The last piece of the Vodacom Durban July pre-race puzzle was played out at Turffontein yesterday in the Gr 3 Jubilee Handicap over 1800m.

The two July entrants in the field, Liege and The Elmo Effect, both failed to make the frame as the second favourite, the Robbie Sage-trained Coral Fever finished like an express train from off the pace to win cosily under Muzi Yeni.

Liege (Nkosi Hlophe)

Liege and The Elmo Effect might have battled on the current unforgiving ground at Turffontein and their respective connections would have been disappointed.

However, the final field panellists might have breathed a sigh of relief as they already faced an unenviable task.

Coral Fever, a lightly raced four-year-old, started at 5/1 and provided another accolade for his underrated sire Judpot. He was bred by Ascot Stud and has now won four of 12 starts. The 25/1 shot Bankable Teddy bounced back to form by running second and 12/1 hot Hidden Agenda was next best.

In other news, reigning champion trainer Sean Tarry passed the R30 million mark in stakes earning this season at Scottsville last week Wednesday where he scored a double.

He has already smashed his record stakes earnings of R27,999,562, set last season.

The only question left now in the trainer’s championships is whether Tarry can earn double the amount of the runner up.

At present Tarry is on earnings of R30,102,750 and second-placed Justin Snaith is on R16,786,375.

By David Thiselton

Brett Crawford joined Mike de Kock on five Gr 1s for the season, one behind the six of Sean Tarry, when Captain America won the Gr 1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge over 1600m at Greyville under his regular pilot Corné Orffer.

This race and the Gr 3 Cup Trial over 1800m, which was won by the Justin Snaith-trained Elusive Silva, made the Vodacom Durban July picture a touch clearer.

However, the panellists who have to choose the final field face an unenviable task.

Corne Orffer (Nkosi Hlophe)

Captain America’s two career Gr 1 wins have now both been in weight for age miles. However, his only attempt at the July as a three-year-old colt in 2014 can be ignored as he jumped awkwardly and lost a length and then over raced. As a relaxed six-year-old gelding his headstrong antics are now a thing of the past. In this year’s Sun Met he had to be used up early to find the lead from a wide draw, yet was only caught at the 150m mark. However, he was hardly tiring as he rallied to finish third. Furthermore, it was the fastest run Met since the first of Pocket Power’s Met victories in 2007. Another tick for Captain America’s stamina capacity can be found when viewing his Cape Derby run in 2014, where he over raced throughout but still managed to stay on strongly for second to Legislate. The Conglomerate showed last year that being handy in the July can be an advantage and it is easy to imagine Captain America running a similar race to last year’s winning one. However, against him will be the topweight he will have to carry. He is currently merit rated 116 and might get a point or two for Saturday’s win. The line horse is likely to either be the consistent 1,75 length third-placed Bela-Bela or the 2,5 length fourth-placed Sail South, who proved his Queen’s Plate run was no fluke.  Captain America ran to about a 117 compared to Bela-Bela. However, she was a touch unlucky and that might be taken into account. Compared to Sail South, Captain America ran to about a 118 or 119. However, it might be taken into account that coming from the back at Greyville gave Sail South less time to make up the leeway than he had at Kenilworth, where he was 0,75 lengths behind Captain America in the Queen’s Plate.

Elusive Silva (Nkosi Hlophe)

Betting World reacted by chopping Captain America from 33/1 to 14/1. Marinaresco had every chance from a midfield position, but faded tamely when it counted and behind the strong pace he would have preferred to have been further back. He has drifted out to 8-1. Bela-Bela’s running was taken up briefly at a crucial moment at the top of the straight, so her third was an outstanding effort. However, the bookmakers still have her at 25/1 and the reason might be the Jonsson Workwear Garden Province Stakes still being an option for her on the big day. The Conglomerate stayed on under a sympathetic ride and it was a pleasing preparation for the defence of his July crown, where he will have a fine chance at the weights.  Saratoga Dancer was perhaps a bit too handy in a strongly paced race and didn’t find extra in the closing stages. However, he was in 13^th place on the log so might be safe. Brazuca was doing his best work late in quite an eye catching preparation and in 11^th position on the log should get in. Master Sabina, who as the Summer Cup winner has likely booked his place, was also doing good work late. French Navy has never been one to run well fresh, but his well below par run will have been concerning for his supporters just three weeks away from the big race.

