought I would shake her up at the 500m mark to see what I had under me and she really turned it on. There is definitely something big in the pipeline.”

Aldo Domeyer

This was the 15^th Cape Town two-year-old success of the season for Candice Bass-Robinson who added: “Clouds Unfold will get a mile and she has a nice turn of foot. I would hope that she will prove to be a Guineas filly.”

Arabian Air, though, proved a costly beaten favourite for the third successive race and dropped out to finish plumb last. The veterinary examination ordered by the stipes revealed nothing but Donovan Dillon, who has ridden the colt in all four starts, had no doubt and reported: “He was not himself. He is still growing and so we will put him away for a while.”

In the Kenilworth Fillies Nursery it was Mrs Bass-Robinson and her jockey who suffered the reverse with odds-on Nous Voila managing only third after looking an assured winner approaching the furlong pole. She seemed to run lead-footed in the closing stages.

Her trainer said: “She has a bit of a Judpot action and I don’t think she enjoyed the ground.”

The race was won by the 28-1 outsider of the field who was apparently only entered to make up the numbers. “There were just five entries and the Club asked us to put horses in,” related Glen Kotzen. “We’d always thought highly of Coral Bay and I felt she was a top prospect but I’d put her on the back-burner. She then put up a good gallop, I said that we had to help the Club and run her. I promised the owners that her next race would be round the turn in a maiden that she could win!”

Robert Khathi, who had won this on an even longer shot two years ago – 45-1 chance Nordic Breeze – rode the Ideal World filly in the gallop, and said he then had to beg for the ride. But he delivered her to perfection to hit the front on the inner 100m from home.

It was a satisfactory afternoon for Kotzen because he also won the Interbet.co.za Handicap with Ostinato for Green Street Bloodstock, winner number 13 (and the first in Cape Town) for 16-year-old riding sensation Luke Ferraris.

Ryan Munger, 22, also rode his first Kenilworth winner when the Andre Nel-trained Room At The Top came away in the final furlong of the TAB Telebet Maiden to readily justify odds of 9-10. This was only Munger’s third visit to the course.

However Ferraris could finish no closer than third on Siberian Husky who attracted an extraordinary amount of support in the mile handicap. The three-year-old was backed from 13-1 to 100-30 favourite and made the running but was beaten into third by the Snaith-trained Green Archer who was brought from well back by Francois Herholdt.

Sandile Mbhele made it winner number 17 when springing a 28-1 shock on Seventh Silver in the opener. Grant Knowles led in the Vaughan Marshall winner – who made up five lengths in a furlong – and promptly announced that he is going to sell the colt to Mauritius. Runner-up Frank Lloyd Wright, expensive at 5-8, returned with an over-reach.

By Michael Clower

Justin Snaith will know the fate of African Night Sky’s merit rating sometime this morning after the handicappers have assessed Saturday’s win in the Cup Trial.

African Night Sky (Candiese Marnewick)

In the heat of the moment, Snaith was uncertain of any plans as to African Night Sky’s participation in the Vodacom Durban July, but with the benefit of hindsight the waters may settle.

“If we get hammered then we may take it on appeal but it will be up to Fred (Crabbia) to decide. If it’s around four pounds, hopefully less, then we will probably take our medicine and crack on,” said Snaith on Saturday.

So a lot hinges on which horse the handicappers choose as the ‘line-horse’, a horse that has run up to what they deem as its optimum rating.

If they choose either second placed Crowd Pleaser or third-placed Platinum Prince then the penalty could be as little as two pounds. If the handicappers choose fourth placed Head Honcho, then the penalty could be as high as five pounds or even six given the ease his victory.

Even with that in mind, the general consensus on course on Saturday was, “we’ve just seen the July winner!” and bookmakers tend to agree as African Night Sky was trading at short as 22-10 yesterday with Majestic Mambo and Do It Again at around 6-1.

The weights will be announced on Tuesday, June 19.

