Gareth van Zyl said his Gr 3 Cup Trial contestant Celtic Captain had recovered nicely from his 7,25 length ninth in the Gr 1 Premier’s Champions Challenge over 2000m at Turffontein, which was run on May 6, and he expected him to run to his ability on Saturday at Greyville. He believed the four-year-old Captain Al gelding would probably prefer this 1800m trip and hoped he could run a place.

He predicted Celtic Captain would get the decent pace he required with the front-running Crowd Pleaser in the field. Celtic Captain has always struck as one who is full of ability. He does sometimes take a keen hold, but in his last two turf starts, in the Umthombothi Stakes over 2000m at Greyville and in the Champions Challenge, he has settled well after finding cover.

He won the Unthombothi, but was being caught in the closing stages and his good turn of foot will likely be more effective over this slightly shorter trip. He was lowered two points for his Champions Challenge run to 103 and jumps from a tricky draw of six in the nine horse field.

Van Zyl scratched Celtic Captain from the Vodacom Durban July at first declarations and said he believed he was not quite good enough.

Van Zyl mentioned Trojan Harbour as one of his best runners on the day. This impressive Australian-bred specimen is a bay colt by Harbour Watch out of the Encosta De Lago mare Salma. Harbour Watch was unbeaten in three starts in England, including winning the Gr 2 Richmond Stakes for two-year-old males over six furlongs at Goodwood. No horse got within 2,25 lengths of him. Salma is a half-sister to Big Time (Danewin), who won four times from 1600m to 1900m including a Listed event.

Therefore, on pedigree Trojan Harbour should stay the 1400m of Saturday’s Listed Gatecrasher Stakes. Third time out he ran on well to win over 1000m at Greyville by two lengths going away and displayed a long elastic-like action. Van Zyl cited one of KZN’s most talked about horses, the Alistair Gordon-trained Monks Hood, as being “hard to beat”. However, an interesting collateral formline emerged on Wednesday.

Monks Hood’s 7,5 length runner up  Tom Collins was beaten 9,7 lengths by Concealed Secret over 1200m and the latter was the two length runner up to Trojan Harbour. That puts Trojan harbour ahead of Querari colt Monks Hood, but that is purely on paper as the latter was very impressive in his 1200m win at Scottsville and relish the step up in trip on pedigree. The Gatecrasher is a conditions event where there is effectively a 2kg penalty per win and Trojan Harbour gets 2kg from the two-time winners and has to give the maidens 2kg. He jumps from a plum draw of three.

Stable jockey Warren Kennedy rides both Celtic Captain and Trojan Harbour.

By David Thiselton

Captain America, the highest-rated horse on the Vodacom Durban July log, has been a significant mover in the market for Saturday’s Rising Sun Gold Challenge.

The Brett Crawford six-year-old was a 7-1 chance when World Sports Betting posted its prices on Monday evening but within 24 hours he shortened to 11-2 joint second favourite with Bela-Bela.

New Predator has also been backed for Saturday’s Greyville Grade 1, from 9-1 to 6-1, but Marinaresco remains firm at 5-2 favourite despite being rated half a kilo below Captain America and despite only two horses justifying favouritism in this race in the last ten years – Pocket Power in 2009 and Variety Club in 2012 and 2013.

Joey Ramsden’s Cape Fillies Guineas winner Just Sensual was yesterday installed 18-10 favourite for the Tibouchina Stakes with stable companions Nightingale and Silver Mountain next on 6-1. Black Arthur heads the Cup Trial market at 2-1 with Elusive Silva second favourite at 28-10.

By Michael Clower

Justin Snaith believes the Equus champion filly Bela-Bela will have “her best chance” of beating the boys at weight for age Grade 1 level in Saturday’s Grade 1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge over 1600m at Greyville.

The brilliant twice Gr 1-winning grey has taken on the boys before in last year’s Vodacom Durban July and this year’s Sun Met and was not at all disgraced, but Snaith is of the firm belief that a mile is her optimum trip. He said she had needed her last run in the Gr 1 SA fillies Sprint over 1200m at Scottsville, where “she found a little bit of trouble”.

He added, “She is very well, she is spot on, she has a definite shout.”

Bela-Bela is well drawn in barrier four and will be ridden by Anthony Delpech, who partnered her to a Gr 2 Daisy Fillies Guineas/Gr 1 Woolavington 2000 double last season.

Snaith concluded, “It is a rough race and I just hope she gets a clear run.”

Snaith also has Master Sabina in the race and this will be the dual Gr 1 Sansui Summer Cup winner’s first run for the yard. He said he was doing well, but it was on the short side and a pole position draw would not help as he did not have the necessary early pace to hold his position over this trip. Maser Sabina is likely to be running on, but Snaith concluded by saying it would be a valuable preparation outing for the July.