In the Cup Trial Elusive Silva booked his place in the July by quickening well off a slow pace and just pipping the pacemaker Crowd Pleaser. Third-placed Black Arthur will be the biggest headache for the panellists. They will attempt to find a place for him as he is 10/1 in the July betting and has enjoyed a fine preparation. After all, they did find a place for both Futura and Saratoga Dancer in recent years after they had finished third and fourth respectively in the Cup Trial. Also in the Cup Trial Nebula’s chances of making the final field disappeared. He was on the outside looking in on the log. He had the box seat in the running on Saturday, but in a slow-paced race could not match the finishing speed of the first three and ended second last in the nine horse field. The only horse he beat home was Master Switch, who was also on the outside looking in on the log, but he is just not the same horse at Greyville as he is at Turffontein and this was his fourth unplaced run at the Durban course in four starts. Trophy Wife attracted controversy when emitted from the final field last year, but this year there will be no repeat. She lost ground at the start and then swished her tail. She finished well, but the slow pace of the race worked against her and she could only manage sixth place, which won’t be enough to book a place. The long-striding Royal Badge can also be considered unlucky to have encountered a slow pace as he finished strongly from off the pace for fifth, which won’t be enough to persuade the panellists.

Nightingale ran on well for second in the Gr 2 Tibouchina over 1400m to keep her July hopes alive, but Silver Mountain will drop out of contention after being eased out of the race.

By David Thiselton

Betting World yesterday slashed Captain America from 33-1 to 14-1 for the Vodacom Durban July as a result of the six-year-old’s convincing win in Saturday’s Rising Sun Gold Challenge.

Stable companion Edict Of Nantes has been shortened from 11-2 to 5-1 clear favourite while Al Sahem (beaten half a length by Edict Of Nantes in the Daily News) remains on 11-2. However Marinaresco, who managed only a disappointing 11^th on Saturday, has been marked out from 13-2 to 8-1.

Cup Trial winner Elusive Silva has been cut from 14-1 to 15-2 third favourite and strong-finishing Tibouchina runner-up Nightingale [see replay above] clipped from 45-1 to 25-1, the same price as last year’s Durban July winner The Conglomerate (from 18-1) who was sixth in the Gold Challenge.

By Michael Clower

There were angry scenes in the weighing room at Kenilworth on Saturday when several senior jockeys refused to ride – and accusations of intimidation when junior riders, booked to take their place, reneged on their commitments.

Rain started to come down about an hour before racing and continued, almost unabated, for the rest of the afternoon. After half the ten races had been run a delegation of jockeys went to the stipes and said the course was unsafe.

“The riders protested in the presence of trainers but an initial decision was made to continue the meeting,” said Nick Shearer, acting senior stipe and himself a former jockey. “We did our best to keep it going but the vast majority of jockeys were of the opinion that the track was unsafe and so the rest of the meeting was then abandoned.”

Those attempting to keep the show on the road included fellow stipe Cecil van As and apprentice riding master Terrance Welch who booked less established riders to replace the big names – no easy task when trainers had also to be consulted. But their efforts were thwarted when a number of those accepting rides announced that they had changed their minds after returning from the jockeys’ inner sanctum – and a presumably hostile reception.

A few of the trainers promptly gave vent to their annoyance, and it is easy to understand why. Getting a horse ready for a race takes weeks, if not months, of hard work and to have it thwarted by the last man in the chain must be infuriating. They were faced with replanning everything and explaining to the owners footing the bill that it could be many weeks before there is another suitable race.

Jockeys refusing to ride when conditions underfoot turn nasty is nothing new in Cape Town even though, curiously, it is much rarer in the wetter parts of Europe where they frequently ride on atrocious ground.

That said, it is the jockeys whose necks are on the line and who are in the best position to judge whether the weather and the ground are making their job even more dangerous than usual. Riding a highly strung thoroughbred at speeds of up to 60 kilometres an hour calls for guts of a special kind and, if jockeys believe that conditions are increasing their chances of being pitched into a deadly sea of flailing metal-tipped hooves, their views have to take priority over all else. If any of them were killed or paralysed, after being put under pressure to ride, South African racing would never be allowed to forget it.

