The die is cast and the 18 top thoroughbreds to contest Africa’s Greatest Horseracing Event, the R4.25-million, Grade 1 Vodacom Durban July over 2200m at Greyville on July 1, have been announced.

With two reserve runners, the final field together with jockeys and barrier draws was revealed at a special function at Greyville yesterday and considering the recent July Log standings, there were no real surprises although the odd eyebrow might have been raised.

But it was the draw that threw the cat among the pigeons with second favourite Al Sahem drawing the plum gate at one while favourite Edict Of Nantes will have to jump from draw 13. There is little between the two on form them having fought out the finish of the Grade 1 Daily News 2000 and apart from the draw, the Sean Tarry-trained Al Sahem has a 0.5kg weight advantage over his rival.

After his wide draw last year from which he won the race, Joey Ramsden drew three for The Conglomerate and Callan Murray will be flying back from Hong Kong to ride him while third favourite before the final field was announced, Elusive Silva, did not fare as well and will have to break from gate 15.

Black Arthur and Marinaresco will jump from gates eight and nine respectively with Ten Gun Salute at five and the filly Nightingale on his outside.

No jockey has been announced for Summer Cup winner Master Sabina, now with the Justin Snaith stable, but Gavin Larena will fly back from the United Kingdom to ride Brazuca, Callan Murray will return from Hong Kong for the race and Muzi Yeni will make his way back from Mauritius to throw a leg over Ten Gun Salute.

Graeme Hawkins, Gold Circle’s Marketing Executive, announced during the luncheon the exciting tote expectations for the big day including a guaranteed Pick 6 pool of R10-million which is expected to reach R11-million plus and a massive guaranteed Quartet pool on the Vodacom Durban July of R13-million which is expected to reach R15-million.

There will be place payouts on the first six placed horses and the pool for this bet is expected to reach R8-million.

By Richard McMillan

In the end the Vodacom Durban July final field selection panellists had a fairly straight forward task, although there might still be one or two grumbles from disappointed connections and punters.

Daily News third-placed Horizon being made reserve and the Gr 3 Jubilee winner Coral Fever also not making the final 18 were the only decisions which could be considered contentious.

However, Horizon had little chance of winning the race on paper on known form with Edict Of Nantes and Al Sahem and his trainer Candice Bass-Robinson had already spoken of the Grade 1 Champions Cup being a more suitable race for him, so the connections are unlikely to be too upset.

Coral Fever won the Jubilee off a merit rating of 89 and beat a horse who was 0.5kg under sufferance, so it was not difficult to punch holes in that form.

The favourite Edict Of Nantes drew barrier position 13.

His nearest market rival Al Sahem received a rousing cheer when he drew pole position, but it is questionable whether this is a good draw these days. There have been a few slow run Julys recently, so being handy has become preferable and a horse drawn in pole might have to be used up to a certain extent to hold position.

Piere Strydom’s last two July wins have been on horses drawn 20, so he is unlikely to be too unhappy about his mount It’s My Turn’s draw of 17.

Last year’s winner The Conglomerate drew low in three. Trainer Joey Ramsden has made a habit of landing outside draws in the July and when his turn came there were only two numbers left for The Conglomerate, three and twenty. On this occasion he phoned Mayfair Speculators Racing manager Derek Brugman for help and between them, after much deliberation, they got the draw they probably preferred.

Last year’s runner up Marinaresco was the first horse to be drawn and his part-owner Marsh Shirtliff drew nine, a lot better than his draw of 17 last year.

However, he has drifted out to 10/1 in the betting and two horses above him in the market, Elusive Silva and Black Arthur, drew a wide 15 and a favourable eight respectively.

Durban couple Roy and Gladys Meaker had their first July runner way back in the 1970 and Gladys drew barrier ten for their supplementary entry this year, Mr Winsome.

By David Thiselton

What the connections had to say after the 2017 Vodacom Durban July draw:

[1] MARINARESCO

Assistance trainer Robert Fayd’Herbe: Marinaresco is doing well at home, his work has been good and all is very much on song,” said Fayd’Herbe, Candice Bass- Robinson’s KZN assistant.

Trainer Candice Bass-Robinson: “Nine is a perfect draw for Marinaresco. He has to be given a chance and half to three-quarters the way back is where he needs to be ridden.”

Jockey Bernard Fayd’Herbe: “I have still to study what is around me but I am happy enough with nine – it’s certainly better than ten and upwards.”

[2] FRENCH NAVY – comments to follow

[3] MASTER SABINA

Trainer Justin Snaith: Doing well. As a two-time Summer Cup winner I think he is well weighted on 57.5kg. He’ll run his race. Don’t worry about the draw. All can change in a matter of seconds.