The Snaith yard have an important date in the Grade 3 Cup Trial over 1800m as both Black Arthur and Elusive Silver will need big runs to earn their July berths.

Snaith believed Black Arthur was back to his best having suffered haemoconcentration problems before gelding. He was running on in the Drill Hall over 1400m in his first run as a gelding over too short a trip. Snaith said he was doing very well at home and everything had gone according to plan.

Snaith explained Elusive Silver’s disappointing run in the Gr 2 Betting World 1900 was not at all his race and was due to the rain which caused him to miss important work.

“He could only canter for eight days,” he said.

To heighten the problem the race had then been run in testing going.

“He got a double whammy,” he said.

Elusive Silver had previously been impressive when winning the Listed Sledgehammer over the Cup Trial course and distance. He showed a tremendous turn of foot in that race, which was his first outing since winning the Winter Derby ten months earlier. Snaith said he was in a better place now than he was going into the Sledgehammer.

He added, “He is a very nice horse. He will be good competition for Black Arthur at the weights and it will take a very good horse to beat our two.”

Richard Fourie has already been booked to ride Elusive Silva in the July, while Anthony Delpech “has always been a big fan of Black Arthur’s.” Delpech partnered Black Arthur to win last season’s Gr 2 Canon Guineas and they jump from a good draw of four in the nine horse field on Saturday. Elusive Silva has to jump from the extreme outside draw of nine.

Snaith runs Star Express in the Grade 2 Tibouchina over 1400 metres and said it would be a bit on the short side for her. He said she had pulled up “foot sore” in Johannesburg. However, her feet have now been sorted it out. He expected her to run well and finish in the money, despite it partly being a preparation outing for the Gr 1 Jonsson Workwear Garden Province Stakes. Bernard Fayd’Herbe rides from a good draw of five.

Snaith mentioned Qing as a runner to look out for on the day. She runs in the Beach Beauty Pinnacle Stakes for fillies and mares over 1600m. He had been confident of a good run from her in her SA Champions Season pipe opener, but said she had been hit by a clod and could not see for a few days.

He was also bullish about Sergeant Hardy in the Conubia/Phoenix Sun Durban Dash over 1100m, although did mention his eleven barrier position as being “a bit of a wide draw.” Snaith said the big Captain Al gelding had not liked Scottsville last time in the Tsogo Sun Sprint and also had a difficult task as a three-year-old off a 110 merit rating. He is now comfortably the best in at the weights in this three-year-old event and if he runs well will be aimed at the weight for age Gr 1 Mercury Sprint. Delpech rides him for the third time.

By David Thiselton

Last Saturday was a defining moment for many Vodacom Durban July hopefuls as indicated by the latest July log that was issued on Tuesday and it’s another big day at Greyville on Saturday.

Last Saturday, Rocketball and Banner Hill fell by the wayside after disappointing performances in the Gr3 Lonsdale Stirrup Cup. Orchid Island and Safe Harbour, third and fourth respectively in the Gr1 Woolavington 2000, did just enough to keep them in the hunt, although Orchid Island is pretty much assured of a place in the July and at 15 on the log, Safe Harbour also looks relatively safe.

Edict Of Nates and Al Sahem were already shoo-ins but also cemented their place at the top of the ante-post market when first and second respectively in the Gr1 Daily News 2000. Horizon kept his July hopes alive by finishing third but is nineteenth on the log and Pagoda, although down the field in the Daily News, mainly owes his current sixteenth place on the log to his runner-up berth behind Al Sahem in the Gr1 SA Derby.

The balance of the three-year-old hopefuls are pretty much out of the reckoning.

Saturday is the last big day for borderline cases. The Gr3 Cup Trial should prove a fascinating contest with six of the nine runners in the hunt for a July place.

Lightly raced, gelded but winless since beating Rabada in the Gr2 Daisy Guineas last season, Black Arthur has always been at cramped odds in the July ante-post market in spite of there being doubts of him even making the field. He is not among the first 25 on the current log so it’s basically win or miss out come Saturday. However, he was running on from a tricky draw in the Drill Hall Stakes so the signs are good.

Stable companion Elusive Silva looked pretty much a certainty for a place after his impressive win in the Sledgehammer but then ran an indifferent race in the Gr2 Betting World 1900. The winner, Ten Gun Salute, came from behind him in the straight but it may have been a case of the winner enjoying the soft ground and Elusive Silva not enjoying the going in his second run after a lengthy break. Currently borderline at twentieth, a hard-fought place may be enough see Elusive Silva edge into the top 18.

Nebula doddled a recent Pinnacle Stakes on the poly but a win is possibly not negotiable. The same goes for Master Switch who, along with Nebula, is currently in the top 25. A win for the filly Trophy Wife is also not negotiable.

