Gr1 Premier's Champion S Clair 29/07/06

Gr1 Champions Cup Clair 29/07/06

Gr1 Thekwini Fillies S Clair 29/07/06

Royal Fantasy stepped up in distance for the first time and clearly benefited as she stepped up considerably on previous form to win the Nad Al Sheba Thekwini Fillies Stakes for two-year-olds over 1600m at Clairwood on Saturday. She came here on the back of a win in a very mundane maiden event over 1200m at the Vaal, but handled the big rise in class with aplomb and could be an interesting prospect for the new season, writes Matthew Lips.
A shocking draw was always going to make life hard for Asylum Seeker, who was in line for a million rand bonus if she won this after earlier triumphs in the Gr2 SA Fillies Nursery and Gr1 Golden Slipper, and in a highly unsatisfactory rough-and-tumble of a race she never looked like delivering. In the end she didn't run a poor race at all to finish fifth, all things considered. The daughter of Count Dubois stays in the memory as the dominant member of her age-and-sex during the season just ended, and one expects that the Equus Awards will reflect this, when they are presented on August 14th.
Oracle News elected to try and make all the running and set a sound pace from Bennie And the Jets and Aircon, with Royal Fantasy nicely slotted into 4th place by Mark Khan as Asylum Seeker raced well back. Racing handily turned out to be a good idea, if only because there was a good deal of argy-bargy during the race as a big field of inexperienced juveniles didn't do a great job of handling Clairwood's left-handed corners. Some horses were forced out so wide on the turn that they found themselves racing on bits of Clairwood we hardly knew existed, and in the midst of the chaos London Fashion parted company with her rider Robbie Fradd.
Oracle News, meantime, wasn't in much of a hurry to surrender her advantage and was only headed well inside the last 300m. Royal Fantasy was driven to the front approaching the last furlong, and then dug down deep to shake off a strong challenge from hitherto unbeaten Cape visitor Sun Classique with a head to spare. It briefly looked close home s if the latter would get the better of the exchange under Bernard Fayd'Herbe, but in a battle between 2 of the country's strongest jockeys it was Royal Fantasy who prevailed.
Oracle News stayed on well all the way home to take 3rd place under an enterprising ride from Jeff Lloyd. She would be the only KZN-trained horse to manage a first 3 finish in any of the day's 5 Graded events, which comes as no great surprise. There've been the occasional glimmers amongst the gloom of KZN racing this winter, but once again the results overall have been a woeful shadow of those from winter seasons long gone by. The KZN Awards could again be good for a giggle, but this really isn't funny. Carry On Katie finished 4th, but didn't produce the kind of finishing kick that ever troubled the first 2.
Royal Fantasy is trained by Geoff Woodruff for a partnership which includes the filly's breeders, Rose and Ashley Parker of Ascot Stud in PE, Anthony Peter, and the trainer's father-in-law, Terrance Millard. She is a daughter of Al Mufti out of the unraced Fort Wood mare Davidia, and is the full sister to ill-fated 2005 Gr2 SA Oaks winner Royal Aproval. It is hardly surprising, then, that she would enjoy this greater test of stamina, although Woodruff did say afterwards that he thought 1600m could be her best trip. Royal Fantasy has won 2 from 4, earning stakes of R257.900.

