Top juveniles to clash again
JULY DAY WINNERS: DESERT RHYTHM AND PURPLE DIAMOND BOTH NOMINATED FOR G1 RACES ʂ Gold Medallion winner Sand And Sea entered for Premiers Champion Stakes.
The South African juvenile racing programme is set to come to an exciting close at Greyville in Durban on Sunday, 30 July when the country's top twoyear-old thoroughbreds compete in the final Grade 1 races of the season.
The young horses will compete in the Premiers Champion Stakes and the Thekwini Stakes for fillies. Each race carries a stake of R750,000 and is run over 1600m.
Exciting entries have been received for both races and South Africa's champion trainer, Sean Tarry, will be hoping to follow up on his juvenile success on Vodacom Durban July day when he saddled the winners of both twoyear-old events, Desert Rhythm in the Golden Slipper and Purple Diamond in the Golden Horseshoe.
Desert Rhythm, who had won the Nursery at Turffontein before her Greyville success, will be strongly fancied to take honours on eLan Gold Cup day and Purple Diamond, who won the Durban Golden Horseshoe as a 20-1 outside, will command a lot more respect in the Premiers Champion Stakes.
Tarry has also nominated Seventh Rock filly Rockin Russian, fourth in the Golden Slipper, for the Thekwini Stakes, and as back-up to Purple Diamond in the Champion Stakes, Captain Al colt Captain And Master who finished third in the Golden Horseshoe.
However, the stable will be wary of Twice Over colt Sand And Sea who was a comfortable winner of the Grade 1 Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion over 1200m at Scottsville. Sea And Sand is from the Dennis Drier yard and beat Al Mariachi on debut. Brett Crawford's charge went on to win the KZN Yearling Sale Million at Greyville on Durban July day.
But the challenge to the Tarry stable in the Premiers Champion Stakes does not stop there. Trainer Joey Ramsden has entered his Oratorio colt Ancestry who was just touched off by Purple Diamond in the Golden Horseshoe. This colt will have a better draw than those mentioned and will be a big runner.
In the Thekwini Stakes, Desert Rhythm will again face Lucky Houdalakis-trained Let It Flow and Tsessebe from the Drier stable, second and third respectively in the Golden Slipper. In this case, however, Desert Rhythm will have a major draw advantage.
Duncan Howells-trained Neptune's Rain, third to Brave Mary in the Allan Robertson Fillies Championship at Scottsville, will be out to prove she is a lot better than her disappointing run in the Golden Slipper while Dean Kannemeyer-trained Meryl, who won the Devon Air Stakes, can prove that performance was no fluke.
These two races could determine the winners of the juvenile categories at the Equus Awards next month. - Gold Circle