By Andrew Harrison

Frank Robinson runs Roy Had Enough and Roy’s Riviera in big races at Greyville for the second Saturday in a row and said as they were sound types this would not be a problem.

He said about Roy Had Enough, who runs in the Grade 1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge over 1600m, “He was above himself last Saturday before the Daily News and then they went at a crawl. He pulled up like he had never had a run and has been moving brilliantly, so there is no reason he can’t run a week apart.”

Roy Had Enough (Candiese Marnewick)

The Australian-bred colt had missed his intended run in the Daisy Guineas so probably needed the run last Saturday. He has won twice over Saturday’s course and distance including in the Christmas Handicap.

Roy’s Riviera also pulled up well from her fine fifth-placed effort in the Grade 1 Woolavington 2000 and Robinson pointed out, like Roy Had Enough, she was a tough horse. He runs her in the Grade 3 Cup Trial over 1800m.

He said, “Considering she finished only 3,75 lengths behind Oh Susanna last Saturday off a slow pace, she is well weighted in the Cup Trial carrying just 52kg.”

Another Summerveld trainer who expected a good performance in the Cup Trial was Mark Dixon, who runs Celtic Captain, although he admitted he was not well handicapped. He said, “He is very well and I give him a shout.” He expected from draw 8 Celtic Captain would use his good gatespeed to make the running.

Dixon was bullish about the chances of Across Seattle in the Listed Gatecrasher Stakes over 1400m. This Sail From Seattle two-year-old finished a decent third in the Sentinel Stakes over 1000m, where he stayed on well after a slow start. Dixon said, “He has been gelded and will improve a lot over the trip.”

Robinson’s other runner on the day is Bank The Cash, who runs in the KZN Winter Challenge 2000  and he felt he was a big runner as he had felt he would need the run when winning easily over 1800m on the poly last time out.

By David Thiselton

The Grade 3 Jubilee Handicap is traditionally an important Vodacom Durban July qualifying race and this year is no different with a number of horses trying to impress the final field selection panellists.

Social Order, who has come into his own with blinkers, stayed on strongly for a 1,75 length third in the Colorado King Stakes over 2000m and that form looks excellent now as he was running at level weights with the winner, Coral Fever, who went on to win the Grade 1 Premier’s Champions Challenge. S’Manga Khumalo rides from a draw of eight and the Count Dubois gelding should be finishing strongly.

Social Order (Candiese Marnewick)

The big Irish-bred filly Cascapedia is unbeaten in four starts over this course and distance and has a plum draw of two. However, she is well up on the July log and connections will likely be viewing this as a July preparation run. Deo Juvente ran a good race in the Champions Challenge considering it was his second run after his well below par Cape Town campaign. From a good draw in his peak run over an ideal trip he could be a big runner, especially as he is unsighted on the July log. Glider Pilot is another one who will need to impress the July panellists.

This long-striding sort is ideally course and distance suited and usually relaxes well in the running so has a chance of overcoming a wide draw. Tilbury Fort is unbeaten in two starts since gelding. He has never won beyond a mile but did finish second last year in the Greyville 1900 so he must have a shout here under Lyle Hewitson despite being raised three points for his last run. Elevated, fourth in the Grade 1 Cape Guinea of 2016, went close in his second and third starts for Mike de Kock but was then rested for six months. He comes in off one outing over a too sharp 1200m and with a light weight could make his presence felt if close to his best.

Wind Chill is a small filly who was a two length fourth in the Colorado King Stakes so she should finish close to Social Order on paper. She has a good draw. Fort Ember finished second in the Summer Cup and second in the Colorado King Stakes so loves this galloping track. In the Champions Challenge she did not have the speed to overcome a wide draw in a fast run race and she was then unlucky in the WSB 1900 at Greyville. The blinkers are on and this is probably in order to help her get to the front from another wide draw. If she is able to get the lead she has a shout. Yakeen has won three out of five starts and should appreciate the step up in trip so can’t be ignored. Tandava is a versatile type capable of a strong finish so has to be considered.

By David Thiselton