The Paul Lafferty-trained champion Harry’s Son will attempt to guarantee his place in the $5 million Dubai Duty Free over 1800m on Dubai World Cup night by running in the  Gr 1 $US300,000 Jebel Hatta over 1800m on Super Saturday this weekend.

Meanwhile, Harry’s Son’s regular jockey Piere Strydom, who is nursing a broken collar bone, faces a race against time to be ready for the Duty Free.

Harry’s Son’s last outing in the Zabeel Mile on February 25 didn’t pan out in his favour as the slow pace saw him over racing slightly. This blunted his usual turn of foot and he could only stay on to the line for fourth place.

However, Lafferty was not concerned, especially considering the smart Australian-bred Haradasun colt will now be having his third run after a rest.

He reminded of the form of great horses like Variety Club and Jay Peg, who were both defeated in their second runs in Dubai before going on to win on World Cup night.

Harry’s Son has drawn four in Saturday’s ten horse field.

Strydom has always been of the opinion Harry’s Son’s best trip is 1400m, but Lafferty revealed the great jockey had said the same before winning the Gr 1 Premier’s Champion Stakes over 1600m at Greyville on him as a two-year-old. The colt had also run a fair fifth in “bottomless ground, which he hated”, in the Gr 1 SA Classic over 1800m.

Lafferty added Harry’s Son was “very well” and had actually put on 1kg since his last race.

Meanwhile, Harry’s Son has been invited to run in the prestigious HK$14 million Champions Mile at Sha Tin on May 1.

Strydom has been in a sling for three weeks and the recovery process is being aided by the use of a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. He has been able to remove the sling occasionally so is now at least getting some movement in the injured area.

He would normally allow the injury to heal at a natural pace, but is very keen to make it for World Cup night on March 26.

He estimated he had a 50/50 chance of doing so.

The doctor had reckoned six to seven weeks would be required, but Strydom said this had been from a cautious point of view.

Strydom would like to ride in a couple of meetings before flying out, in order to avoid ring rustiness. He would also like to be in Dubai for the build up, as he said this was probably the most enjoyable week possible for anyone of his profession.

He would therefore probably need to be ready to ride in the Turffontein meeting of March 17 and he could then also take in the Highveld meeting the following Saturday.

Strydom described the week’s build up to the Dubai Word Cup. Jockeys are treated like kings and it also provides an opportunity to rub shoulders with the best riders in the world for a few days.

He believed this week should be on every racing fan’s to-do list and recommended the tour put on by Phil Georgiou’s Let’s Go Travel company.

By David Thiselton

Ashburton Trainer Paul Gadsby always seems to make the most of his limited opportunities and the classy Var filly Miss Varlicious is the latest good horse he has taken through the ranks with aplomb, despite difficult circumstances.

Gadsby wanted her to be roundabout a five-time winner before asking her to race at the highest level, but faced a problem because the handicapper always seemed to be on top of her.

He said, “The handicapper never made her one of the line horses despite her, as far as I’m concerned, being the most consistent horse in KZN.”

She was thus already on a 91 merit rating after her second win and later gained further increases for a couple of placed runs in handicaps.

Gadsby said, “It has been a helluva battle for us to place her and we have had to keep her well for extended periods.”

However, the yard can now breathe a sigh of relief having got her the fifth win at just the right time, on 21 February over 1200m on the Greyville poly.

Her target is now the Gr 1 City Of Pietermaritzburg Fillies Sprint on June 4 over 1200m at Scottsville.

Gadsby has sent her for a deserved “mini break” to Jill Fox’s The Fort Stud, where the yard rest all of their horses.

He said, “I am no longer worried about her merit rating. I think she’s had a very nice prep as it has allowed us to fit in the break before bringing her back to prepare for the Fillies Sprint.”

This is former jockey Gadsby’s second stint as a trainer and although he is still looking for another San Carlos, whom he trained to 15 wins including a Gr 1 in the late 1980s and early 1990s, he and his wife and assistant Beth have always done well with the few decent horses they have had.

They took Black Wing from a cheap farm purchase, who had not received a bid at any Sale, to a runner in the Vodacom Durban July in just the second year of Gadsby’s second stint as a trainer. Then Candy Moon was nurtured to six wins and a Gr 3 runner up spot. In the same period Kalmia wrote a victory over Champion Stayer Hot Ticket next to his name but had many problems, while Singing River, who was even more talented than Candy Moon, was unfortunately a bleeder.

Miss Varlicious, who was bred by Boland Stud, could make up for the latter misfortunes.

Gadsby concluded about the tall, 103 merit rated four-year-old speedster, who has never finished worse than third in eleven career starts, “We have big hopes for her. She has bumped one good horse, Muscatt, and been beaten both times but that’s no disgrace and we hope there’s time for more improvement.”

Other current hopefuls in the yard from a string of 36 are Mad Pushpa and Seattle Belle, whom Gadsby thinks could be Oaks types, although he is not sure yet whether either of them are good enough.

Fans can always expect consistent performances from the Gadsby yard, as underlined by Royal Colours who won six in a row between July and November 2014, and they deserve more opportunities.

By David Thiselton

Double Whammy has been added to Glen Kotzen’s Durban raiding party after making a 1 500k round trip to return to black-type winning form in the Pendant Stakes at Fairview last Friday.

Kotzen said: “She needed to wake up – after she chipped a fetlock in January last year she went to a farm and she thought ‘This is the life.’ But I liked the way she won at Fairview and it will have brought her confidence back. She will probably have one more run in Cape Town and then I will take her to Natal.”

Last season’s Cape Fillies Guineas third beat stable companion Night In Tahiti by half a length but the Woodhill trainer said the three-year-old will be staying at home – “The tracks in Durban are far too fast for her.”