Gr1 Mercury Sprint - Clairwood - 15 July

The Mercury Sprint at Clairwood last Saturday almost beggars description. National Colour made all the running, the others chased her home. This is a scenario which has played itself out on a regular basis over the past few months and for sheer straight line speed there's nothing in SA to match the flying 3yo filly, writes Matthew Lips.
The much repeated mantra that 1200m is the limit of National Colour's staying power didn't stop Sean Tarry's grey from starting as the heavily backed 8/10 favourite to beat a dozen rivals in the last major sprint of the current season. She did look to be very well treated by the WFA terms of the Mercury Sprint, even though she earned her 110 merit rating over 1000m, and even some very talented rivals never stood a chance with National Colour.
There was some drama away from the racecourse before the race. The strike by most of the country's senior jockeys over a pay dispute (what else?) led to trainer Alistair Gordon seeking an urgent interdict obliging Jeff Lloyd and Glyn Schofield to honour their engagements on the Gordon-trained pair of Disco Queen and What A Question, respectively. This was granted. In the meantime, Brett Smith chose to take up all of his engagements, much to the disappointment of numerous eager apprentices who may have had visions of picking up the ride on National Colour.
National Colour was as always out in a flash when the gates opened and very soon built up a lead of some 4 lengths as Tiza, What A Question and Compass Line showed up quite prominently. Let's Rock & n Roll and Disco Queen were further back with the previous year's winner of the race, Disappear. Laredo Gold was just about the overall backmarker.
Any hopes that National Colour would run herself into the ground were soon squashed. She did begin to run out of gas inside the last 200m, but never looked in any danger of defeat. Held together beautifully by her veteran pilot, the flying grey had more than enough in the reserve tank to reach the line 1.5 lengths clear of Tiza, who put up another excellent effort by staying on nicely to finish second. What A Question didn't really produce much by way of a strong late kick, but still finished third as Laredo Gold made good late headway past horses to grab fourth prize. Disco Queen failed to repeat the effort which carried her to within a neck of National Colour in the Gr1 SA Fillies Sprint at Scottsville in May. She failed to quicken after being tucked in behind the chasing pack early, and could only manage a never-dangerous fifth.
What the future holds for National Colour is a matter for conjecture, but if the rumour mill is to be believed then connections are itching for a tilt at the Gr1 Prix de l'Abbaye over 1000m at Longchamp on Arc day, in early October. Despite the dual Gr1 victories of Les Arcs at Royal Ascot and Newmarket recently, there's no standout dominant sprinter in Europe, and indeed there has not been one for some time. Big races over short distances tend to throw up a variety of results even when the same faces turn up to compete and a major sprint race in Europe can't by any means be beyond the realistic reach of National Colour. She remains at her very best over 1000m, and she goes on soft ground, so the soggy conditions which often prevail in Paris in the autumn won't hold any terrors for her. We can only hope that she does indeed go that route, for there is every reason to feel confident that she can win.
A daughter of the splendid speed influence National Assembly out of the Mr Eats mare Rainbow Cake, National Colour is bred to be a sprinter pure and simple. Bred by Advocate Altus Joubert and sold for R150.000 at the 2004 National Yearling Sale, she has now carried owner Chris van Niekerk's colours to seven wins from ten starts and earned R1.013.000 in stakes.