Candice Bass-Robinson’s pair of Nightingale and Silver Mountain are both borderline cases. Nightingale is currently eighteenth on the log while Silver Mountain in the last five knocking at the door. It would seem that only a win in the Gr2 Tibouchina Stakes will enhance their chances but they face some tough opposition better suited to the trip so they face an up-hill task. The Gr1 Garden Province on July day could end up a forced option.

The Gr1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge is loaded with July entries but all six look relatively safe. Lowest on the log of the six is Saratoga Dancer in thirteenth place. Duncan’s Howells’s runner generally flies under the radar but he finished a close-up fifth in the July last year, a head third in the Drill Hall behind Marinaresco last month, and a forward showing here will all but cement his place.

At Turffontein on Sunday, Liege and The Elmo Effect will be looking to improve their chances in the Gr3 Jubilee Handicap. Liege has slipped out of the top 25 on the log but a win here will give the selectors a headache. The Elmo Effect seemed pretty much out of it after a flat last showing.

In all this is a defining weekend as far as the July field is concerned and come Saturday evening any debate is likely to centre around the last three or four spots in the line-up.

The final field and draws will be announced at a function on Tuesday, June 20.

By Andrew Harrison

High flying trainer Brett Crawford said his Graded feature runners for Saturday at Greyville, Captain America, Sail South, Nebula and Chevauchee, have all been doing very well at Summerveld.

Captain America has proven in the past to not need a lot of racing to reach his peak so should be in prime condition for the Gr 1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge following his running on 0,4 length fifth in the Gr 2 Drill Hall Stakes over 1400m. He did not jump well in that race either. His best efforts lately have been either from the front or second in the running, but more importantly he settles wherever he is positioned these days, which allows his resolute finish to have its maximum impact. His last four Grade 1 weight for age (wfa) mile appearances have netted a facile win in the Horse Chestnut Stakes at Turffontein in 2015 and three placed runs behind the current Equus Horse Of The Year Legal Eagle. In the last of those runs Captain America finished second in the L’Ormarin’s Queen’s Plate, so on form is the horse to beat on Saturday. However, he does have a tough draw of ten, but Crawford does not believe he needs to lead. Regular rider Corné Orffer rides Captain America.

Gold Challenge contender Sail South has always had talent but has tended to over race. In this year’s Queen’s Plate he was dropped out to last and was duly seen to fight for his head on at least a couple of occasions. It was therefore a phenomenal effort to see him run on for a three length third to Legal Eagle, 0,75 lengths behind Captain America and 0,3 lengths ahead of Saturday’s favourite Marinaresco. In the Drill Hall he was no given the opportunity to fight for his head as he was taken to the front and set a good pace. He was only caught late and finished a 0,45 length sixth. Richard Fourie rides the improved six-year-old Sail From Seattle gelding for the fifth time in succession and they jump from a tricky draw of ten.

Nebula will need a big run in the Gr 3 Cup Trial over 1800m to book a Vodacom Durban July berth as he was on the outside looking in on the last July log. He won his KZN pipe opener hands and heels over 1600m on the poly, where he showed a fine turn of foot. The Algoa Cup winner will relish the step up in trip and is drawn in pole with leading jockey Greg Cheyne aboard. Cheyne had a bad fall on this horse in the Calulo Mile at Kenilworth in February. It was neither the horse nor jockey’s fault, but Cheyne was side-lined for three weeks. Nebula will need to improve on his run in the Gr 2 Peninsula over 1800m at Kenilworth in December, where he finished a 3,8 length seventh carrying 55kg and receiving 4kg from the winner. However, the winner was Whisky Baron, who of course went on to win the Sun Met. Furthermore, Nebula’s last start proved you can never write off a Silvano, they just get better and better with age. Silvano’s progeny have also proved themselves to have a liking for Greyville. Nebula himself has had four starts at Greyville, all over 1600m, for two wins, a third and a fourth and the third was in a Listed event.

Chevauchee has always been brimful of talent and races in the Gr 2 Tibouchina over 1400m. The lightly raced four-year-old High Chaparral filly has won two Listed events, over 1200m and 1600m respectively, so the 1400m trip should be right down her alley. Crawford said she had not handled Scottsville in her SA Champions Season pipe-opener in the Gr 3 Poinsettia Stakes so a line can likely be drawn through that unplaced run. The only other time she has finished out of the top three in a ten race career was in this year’s Gr 1 Paddock Stakes over 1800m where she moved up well but then found no extra, so she likely didn’t see out the trip. Before that she gave each of the useful males Fifty Cents and Horizon 3,5kg in the Listed Jet Master Stakes over 1600m at Kenilworth and ran a 1,75 length third behind them. She jumps from a tricky draw of eight in the 14 horse field on Saturday and Cheyne is aboard.

By David Thiselton