Quasiforsure in bid to enhance July prospects

Several horses entered for the Hollywoodbets Durban July will be monitored in Saturday’s WSB 1900 at Greyville, particularly Peter Muscutt’s five-time winner, Quasiforsure.

Of the 12 runners who will face the starter in the grade2 race, only Indlamu doesn’t hold a July entry. Until he won by four lengths on his eighth outing last month, Quasiforsure wasn’t on many shortlists as a Durban July winner. Now the gelding is a 16-1 chance and likely to shorten in the market if he wins Saturday’s R400,000 contest.

Quasiforsure is a son of Quasillo, champion three-yearold in Germany in 2015. Quasillo stands at Maine Chance Farms alongside the country’s most popular sire, Vercingetorix. He returned the astonishing average of R854,286 at last month’s National Yearling Sales.

A son of Sea The Stars, Quasillo is bred in the purple and Quasiforsure — bred at Boland Stud — is a 3-1 chance to win the WSB 1900. Rascallion had a nightmare run in the Cape Met and makes his seasonal bow for trainer Vaughan Marshall. The five-year-old was immediately named as this column’s eachway fancy for the July after the Kenilworth race when he was on offer at 20-1.

With 62kg on his back, Rascallion looks to have a stiff task and Marshall will no doubt be happy if his charge runs on to fill a minor placing. It won’t have been lost on Justin Snaith, or Richard Fourie, that Pacaya will be 2kg better off with Quasiforsure compared with their clash in the Jet Master Stakes in February. Another son of Trippi, Pacaya will have plenty of supporters from a favourable draw though it is something of a worry that he has failed to find extra in the last two 1,800m races the gelding has contested.

Mike de Kock’s runner, Aragosta, has no stamina limitations and — with Safe Passage under a cloud — the many times champion trainer will be looking for a big run from last season’s SA Derby winner. On the score of consistency, it is impossible to fault Cape Eagle who has won five of his last six starts. This is the big test for the son of Vercingetorix and interesting that Sean Veale — not Keagan De Melo who has ridden him once before — gets the ride for the first time.

Trippi is also the sire of Winchester Mansion and Brett Crawford thinks enough of his three-time winner to have nominated him for the July. He is another runner who will be closely watched. Not a race one would want to risk the rent on, but Quasiforsure is the selection ahead of Aragosta, Pacaya and Cape Eagle.

As bargain buys go, they don’t get much better than Time Flies who lines up against just six rivals in the KRA East Coast Cup over 2,000m.

Hollywood Syndicate picked up the daughter of Dynasty for a paltry R15,000 and the filly has earned close to R300,000.

There’s another R93,750 up for grabs in the East Coast Cup and Brett Crawford’s filly will ensure De Melo’s mount, Dawnofanewday, is fully tested.