Gr1 Durban July - Greyville - 1 July

There's something about the July that all other pretenders to the title of Africa's greatest horserace cannot match. For sheer excitement, it's in a league of its own. Even the normally unflappable Graeme Hawkins, consummate and experienced broadcaster that he is, was swept up in the frenzy of the moment when he presided over the handing out of the trophies. "What a year a difference makes," he told the gathered throng. Indeed it does, indeed it does, writes Matthew Lips.
Whichever way you say it, a year can make an almighty difference. From the controversy and tragedy of the Rabiya affair of 2005 to the triumph and glory of Eyeofthetiger in 2006, no two scenarios could ever be more representative of the opposing ends of the scale for owners Fieldspring Racing, trainer Dean Kannemeyer, and jockey Gerrit Schlechter. Memories of that awful day twelve months earlier will never die, but they were put firmly on the backburner as Eyeofthetiger took Greyville by storm on Saturday and chose the most cherished race of them all to record the first Stakes win of his career.
Is it not an irony that after the hoo-ha of Yard-Arm finishing unplaced at odds-on in 2004 and Rabiya coming to grief as a strong favourite in 2005, the longest-priced July favourite in many a year should come home victorious. This was long regarded as one of the most open races in the recent history of the July, reflected in the fact that Eyeofthetiger returned R7.40 for a Tote win yet was recorded as the Tote favourite. At some time or another in the lead-up to the race, money by the bucketful seemed to pour onto one horse, then another, as punters showed all the signs of being as confused by the whole thing as a blind man stuck in a maze at midnight.
Things went very smoothly indeed for Eyeofthetiger right from the jump. Jamaica was the first to show, but soon it was Lion Tamer who - as expected - worked his way over from a deep draw to set a decent pace from Jamaica and Omaha Beach. River Plate and Sushisan raced next in line, with Eyeofthetiger some five lengths back at the fence. Candy Critic was not far off the leading line as Elusive Fort and Jagged Ice were both caught deep after starting from wide draws. Hunting Tower, another crack three-year-old cursed with a shocking draw, was held up towards the rear.
The likes of Jamaica and Omaha Beach soon began to beat a retreat in the straight, where Lion Tamer went for broke and briefly extended his lead as Sushisan quickly set off in pursuit. Sushisan just about had the frontrunner's measure coming to the last 200m, but Eyeofthetiger was now right in the fray. Quickly putting any fears to rest that the short run-in at Greyville would count against him, Eyeofthetiger had responded instantly when Schlechter asked for an effort. He ranged up to Sushisan, and it was clear not long after passing the 200m point that the wobbly favourite was travelling the better of the two. Sushisan fought back valiantly, but Eyeofthetiger had plenty left to give and stretched away again close home to win by a length, with his pilot standing upright in the saddle in a victory gesture which more than matched any of the joyous salutes we have seen from other July-winning jockeys in the past.
The last furlong or so of the race more-or-less only concerned two horses, but Equal Image did run on very stoutly from off the pace and seemed to cope with the 2200m well enough. Lion Tamer was rewarded for his efforts with a fourth place finish, while Elusive Fort stayed on well to be fifth. This was a thoroughly decent effort by the one-time race favourite, who was drawn 16 and who raced four of five wide throughout a race where the eventual winner had the run of the rail. Money Bags was one of the first horses beaten and never looked a threat, while Hunting Tower never got into it from his unpromising early position. African Appeal, the choice of so many punters looking to oppose the three-year-old brigade, was never a serious threat and probably just wasn't good enough. Jagged Ice was another done no favours whatsoever by the draw and made no real show after racing wide, while Dunford was never seen with a chance of repeating his success of twelve months earlier. As for the wholly unpredictable Bishops Rock, well, he did jump on terms but still proceeded to make no show whatsoever.
'In some ways the revelation of the race was runner-up Sushisan, who proved that his tremendous effort in the Gold Challenge three weeks earlier was no fluke. He became the first KZN-trained horse to even finish 2nd in the July since his stable companion Sleek Machine chased London News home ten years earlier, but he is now Dubai-bound and we will need to look elsewhere for a horse who may finally in 2007 end a drought for the home team which stretches back to Space Walk's July victory (via an objection) in 1994.
The draw inevitably must have played its part and the July result certainly cannot be indicative of the relative strengths of the many good 3yos who contested it, but take nothing away from Eyeofthetiger. Luck has its part in racing, and Dean Kannemeyer's charge, blessed with starting gate 3, took his opportunity with both hands. A big, scopey sort who could be even better at four that he has been at 3, Eyeofthetiger is no one-hit wonder and more big wins may well beckon. He is quite possibly a horse whose best days are only now beginning, and his owners' passion for (and commitment to) SA racing will hopefully ensure that Eyeofthetiger doesn't join the ever-growing band of equine emigrants any time soon.
The 2006 July highlighted once again the global nature of the thoroughbred industry. The first 4 finishers were bred in four different countries, with the Brazilian-born winner the son of an US-bred stallion who has stood at stud on 3 continents. Brazil has become a particularly fertile hunting ground for South Africans in recent years. This season alone we have had Ilha da Vitoria and Express Way grab headlines time and again, and they are now joined in the Gr1 limelight by their compatriot Eyeofthetiger.
The July winner is a son of Royal Academy, who generally stands his southern hemisphere seasons in Aus but who stood two years in Brazil ("loaned" from his owners Coolmore Stud at a cost of a cool US $1 million per season - quality isn't cheap!) Eyeofthetiger's dam, the Ghadeer mare Indian Chris, was a multiple Gr1 winner in Brazil before going onto Graded Stakes success in N.America. Now the winner of 5 from 8 starts, he has earned R1.339.000.
We started with a reference to the effect that the July can have on people, so we'll wrap up on a similar note. Gerrit Schlechter, who bided his time after being "jocked off" the ill-fated Rabiya and was quickly rewarded for the composed manner in which he accepted that situation, ended July day 2006 by winning the last race on the card aboard West Coast Gold. This colt sports the same colours as Eyeofthetiger, and in his interview Schlechter profusely thanked Springfield Racing for their support. It's Fieldspring, Gerrit, it's Fieldspring. Never mind. We all get swept up in the fervour of the Durban July. In an interview for "Under Starters Orders", this writer breathlessly tipped some phantom beast called Lion Hunter to win. If July fever is a disease, thank heaven there's no cure.

