There was elation and disappointment when the Vodacom Durban July final field and draw was announced at Greyville although the only real surprise was that champion trainer Mike de Kock will not have a runner.
Photo by Liesl King
De Kock is a four-time winner of the country’s biggest race but Rock Cocktail, his last remaining hope of having a runner on July 6, did not make the final field of 20.
27 horses were considered in the final discussion by the selection panel. The seven omitted were Rock Cocktail, Tellina, Bulsara, Gold Onyx, Ice Machine, Master Plan and Jet Belle.
The supporters of new joint favourite Run For It breathed a sigh of relief when he was named in the final field and they then had a bonus when he drew pole position.
Trainer Justin Snaith, having pulled the number one draw, then amazingly pulled the number two draw for his other runner Jet Explorer, whom he immediately announced would be ridden by Anthony Delpech.
Delpech was left without a ride when the De Kock-trained Rock Cocktail did not make the field.
Rock Cocktail’s omission appeared to be at the expense of another three-year-old, the Jeff Freedman-trained Wild One .
Rock Cocktail beat Wild One by 2.5 lengths in the G1 Daily News 2000 but the latter’s run caught the eye from a wide draw as he was rushed around the field up the hill, usually an energy sapping manoeuvre, yet still managed to finish strongest of all.
Wild One also had a G1 placing to his name, having finished an excellent third in the SA Derby coming from a mile back, beating the likes of Gauteng Guineas winner and SA Classic runner up Tellina.
Sean Phillips, the owner of Wild One, was present at the ceremony and said, “To me just to have a runner in the July is a lifetime achievement. It’s a fantastic feeling and I didn’t think it would ever happen.”
Tellina’s omission upset his trainer Geoff Woodruff.
“His omission makes a mockery of the selection criteria of merit rating, current form and competitiveness in Graded and Listed races,” Woodruff said.
“Tellina won one leg of the Triple Crown and was placed in the two other races, so how can they leave him out on the basis of one below par run (The Daily News) in which he pulled up sore.
“I think they’ve done a disservice to the owner.”
On a happier note for Woodruff, his G1 Woolavington winner Do You Remember drew well in barrier four.
Sean Tarry’s reigning July champion Pomodoro also drew well in seven, as opposed to 20 last year and now looks to have a big chance of defending his crown.
He was popular in the ante-post market and was priced up as 4-1 joint favourite with Run For It.
Tarry had mixed fortunes with the draw as his other three runners Whiteline Fever, Heavy Metal and E-Jet drew six, 11 and 18 respectively.
Third favourite Capetown Noir trained by Dean Kannemeyer will have to negotiate a tough draw of 15.
Final field for Vodacom Durban July to be run over 2200m at Greyville Racecourse on Saturday, July 6.
SC DR HORSE WGT M/R EQ. JOCKEY TRAINER Betting
1 (7) POMODORO 60.0 113 A P Strydom Sean Tarry 4-1
2 (11) HEAVY METAL 59.5 112 A S Khumalo Sean Tarry 25-1
3 (10) HILL FIFTY FOUR 59.5 112 A A Marcus Vaughan Marshall 8-1
4 (6) WHITELINE FEVER 59.5 112 A B Fayd'Herbe Sean Tarry 20-1
5 (13) SEAL 58.5 110 A T F Herholdt Gavin van Zyl 25-1
6 (8) ASTRO NEWS 57.0 107 A T K Shea Charles Laird 25-1
7 (12) TRIBAL DANCE 57.0 107 A M Byleveld Vaughan Marshall 33-1
8 (1) RUN FOR IT 56.5 106 A S Cormack Justin Snaith 4-1
9 (3) SHOGUNNAR 56.5 106 A K Teetan Gavin van Zyl 33-1
10 (18) E-JET 55.5 104 A G Schofield Sean Tarry 40-1
11 (15) CAPETOWN NOIR 55.0 107 A K Neisius Dean Kannemeyer 6-1
12 (19) NO WORRIES 55.0 107 B A B Lerena Gavin van Zyl 33-1
13 (14) WYLIE HALL 55.0 107 A M Odendaal Weiho Marwing 12-1
14 (4) DO YOU REMEMBER 54.5 106 A R Fradd Geoff Woodruff 14-1
15 (2) JET EXPLORER 54.0 101 A A Delpech Justin Snaith 7-1
16 (17) PUNTA ARENAS 53.5 100 A A Domeyer Stan Elley 33-1
17 (9) LOVE STRUCK 53.0 103 A G Cheyne Paul Lafferty 50-1
18 (5) WAGNER 53.0 98 A T *N Juglall Joe Soma 25-1
19 (20) GOTHIC 53.0 97 B A G Hatt Kumaran Naidoo 50-1
20 (16) WILD ONE 53.0 95 B A R Danielson Jeff Freedman 33-1