[4] BRAZUCA – comments to follow

[5] KRAMBAMBULI

Trainer Justin Snaith: Has not come off the bit in his last two wins. I know it was against weaker but he has done nothing wrong. It will not be easy at the weights and he will need a pace. I think he will tuck in at the back of the field to save energy and look for a strong finish.

[6] SARATOGA DANCER

Trainer Duncan Howells: His last run was a bit disappointing but all that is now behind him. His work is very good and is back to his normal, honest self.

[7] THE CONGLOMERATE

Trainer Joey Ramsden: I was very happy with his last run. He ran a good race without hammering him. He’s in good order. Anton (Marcus) thought about riding him but eventually stuck to the other horse (Edict Of Nantes).

[8] IT’S MY TURN

Trainer Justin Snaith: Nicely in (at the weights). I purposely missed the Gold Challenge because we didn’t want any more penalties. He needed the Betting Word 1900 badly but is doing good work at home. His biggest asset is Piere Strydom. He’s the right guy for a big race.

[9] TEN GUN SALUTE

Trainer Duncan Howells: Has come through the Betting World 1900 very well and has recovered from his back problem. He is doing very well.

[10] NIGHTINGALE

Assistance trainer Robert Fayd’Herbe: “I am very happy with Nightingale. She is doing very well at home and has had a nice prep. She is coming well at the right time.

[11] BLACK ARTHUR

Trainer Justin Snaith: Have aimed him specifically for the July. He’s the horse to beat. He’s a huge runner off 54.5kg. Horses run for Grant van Niekerk and he can ride him confidently. Of the older horses he’s the right horse. There are lots of big races in the winter season but really this is the race we all want to win and you have to sneak into the race off the best weight that you can.

Jockey Grant van Niekerk: Drawn 11 and 17 on close-seconds Smanjemanje and Marinaresco, said of Black Arthur’s eight draw:  “I am very happy. Thank you Justin Snaith!”

[12] EDICT OF NANTES

Trainer Brett Crawford: My stable is in top form at the moment and I am very happy with my horses. Edict has come through his last run like he never had a run – he is very well.

[13] AL SAHEM – comments to follow

[14] MR WINSOME

Trainer Dean Kannemeyer: I’m very happy with his 1900 performance. That’s what made me think of supplementing him for the July. He is well weighted and is a tough, sound and consistent horse. I won this race two years ago with Power King off a similar weight so I don’t think that he’s without a chance.

[15] ELUSIVE SILVA

Trainer Justin Snaith: He’s beautifully weighted and is a 2200m plus horse. He missed the Cape summer because of injury and off 53kg he is a huge runner. All my horses are well in at the weights.

[16] PAGODA

Trainer Geoff Woodruff: Was all at sea at Greyville when having his first run here but is bound to improve from the outing. Off a low weight should run well with Al Sahem – if he (Al Sahem) has a chance, so should Pagoda.

[17] TILBURY FORT

Jockey Greg Cheyne: Was satisfied with Tilbury Fort’s 11 slot, saying: “He will come in one when the reserves come out and I started from ten when I won on Big City Life in 2009.”

[18] SAFE HARBOUR – comments to follow

[19 – Reserve] HORIZON

Assistance trainer Robert Fayd’Herbe: Doing well, had three runs here in KZN – he is fit and well and all is going well with him. Hopefully he gets in, if he does, he will be a big runner at the weights.

[20 – Reserve] NEBULA

Trainer Brett Crawford: Is fit and well but unlikely to run. Not sure where we go from here. We still have to decide.

African Night Sky faces eight opponents in his bid to become the first since Pocket Power 11 years ago to win all three legs of the Winter Series.

The gelding’s biggest threat in the Highlands Stud Winter Derby at Kenilworth on Saturday could well be Newlands, particularly with Anton Marcus flying down to take the mount. The Joey Ramsden-trained gelding is officially rated a kilo better than the probable favourite and he also receives a kilo.

African Night Sky, unlike a number of those who have tried and failed in this race in the past, has the pedigree for the job. By the 2003 Durban July winner Dynasty, he is out of a mare who won over an extended mile and a half.

“He hasn’t tried the trip before so there is a doubt in that respect,” says Chris Snaith. “But he is bred to get it and I personally don’t really have any doubts.”

Marcus’s other mounts include the R6 million purchase Silver Coin who hasn’t raced since making a winning debut in early April. He runs in the Langerman, a race that Ramsden has dominated like no other, winning nine of the last 16 runnings.

•  Kingston Passage, who cost punters dear when failing to fire at 16-10 on Sunday, had a legitimate reason for his below par display. Senior stipe Ernie Rodrigues had an NHA vet examine the gelding yesterday morning and the horse was found to be short on his left hind.