Gr1 Golden Slipper - Greyville - 1 July

They say that the racecourse is a great leveller, but the sales ring can't be far behind. The inherent unpredictability of racing thoroughbreds is well illustrated by the two Gr1 events for juveniles staged. While the Golden Horseshoe was won by million-rand yearling Fearless, its equivalent for fillies went the way of a R50.000 purchase when Asylum Seeker bulleted home to win the Durban Africa Golden Slipper over 1400m, writes Matthew Lips.
Already successful in the Gr2 Fillies Nursery at Turffontein in April, Asylum Seeker must be the current hot favourite to win the Equus champion 2yo filly award as well.
Bridget's Academy, like Durban July winner Eyeofthetiger the progeny of Royal Academy but bred on the other side of the planet in Aus, was sent out favourite, her backers clearly forgiving her a somewhat disappointing effort against older females in hcp company second time out. They may also have overlooked the fact that two-year-olds receive their full WFA allowance when they compete in handicaps (it is only in plate races that they do not), so that last effort of hers was quite frankly not all that wonderful, but in truth there had been plenty to like about the way Bridget's Academy won her debut at Clairwood in early May. Asylum Seeker looked to have the best exposed form on display and went off as the 2nd favourite.
Ghost Writer, fresh from a 3rd place finish in the Gr 1 Allan Robertson Fillies Championship, attempted to make all the running and very nearly succeeded. She set a decent pace from Miss Mac and Jumeirah Palm, with Rock Goddess next in line. Oracle News and Sally Bowles were not far back, but the latter especially was trapped wide after starting from gate 13.
Ghost Writer extended her lead early in the straight, and for most of the 400m journey up the run-in looked to have sewn the race up. Dominic Zaki's filly was still at least 2 lengths up racing deep into the last 200m, and it appeared that nothing was making any inroads into her lead, but that all changed late in the day. Asylum Seeker had been held up well off the early pace by apprentice Devin Habib, but she took off as if a few had been lit and made up ground at a terrific rate, collaring Ghost Writer in the last 50m and going on to beat her fellow Gauteng visitor by a length. Bridget's Academy ran on steadily to finish third and shaped here as if an additional 200m wouldn't come amiss, while Rock Goddess finished fourth.
The runner-up put up a particularly good effort on a day which didn't favour frontrunners - not one of the 12 races was won by the horse who led at the entrance to the straight. Ghost Writer was given a bold ride by Piere Strydom, who of course used the same tactics to win the July ten years earlier on her daddy London News, but the finishing kick of Asylum Seeker was simply irresistible.
Asylum Seeker has been ridden in all her races by apprentice Devin Habib, who was riding the first Gr 1 winner of his career. Winning trainer Roy Magner did intimate in his post race interview that connections had toyed with the idea of employing a more experienced rider on this occasion, but their faith in her regular pilot was more than amply rewarded. Asylum Seeker is from the second crop of zero-to-hero stallion Count Dubois, about whom every superlative has been done to death in recent months. She's the 5th foal and 5th winner of Northfields mare Running North, who never won a race herself but who is also the dam of Zim Guineas winner Chestnut Horse and who hails from the family (albeit fairly remotely) of Horse Chestnut.
Bred by Mary Slack at Wilgerbosdrift, Asylum Seeker was acquired for R50.000 from the 2005 National Two Year Old Sale and has won four times from 6 starts for stakes of R544.375. She's not a great deal to look at and would never win a beauty pageant, but she has a ton of ability and won this in the manner of a horse that may stay a bit further than 1400m. She went off as an unheralded 25/1 outsider when she made a winning debut on the last afternoon of 2005, and she has never to this day started as the favourite to win any of her races. Betting markets can be fickle things indeed, like just about everything else in this wacky business.