Andre Nel is to try again in top company with Lohnromance even though the dual winner beat only one home when upped to Graded company for the Vasco Prix Du Cap.

He said: “Lohnromance needed the run that day more than we thought. She will run in a progression of races in Durban- the Poinsettia at Scottsville (May 1), the Tibouchina at Greyville (June 11) and possibly the Garden Province – although she probably needs to win one of the other two to push her up the ratings.”

Devin Ashby, surprisingly agile on crutches, reckons it will be another two months before he can dispense with the surgical boot on his right foot and that he will be out of action for seven months in all.

He said: “That’s a long time but I shattered my shin and I also shattered the ankle I damaged in the previous fall.”

The injury happened when he was unseated from Olimpic Airways going to the start at Kenilworth on January 2 while the previous fall was at Milnerton in September when a horse fell on top of him, necessitating two pins in his ankle.

By Michael Clower

Sean Tarry was not overly concerned by French Navy’s failure at short odds at Turffontein on Saturday, despite obviously being disappointed.

By the end of the big day, the reigning national champion trainer had surged into the lead in the Championship race for the first time this season and with plenty of firepower looks a racing certainty to land his second title.

He said about star gelding French Navy, “He pulled up with a little niggle, but nothing serious.”

He added he had let it be known before Saturday’s 1800m Pinnacle Stakes event the yard had eased up on the big Count Dubois gelding and brought him into the race fresh. However, he had hoped the stable companion Stonehenge would set a faster pace. Instead the front-running Diesel Jet set slower fractions than he normally does and French Navy thus travelled more strongly than ideal. He consequently “emptied out” in the straight and could only manage fourth place.

“I am not too phased, it’s not a train smash,” said Tarry.

The classy bay remains firmly on course for the Gr 1 R4 million President’s Champion Challenge over 2000m on April 30.

Tarry was also not concerned by Trip To Heaven’s 1,75 length fifth in the Gr 2 Hawaii Stakes, where he started 3/1 second favourite.

He had an awkward stride shortly after the start and he then had to come from near the back off a slow pace.

Tarry said, “It didn’t work out and he didn’t run a bad race at all.”

Tarry said the Trippi colt would either go for the Gr 2 Senor Santa Handicap over 1200m on March 26 or the Gr 1 HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes over 1600m on April 2 next, either of which will be his second run after a three month layoff. His ultimate targets come in the South African Champions Season, the Gr 1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge over 1600m and the Gr 1 Mercury Sprint over 1200m, both at Greyville.

Tarry said of his Gr 2 Gauteng Guineas runners on Saturday, “Malak El Moolook ran a brilliant race, Liege was restless in the stalls, Rikitikitana needs gelding and Lunar Approach’s saddle slipped.” They finished third, seventh, 15^th and 16^th respectively. Tarry added, ‘I was glad to just have got a piece of the pie.”

Tarry also won the Gr 3 Acacia Handicap over 1600m on the day with the progressive four-year-old Jet Master filly Off The Mark, who came from some way back under JP van der Merwe to record her third win on the trot. She had snuck into the handicap with the minimum weight of 52kg off her 81 merit rating and can progress further considering she is out of the good broodmare Sport’s Chestnut (Sportsworld), who won the Gr 1 Cape Fillies Guineas. Off The Mark is a full-sister to Gr 1 runner up Sports Coach, who was very highly regarded by Charles Laird and Anton Marcus but was unfortunately plagued with issues.

Tarry was about R200,000 behind pace-setter Justin Snaith on the National Trainer’s log on Saturday morning but by the end of the day was R432,125 ahead of Snaith and R944,875 ahead of third-placed Mike Bass. Tarry will go into the richest race between now and the end of the season, the R4 million President’s Champion Challenge, with a strong hand, including the like of Legal Eagle and French Navy, and that could be the day on which the proverbial champagne is put on ice. However, as a thorough professional he will only likely pay attention to the championship when the trophy is in his hand and at the same time will be planning for the next season.

By David Thiselton

The renowned panellists of the Summerhill Breeze Ups have shown to be on the mark again as six out of eight of them included the filly Witchcraft as one of their best five fillies in the 2014 version and she is now on her way to being a huge runner in the Gr 2 Wilgerbosdrift SA Oaks, to be run at Turffontein on April 30.

The Sean Tarry-trained Kahal filly was one of three Summerhill-bred horses knocked down on the CTS Johannesburg Ready To Run Sale of 2014 to excel at Saturday’s big Guineas meeting at Turffontein. She easily won a MR 74 Handicap for fillies and mares over 2000m under S’Manga Khumalo. The others graduates were the Tarry-trained Visionaire filly Heaps Of Fun, who won the Gr 2 Gauteng Fillies Guineas, and the Gary Alexander-trained Kahal colt Champagne Haze, who finished second in the Gr 2 Betting World Gauteng Guineas.

Witchcraft, who was the most popular filly of her draft among the panellists, was knocked down for R400,000 and is raced by Chris van Niekerk, Bruce Gardner, Markus Jooste and Ken Truter.

Tarry said on Sunday, “She has always been our Oaks horse.”

Graeme Hawkins, who has an enviable record at the Breeze Ups, was the only panellist to pick Heaps Of Fun in his top five fillies back in October 2014. She later went for R200,000 and was knocked down to Nchakha Moloi, who now races her.

Tarry was the only panellist to pick Champagne Haze as one of his top five colts. However, it was no surprise he found his way to the Alexander yard, being a half-brother to the stalwart Piere Jourdan. Bruce Gardener bought him at the Sale for R280,000 and he now races in the colours of Laurence Wernars for a big syndicate, including Gardener. The classy colt ran on strongly from a long way back on Saturday and looks likely to handle the 1800m trip of the Gr 1 SA Classic.

By David Thiselton

Picture: Sean Tarry