By Michael Clower

Michael “Muis” Roberts is regarded by many as South Africa’s greatest ever jockey, yet at one stage he had resigned himself to forever being winless in his home country’s biggest race, the Vodacom Durban July.

Roberts was riding full time in the U.K, so the best July rides were usually booked, and the July also coincided with the Gr 1 Coral Eclipse which he often rode in.

His wife Verna used to brush over the missing July jigsaw piece by pointing out the Epsom Derby was the greatest race in the world and in his circumstances he would have a fair chance of winning that.

However, the July blank remained a sore point.

He said it had never gone as far as causing sleepless nights, but admitted, “What used to hurt me was when I would go to the cattle shows (Roberts owned a cattle farm) and the farmers who knew nothing about racing used to say to me ‘But you have never won the July’. The championships I had won meant nothing to them.”

Roberts won eleven South African championships before his 17 year stint in the UK, where in 1992 he became only the sixth non-British or Irish jockey to have won the British Flat Jockey Championship.

One of Roberts’ biggest July disappointments was in 1975 on Sledgehammer, whom he regards as one of the best he ever rode in South Africa. In the 1970s the Queen’s Plate was run in mid to late-February and in retrospect Roberts wondered whether horses like Sledgehammer, who had endured arduous campaigns during the Cape Summer season, were quite ready for the July.

He added, “I also thought I had a chance on Majestic Crown (fourth in 1976).”

Then in 1979 he landed a plum ride on the brilliant three-year-old Bold Tropic. Durban readers woke up on the morning of the race to the front page headline, “Muis sleeps as July fever soars” which summed up both the importance of the race and just how idolised Roberts was. However, he could only manage fifth place and Roberts recalled, “I think he was tired by the time of the July.”

Roberts’ best finish in that era came on the 1981 runner up French Mustard, who was a pick up ride after his original mount was scratched.

In 1987, now riding full-time in Britain, Roberts bumped into prolific South African owner Laurie Jaffee at Royal Ascot. Jaffee believed he would win the July that year with Bush Telegraph and offered Roberts the ride as the horse’s regular rider Garth Puller was going to battle to make the weight. However, Roberts could never have considered abandoning the great horse Mtoto. Bush Telegraph duly won the July, while Roberts steered Mtoto to two successive Coral Eclipse victories.

Then in 1997 Roberts’ agent told him at the races one Saturday that South African trainer David Ferraris had phoned and offered him a July ride on a horse called North By Northwest. After the races Roberts gathered this horse had won the Gr 1 Daily News and was the ruling July favourite.

“We were excited,” he recalled.

Roberts phoned Ferraris the next day on a Sunday morning. However, there was bad news. He was informed that stable jockey Weichong Marwing had changed his mind and had opted for North By Northwest. Roberts recalled the immediate disappointment. Ferraris then offered him the ride on his other runner Super Quality, whom he described as a “game little bugger”, but he added he would understand if he did not want to make the journey. However, Roberts did not have any Coral Eclipse commitments and always liked to visit his farm in the Karkloof in the KZN midlands, so he accepted.

He recalled the big day, “The worst part was when I was in the parade ring. I saw this tiny little horse walking in. Then I got on him and I couldn’t believe how small he was. I thought to myself, oh no, how embarrassing, journeying all this way to ride this horse. I asked the groom if he liked him and he replied, ‘No I like North By Northwest, he is a very nice horse.’ So my mood was down. But, then he went down to the start like an absolute bomb. I pulled him up at the 2400m mark and Garth was alongside and I remember telling him how good the horse had felt. David had only given me one bit of advice, which was not to bring him through horses, so to try and bring him to the outside.”

Roberts recalled having a rough passage in the early part of the race. “I remember screaming at Garth on my outside to give me some room because I thought I was going to go over the fence. But, after rounding the Drill Hall he was absolutely cantering. It was the first time I had travelled that hard in the July, you were usually starting to come off the bridle at that stage. And then as we were turning for home a big gap opened to my left. I was able to switch to the outside and the rest is history. I remember thinking how often a July leader is caught in the closing stages, but fortunately it did not happen.”

Roberts shed tears of emotion in the winner’s enclosure and recalled, “I couldn’t talk.”

Later, he bought a bottle of champagne for his weighing room colleagues and remembered having a fantastic party in “the middle” (known these days as “tent town”).

He was inundated with well wishes from all over the country and a TV sports channel also had an interview with him at the airport before he flew back to England the following day.

Roberts concluded, “It was the pinnacle moment of my career in South Africa.”

By David Thiselton