Gr1 Golden Horseshoe - Greyville - 1 July

It needed a million bucks to buy Fearless as a yearling, and he's worth every penny of it and more. The Ormond Ferraris-trained juvenile achieved the uncommon feat of winning a Gr1 race in only the 2nd start of his life when he gave a terrific display to land the Golden Horseshoe over 1400m at Greyville on Saturday, writes Matthew Lips.
Fearless had created a considerable impression when he ran away with a Clairwood 1200m maiden race in May and was a strongly supported favourite to successfully cope with this big rise in class. Once-raced horses have often been well supported to win Gr 1 races, only to leave the money in bookmakers' bank accounts, but not this time. Some smart sorts opposed Fearless, amongst them the impressive and unbeaten Wide Blue Sky, the early season boom colt Sovereign Circle, and easy Gr1 Gold Medallion winner Zeeno. The latter did have a woeful draw to overcome, though, which doubtless explains why so many punters ignored his chances of a Gr1 double.
Sovereign Circle has plenty of natural speed and set a decent pace from the jump, showing the way to Infinite Spirit, Wise Blue Sky, and Procurer. Mentor was further back as Fearless was held up well off the pace. Procurer passed horses on the turn to sit second behind Sovereign Circle turning for home, with Zeeno some five lengths off the pace but caught wide. Procurer and Wide Blue Sky began to back-pedal inside the last 300m, with Zeeno also battling to quicken, but Sovereign Circle kept on finding and was still clear well inside the final 200m.
Fearless, though, fairly rocketed home from a furlong out. Showing a terrific turn of acceleration and only a few signs of his inexperience, he quickly made up ground from off the pace to sail past Sovereign Circle 100m from home and go on to win a smashing race under Bernard Fayd'Herbe. Infinite Spirit was always prominent before finishing a very good third, with Lt Jerry Mouse running on to finish fourth after meeting with some traffic problems at around the halfway stage. It was a pleasing effort indeed from this bargain R12.000 yearling, who seemed to enjoy this step up in distance and who will probably stay further still, but the Golden Horseshoe was all about Fearless.
Fearless is clearly a two-year-old of tremendous potential, and one who looks certain to stay beyond 1400m, but how much more of him we well see in SA'is another story. He is co-owned by Hong Kong-based trainer David Ferraris, in partnership with Paul W.K.So, and it seems a foregone conclusion that he is destined to join the thoroughbred "brain drain." That comes with the territory nowadays, and it is precisely the reason why million-rand yearlings are now becoming more frequent, but Fearless has the capacity to carry the SA flag high and proud wherever his career takes him.
Fearless is a gelded son of champion sire Western Winter. He is the fifth foal, fifth winner, and first Stakes winner of Foveros mare Festive Forever, who won 8 incl. the Gold Cup over 3200m. Bred at Maine Chance Farms, his two wins from as many starts have earned him R342.500. Barring accidents, that return can quite safely be expected to grow and grow.