Aldo Domeyer won three of the five races run, and has now scored on half his last 22 Kenilworth rides, but it was Piet Botha who stole his thunder.  The 40-year-old, medically boarded with supposedly-permanent nerve damage, rode his first winner for seven years when springing a 50-1 shock on Jay Rock and two races later he did it again on the appropriately named Dreaming Big who started at 66-1. He must have thought he was dreaming – certainly the bookmakers did.

Both winners were for Glen Puller who has had a tough season and who has done so much to help the rider with his return to the fray. “I didn’t think I could come back and it was my 12-year-old son Adrian who pushed me into it,” Botha related. “I have really been wanting my first winner and now I have got two. My days are really busy. I spend the mornings on the racing work and the rest of the day on my coffee machine business. I have invested a lot of money in that so I want to keep it going.”

By Michael Clower

Brett Crawford is having the winter of his life and the dream may not have ended at Greyville yesterday when Captain America powered home in the Gr 1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge.

Crawford saddled the winners of both the Gr 1 Daily News 2000 and the Gr 1 Woolavington 2000 last weekend. Captain America’s victory took him to three Gr 1 victories in the space of just two weeks and he has the Vodacom Durban July on the horizon.

Vijay Maharaj & Brett Crawford (Nkosi Hlophe)

Captain America is an accomplished miler and in the absence of his nemesis Legal Eagle, who had his measure in both the Gr1 HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes last term and the Gr1 L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate in January, he made short work of a high-class field yesterday.

“When he quickens he gets a good couple of lengths on his field,” said regular pilot Corne Orffer. “He’s a very honest horse.”

Always handy from a wide draw, Captain America quickened up the inside rail in a matter of strides and had the race in the bag crossing the subway. Trip To Heaven and Bela-Bela chased hard in the minor placings but the winner was never seriously challenged.

Trip To Heaven, denied in the stewards room last year and a notoriously slow starter, ran true to form missing the break by a good couple of lengths but rattling home for second.

The filly Bela-Bela was also doing her best work late. Justin Snaith was more than happy with the showing of his filly but confirmed that she will not be taking her chances in the Vodacom Durban July. “Garden Province” he said, adding that, “unfortunately we will have to take on Just Sensual,” who an hour earlier had run out a comfortable winner of the Gr2 Tibouchina Stakes. “A pity she’s not in the July,” he added wryly.

Disappointment of the race was favourite Marinaresco who was up with the pace for much of the race but failed to fire and finished with just one behind him.

The result of the Gr3 Cup Trial will have given the July selection panel further headaches although winner Elusive Silva did cement his place in the line-up with a courageous victory over Crowd Pleaser and stable companion Black Arthur.

Captain America (Nkosi Hlophe)

A touch worrying was the way Elusive Silva had his head turned to the side and drifting in under pressure before being straightened by Richard Fourie but he did enough to get up on the line to collar pacemaker Crowd Pleaser. “He ran green and was hanging in,” commented Snaith. “He’s a big strong horse and was always going to quicken even though they didn’t go a good pace.”

Snaith was batting for third-placed Black Arthur, close to the top of the betting boards for the Vodacom Durban July but until yesterday not certain of a place. “You don’t want to leave it this late,” he said. “But you can’t leave him out.”

Anthony Delpech, aboard Black Arthur, was up-beat. “I thought I was going to win it. He just lacked that little bit at the end. This was his second run after a long lay-off and he ran a great race.”

Crowd Pleaser did everything but win it. Keagan de Melo dictated the pace to a nicety on the instruction of Johan Janse van Vuuren and although giving the winner 4.5kg he was only collared one jump from the line. Master Switch, Nebula and Trophy Wife may well have seen their chances of making the July field out of the window.

Cape Fillies Guineas winner Just Sensual sharpened her pencil for the Gr1 Garden Province Stakes with a cracking win in the Gr2 Tibouchina Stakes although Anton Marcus was not altogether impressed with the performance of Joey Ramsden’s filly. “Halfway up the straight I gave her one and she shot away, but having said that I was a little disappointed. I thought that she would win a little easier than that. But she’s ready for the Garden Province. In the end I’m just happy to have a winner.”

Second-placed Nightingale finished best of the rest with Anna Pavlova running on nicely up the inside fence for third.

By Andrew Harrison