Racing Express
Friday 6 July 2018
Tips and form 6 meetings Get the latest info!
R13 MILLION PICK 6 MEGAPOOL Leg 1: Race 4 @ 13h35
Estimated
BETTING BONANZA . . .
Estimated
www.tabonline.co.za
R16 MILLION QUARTET MAXIPOOL Race 7 @ 16h20
What's in . . . PAGE 2 PAGE 3 PAGE 4 PAGE 5 PAGE 6 PAGE 7 PAGE 8 PAGE 9 PAGE 10
TRAINERS' COMMENTS GREYVILLE PREVIEWS GREYVILLE SATURDAY FIELDS OTHER WEEKEND PREVIEWS FAIRVIEW FRIDAY FIELDS INTERNATIONAL FIELDS TURFFONTEIN SUNDAY FIELDS GREYVILLE FIELDS CONTINUED TURFFONTEIN SATURDAY FIELDS PAGE 11 GREYVILLE PREVIEWS & VAAL RESULTS PAGE 12 GREYVILLE PREVIEWS
AFRICA'S GREATEST RACE . . .
Sky’s the limit for Snaith WEIGHTS: ON MET RUN AFRICAN NIGHT SKY LOOKS HARD TO BEAT Coral Fever and Abashiri look the main dangers. Jack Milner
T
here are millions at stake in tomorrow’s Vodacom Durban July, not only for owners, trainers and jockeys but also for the punters who will be chasing for a share of multi-million rand pools – a guaranteed R11 million on the Pick 6 and an expected R16 million on the big-race Quartet. Handicaps are notoriously difficult as the whole idea is to give
RACE 7 VODACOM DURBAN JULY (Grade 1) 2200m #
Horse
4 8 12 15 3 5 9 10 13 17 14 1 11 6 2 16 7 18
Win Place
African Night Sky 2.2 Do It Again 6.5 White River 9 Made To Conquer 9 Abashiri 10 Elusive Silva 11 Majestic Mambo 12 Matador Man 16 Tilbury Fort 18 Dark Moon Rising 20 Yakeen (Aus) 25 Coral Fever 28 Fiorella 28 Liege 30 Gold Standard 33 Rocket Countdown 35 Star Express 40 Secret Potion 40 Fixed Odds Places 1,2,3,4
0.35 1.04 1.44 1.44 1.6 1.76 1.92 2.56 2.88 3.2 4 4.48 4.48 4.8 5.28 5.6 6.4 6.4
every horse an equal chance. However, one horse really stands out in the R4.25-million Grade 1 race over 2200m at Greyville and that is African Night Sky from the Justin Snaith yard. Based on his run in the Grade 1 Sun Met at Kenilworth in Cape Town last January, he is extremely well weighted and could prove very hard to beat. The Met is run on weight-for-age terms and in that race the gelding finished just two lengths behind the winner. However, as he finished sixth, the handicappers were not allowed to raise his merit rating and that has left him in a very comfortable position for the Durban July. He comes into this race carrying 2.5kg less than in the Met and has already demonstrated his fitness with victory in the Grade 3 Cup Trial over 1800m at this course. As a three-year-old African Night Sky became only the second horse after the great Pocket Power to win all three legs of the Winter Series in Cape Town so everybody knows how good he is. He drawn in the middle of the track which could be ideal as he does tend to drop out early and run on strongly. He will be ridden by Grant van Niekerk who has had a magnificent run of feature wins. Speaking about the Durban July favourite, Snaith said: “It’s all good. He is doing exceptionally well, and looks amazing. He is very fresh, and the race can’t come soon enough.” Once you look past African Night Sky the race becomes wide open. There are many horses with chances and luck is sure to play a part in this 18-horse field. As a rule, when
in doubt go with the class horses and in this case they are Coral Fever and Abashiri who have previously won Grade 1 races. Coral Fever has been superb since trainer Robbie Sage fitted him in blinkers and in three runs has finished second over 1400m and then followed up with victories in the Grade 2 Colorado King Stakes and the Grade 1 Premier’s Champions Challenge, both over 2000m at Turffontein. Last year Marinaresco surprised when he won as top weight and it would come as no surprise should Coral Fever imitate him. Questions have been asked about Coral Fever’s late improvement but Sage pointed out his charge had a knee injury and missed almost a year of racing. He only started racing as a three-year-old and then missed another six months in the summer of 2015-16. “I can’t really say he deserves top weight but that’s what he has been allocated and we just have to live with that,” said Sage. There is the question of whether he will take to Greyville as he appears to be better over a more galloping course. “We will find out on Saturday how he will handle the course. Some horse like it, others don’t. As far as the blinkers are concerned we just put them on him to help him concentrate better.” Abashiri won the 2016 Triple Crown but has not won a race since. However, he was beaten a neck by Coral Fever in the Champions Challenge and is now 0.5kg better off. He has a top jockey in Piere Strydom who will be looking to ride a record
fifth winner of this race. Strydom has expressed the view his mount does not have gate speed and was therefore not happy with his No 2 draw which will become No 1 with the reserve runners out. Trainer Mike Azzie is not concerned as he points out Abashiri won his maiden at Greyville and then ran a 0.30-length third behind Rabada in the Grade 1 Premier’s Champion Stakes over 1600m at the course “He has no problem with the track and he has no problem with gate speed either,” said Azzie. “When Piere rode him last time they loaded him early and he started kicking the gate with his back leg. “I have never had this horse so well.” Gold Standard has also been through the wars with injuries but is said to have come right and could be a threat to African Night Sky. Remarkably, even though he was said to be off-form, his worst run was in the Met where he ran 5.55-lengths behind Oh Susanna. His fifth place run in the Drill Hall Stakes over 1400m was decent. “I promise you he has never been better,” said trainer Glen Kotzen. “He is moving like a dream.“
Racing Express today publishes the fixed odds offered by Betting World on most of the runners in tomorrow’s race meeting at Greyville. Punters must note that odds are continuously changing and the odds published were as offered early yesterday morning.
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BETTING FEAST! Vodacom Durban July Day
•
9 FEATURE RACES including:
R4.25-MILLION Vodacom Durban July (Grade 1) •
R1-MILLION Garden Province Stakes (Grade 1)
Pick 6 MEGAPOOL
Leg 1 Race 4 @ 13h35 Likely total POOL:
GUARANTEED POOL:
R11,000,000
R13,000,000! GREYVILLE SATURDAY 7 JULY
Around R140 MILLION will be bet with TAB on the day!
Quartet MAXIPOOL
Vodacom Durban July RACE 7 @ 16h20
Likely total POOL:
CARRYOVER:
R1,200,000
R16,000,000! TAB Betting opens Monday 2 July www.tabonline.co.za
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