Gr1 Garden Province S- Greyville - 1 July

Soft Landing confirmed that she is a 3yo of considerable promise when she out-duelled Bold Ellinore to narrowly win the Garden Province S over 1600m at Greyville on Saturday. This WFA contest is KZN's pre-eminent race for females aged 3 and up, and it was the younger crowd who dominated when 3yos filled the first 3 positions, writes Matthew Lips.
Soft Landing had caught the eye of everybody when she came from a mile behind to finish 3rd in the KZN Fillies Guineas won by Bold Ellinore over the same course-and-distance in May and was sent off as the 8/10 favourite to land the Garden Province. The 2 that had beaten her in the Fillies Guineas, runner-up School Assembly being the other, both went off at double-figure prices. That nearly proved a godsend for those punters who read form literally, but not quite.
Soft Landing raced far more prominently in the early stages this time and was well positioned in around fourth or fifth spot on the fence as Bold Ellinore set an ordinary pace from School Assembly. Larsen's Ice and Starlit were also prominent in a race which was marred at around the halfway stage when Fine Farthing, who was racing in the second half of the field, broke down and crashed to the turf, bringing Golden Shina down with her.
Soft Landing took the short way round into the straight and quickly began to make her move down the inside as Starlit and School Assembly began to weaken, but Bold Ellinore proved to be as tenacious as a hungry dog with a juicy bone. Soft Landing ranged up to the frontrunner comfortably enough, but then had to dig very deep to actually get the better of the exchange. Bold Ellinore fought back at the favourite all the way to the line, and Mark Khan had to call for maximum effort to get Soft Landing home with only a head to spare. Roxanne ran on strongly to finish 3rd in what was probably her last outing before she retires to Klawervlei Stud in the Cape. Red Dor fared best of the older horses, making good late progress to take 4th prize.
The winner showed plenty of tenacity, for this was the first time that she had to fight to win a race, having won her two outings before the Fillies Guineas by wide and unchallenged margins. Although the second Gr 1 winner for Jet Master after Floatyourboat's Cape Derby success via an objection, Soft Landing became the first of her sire's progeny to actually cross the line first in a race at the highest level. Appropriately enough, perhaps, she did so carrying the same colours that were worn to eight Gr1 victories by her fabulous sire and, like Jet Master was for the bulk of his racing career, she is trained by Geoff Woodruff.
Bred by her owners, Henry and Pat Devine, Soft Landing is out of the unraced Golden Thatch mare Safety Net. Mr and Mrs Devine will never forget their trip to the 1995 Natal Mare and Weanling Sales at the Pietermaritzburg Showgrounds. On that fateful day they bought a young mare named Safety Net for R25.000 and a weanling colt by Rakeen for R15.000. That baby colt would grow up to become Jet Master, and eleven years later almost to the day a strapping daughter of these two horses would win them a Gr1 race. Talk about being in the right place at the right time...
Soft Landing's 3 wins from 4 starts have earned R308.125 in stakes, with the promise of more to come. The winning trainer said in his interview that he expects the filly to stay 2000m, so a very lucrative 4yo campaign may well be just around the corner.

