Tarry’s uppermost concern is Legal Eagle’s future
As Sean Tarry heads into the final seven months of the season the clear favourite to bag another trainers title, the champion conditioner has one worry on his mind.
Will next Saturday’s L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate and the Sun Met on January 28 be the last two races that his top performer Legal Eagle will be in his care?
Derek Brugman, racing manager for Legal Eagle’s owner Markus Jooste, announced in December that there were plans afoot to send 15 horses to race in the US. Tarry reacted to the news saying: “Nothing is cast in stone and we’ll have to see how things pan out.” This is fair comment but he would be sad to lose his principal moneyspinner.
On the other hand, one has to say it is a brave and fresh approach by Brugman as it would be interesting to see how a home-bred such as Legal Eagle would fare against the best turf horses in the US. Silver Mountain is one of the horses mentioned who might make the journey and this talented inmate of Candice Bass-Robinson’s yard will be in action in next Saturday’s Maine Chance Farms Paddock Stakes. World Sports Betting’s ante-post market on the race has Silver Mountain at 28-10 and Bela-Bela, the favourite, at 12-10. Tarry’s filly, Safe Harbour, is quoted third favourite at 11-2.
The two big betting firms, World Sports Betting and Betting World, agree Saturday’s R1.5m L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate is a match between Legal Eagle and Vodacom Durban July runnerup, Marinaresco.
World Sports Betting quotes Legal Eagle at evens with Marinaresco at 14-10. Third in the market is Captain America at 14-1. Betting World are a little “skinnier” offering Legal Eagle at 8-10 and Marinaresco at 13-10. They also have Captain America at 14-1 with Legal Eagle’s stablemate, French Navy, at 16-1.
Since L’Ormarins took over the sponsorship, the Queen’s Plate meeting has quickly established itself as the “Ascot-like” day of the racing calendar. There is a pretty strict dress code at Royal Ascot in June and blue is the required colour for your attire at Kenilworth.
The meeting kicks off a magnificent month at Kenilworth which climaxes in the inaugural running of the Sun Met which carries a record purse of R5m.
This means Saturday’s Queen’s Plate stake is R3.5m less and surely needs increasing to cement its position as such a high-class occasion.
The Vaal hosts a nine-race programme on Tuesday and the Tarry-S’manga Khumalo partnership will be fancied to strike in the first leg of the jackpot with Spring Indeed. Stablemate Torre Del Oro has strong claims in the fourth race where the chief rivals are Highlander and Twounderpar.
Trainer Michael Azzie will be hoping Amsterdam can chalk up an overdue win in the sixth race where he takes on six-time winner Urgent Fury. This should be a close contest as two Tarry runners, Hawaiian Sun and Imperial Gold, will both have their supporters.