Tarry and De Kock square off
THE race for the National Trainers Championship has developed into an intriguing tussle between perennial champion Mike de Kock and Sean Tarry. Tarry took a narrow lead after Saturday’s Vodacom Durban July meeting in which the gross stakes amounts of his Graded wins totalled more than R2,7 million. However, the lead only lasted for a day and at the time of going to press yesterday De Kock’s lead, with a total of R15 719 587, was just under R35 000.
Both trainers will have plenty of ammunition on Super Saturday, July 27, where the championship could be decided.
Tarry spoke about his leading candidates for the meeting yesterday. He will be running his Grade 1 Zulu Kingdom Explorer winner For The Lads in the Grade 1 Thekwini Stakes over 1 600m, where he has drawn in pole position.
He will run Mercado from a good draw of four in the Grade 1 Premier’s Champion Stakes, but will put Willow Magic, who drew 25, away for the season.
Tarry said, “The mile will suit For The Lads. Mercado found the 1 400 on Saturday too short and the jockey was at him the whole way (he finished 8,15 lengths back in ninth place).”
His four-year-old Right Approach gelding Whiteline Fever, who finished sixth in the Vodacom Durban July, has drawn in pole position for the Grade 1 Champions Cup. Tarry said, “He’s a natural for the race. He comes in probably best weighted, which will be nice for a change.”
Tarry hoped the handicapper would be proven right, as he still perceived the three point raise Whiteline Fever was given for his Rising Sun Gold Challenge fourth place to be unfair.
Heavy Metal
Tarry told Racegoer journalist Michael Clower earlier in the week that Heavy Metal would be targeted at an overseas campaign and Pomodoro would stay in the country, but wouldn’t race again this season. However, Tarry said yesterday that E-Jet might be aimed at the Grade 1 Gold Cup and he was also considering this race for Gold Onyx.
Kolkata is an obvious candidate for the Gold Cup after winning the Grade 2 Gold Vase on Saturday. However, Tarry pointed at what he perceived to be the double punishment the lower merit rated horses receive under compressed handicap conditions.
“In a compressed handicap the lower weighted horses are under sufferance. However, when they win, they are punished according to the normal comparison of weights, so they are given a hefty raise. But they then have to race under compressed handicap conditions again!”
Tarry said he was also “devastated” to learn that the Listed Darley Arabian on Super Saturday had been changed from a conditions event for threeyear-olds over 1900 into and open event over 1 600m. Saturday’s July winner Heavy Metal won this race last year and the victory helped Tarry identify him as his “July horse” for the following season.
“It was a very significant race and many Grade 1 winners have come out of it. Wolf Whistle is another example. Why fix what was working?” Gold Circle responded by saying the race had been changed to an open 1 600m event due to the paucity of runners it attracted last year.
Tarry concluded by saying that all of his runners from Saturday had pulled up as well as could be expected considering the testing going.