Gr1 Gold Challenge - Clairwood - 10 June

Top class 4yo National Spirit finally plugged the one notable gap in his CV when he recorded the first Gr 1 success of his splendid career in the Gold Challenge over 1600m at Clairwood on Saturday. In the process he may have, indirectly at least, helped to muddy even further the waters of the forthcoming Durban July, Writes Matthew Lips
Impressive Gr 2 KZN Guineas winner Kapil was sent off as a heavily supported 9/10 favourite to record his seventh win from only 8 starts, with National Spirit the second choice of punters at 3/1 and Express Way most favoured of the others in a ten-horse field. As is his wont, National Spirit quickly found himself at the head of the field and set a decent enough pace a couple of lengths clear of Zebra Crossing and Fair Maiden. Sushisan tracked them in turn, with Kapil held up on the fence in about 6th spot.
Kapil had a dream run up the inside fence in the straight and began to make good headway from 400m out. He easily made up ground to be right on National Spirit's tail racing into the last 200m, but that was as close as the 3yo could get to his more seasoned opponent. Finding plenty more under Anton Marcus, National Spirit swept aside the challenge of Kapil without much trouble and ran on well all the way to the finish to beat the favourite by a couple of lengths.
Sushisan, having only the fifth race of his life and the 1st above the ranks of lower echelon handicaps, showed himself to be a pretty good 3yo when staying on to finish 3rd. He went into the race rated fully 20 pounds inferior to his fellow 3yo Kapil by the handicapper and is in line for a penalty that is more obese than merely fat, but there was no semblance of a fluke about his performance. He has earned the hike in his merit rating that he will now receive, and given his trainer Herman Brown's success in his initial Dubai season earlier this year Sushisan may now find himself UAE-bound.
Express Way stayed on to finish a never-dangerous 4th, confirming recent form with Kapil, but Floatyourboat ran some way below his best and was never in with a real chance. The latter did have a slightly troubled preparation, which is why he found himself running here and not in the previous weekend's Gr1 Daily News 2200, but some of his would-be July supporters are bound to have lost interest in the son of Jet Master after this.
The fact that Kapil was once again comfortably superior to his regular sparring partner Express Way would imply that this was by and large a form result. National Spirit handled the left-handed Clairwood turns just fine, despite having made rather a hash of them on the only previous occasion that he raced there, and won the Gold Challenge fair and square. Many would argue that he is the best older miler in the country, with Ilha Da Vitoria retired and Overarching out of form, and they may well be right. However, what he comfortable success may well imply is that the much vaunted 3yo crop's not quite so dominant as many experts have long like to believe, and that accordingly the younger set may not have such an iron grip on the Durban July after all.
Some will take the view that National Spirit is a better horse than any of the older brigade that will contest the big Greyville race on July 1st, Zebra Crossing notwithstanding. This may be accurate, and 3yos could yet dominate the July finish, but the July weights are such that most of the better ones are within 3 or 4 kgs of top weighted 4yo Zebra Crossing, and, just for good measure, fate has dealt quite a number of the best performed sophomores a blow by lumbering them with wide draws in the July. All of which could lead to the conclusion that the Durban July is set to be a hotly contested affair where luck and tactics may play an even larger role than usual, and making it precisely the kind of wide open betting race that it should be. One thing the 2006 July won't be remembered for is a shorter-than-usual priced favourite.
National Spirit is trained by Dominic Zaki, who at the moment can hardly put a foot wrong. A son of National Emblem out of the Model Man mare Meretrix bred in KZN by Dr Alan Bechard, National Spirit has won 8 from 22 and earned stakes of R1 484 625. He was a R70 000 buy from the '03 National Yearling Sale..

Gr1 Woolavington (03/06) Grey
Two runners, two Gr1 winners. Even Aidan O'Brien doesn't enjoy that kind of strike rate very often, but that was the story of Geoff Woodruff's afternoon at Greyville on Saturday. Thirty-five minutes before Elusive Fort captured the Daily News 2200, Woodruff's only other representative at the meeting, Count The Money, landed the Woolavington 2200 for 3yo fillies, writes Matthew Lips.
Delight for Woodruff, frustration for Mike Rattray's Lammerskraal Stud, whose colours were carried into second place in both races. Second is better than 3rd, as they say, but at Gr1 level the gulf between first and second makes the Pacific Ocean look like a bathtub.
Count The Money had run well to be beaten only two lengths from a shocking draw in the Gr 2 KZN Fillies Guineas on her Durban debut, but most experts felt they were all chasing place money behind red-hot favourite Candy Critic, who on form and merit ratings looked impossible to oppose. Candy Critic predictably went off as the odds on favourite, but was never seen with a chance.
Winter Diamond set a respectable early pace, with Count The Money and the headstrong Jet Past tucked in behind her. Next Spring followed them, with Candy Critic last of all in the 14 runner field. Winter Diamond was clearly labouring 800m from home, where Jet Past went around her to pick up the lead and brought them into the straight. Count The Money, though, was right on her tail, and clearly going the better of the two. She swept to the front 200m from home, soon leaving Jet Past behind, and while Next Spring ran on steadily and was closing the gap at the line, she was never going to get to Woodruff's filly.
Kept up to her business by Anton Marcus, Count The Money held off Next Spring by about a length, with Jet Past running well to finish third, especially considering as she was her usual naughty self in the preliminaries and proved very difficult to even get to the gates. Young Sensation stayed on to finish fourth, but Candy Critic was never in the hunt. She did make some progress past beaten horses in the straight, and may well come on with this run, but as a Vodacom Durban July trial it was pretty bleak.
Count The Money was one of the less exposed fillies in this field, coming here with only five previous runs under her girth, and the step up in distance obviously suited her. That said, the runner-up has been beaten in numerous low-key fillies' handicaps at the Cape and in KZN, so her proximity at the finish does cast some considerable doubts over the strength of the Woolavington form. With Zaitoon still out-of-form and Candy Critic running no sort of a race, the big guns in the field were effectively spiked and that left the way clear for fillies with merit ratings in the 80s to fill the first four places. In the Daily News 2200, the first four to finish were rated between 93 and 103, and while Count The Money is entitled to be better than her handicap mark the chasm between the 2 races seems obvious enough.
Count The Money isn't in the July, and Woodruff pointed to the Summer Cup as the likely long term goal for his filly. By then we should all have a better idea of how good she really is, and she may well continue to improve in the coming months. Count The Money is a daughter of the otherwise undistinguished and now deceased Zilzal horse Among Men and is the first foal of Qui Danzig mare Trade Enquiry, who won nine races up to 1600m including a pair of Listed events.
A serious leg injury kept Count The Money off the 2004 National Yearling Sale, which shows that either God or Fate (depending on your preference) does sometimes work in mysterious ways. She is doubtless worth more as a Gr1 winner than she would have made at auction, where she assuredly would not have been amongst the sales toppers. She remains the property of her owner/breeders Bruce and Nadine Le Roux, whose Spring Valley Stud in KZN has produced more than one good horse that was sired by an, um, unfashionable stallion. Count The Money has now won 4 from only 6 and collected R429.100 in stakes.

Gr1 Daily News
Elusive Fort may be the fastest improving of all the numerous talented 3yos in SA and won himself many new fans for the July when he led virtually throughout to win the Daily News 2200 at Greyville on Saturday, writes Matthew Lips.
In what could arguably be considered a career best effort from Geoff Woodruff's colt, he showed tenacity second to none when he fought back under heavy pressure to snatch a narrow decision and will return to Greyville on the 1st day of next month as one of the favourites to win the country's most prestigious horserace.
Elusive Fort faced a stronger field here than when he won the Gr1 SA Derby at Turffontein nine weeks earlier and it was ultra-consistent Hunting Tower who went off as the strongly backed favourite after a terrific effort when second behind Kapil in the Gr2 KZN Guineas. Money Bags, who had finished a head further behind in the Guineas, was second favourite. Eyeofthetiger and Elusive Fort (who blew out considerably in the market) were the next most popular choices, with Jagged Ice attracting plenty of support at longer odds.
Elusive Fort soon worked his way to the front and set a reasonable pace from Sun Screen and Alpe D'Heuz, with Bennie Blue next in line. Money Bags was in midfield, with Eyeofthetiger and Hunting Tower further back as Gold Dominance trailed the 14 runner field. There was no real change in the order until they reached the straight, where Elusive Fort made full use of a fairly brisk following wind and skipped a couple of lengths clear. Money Bags set off in pursuit with Jagged Ice also running on and Hunting Tower also beginning his move from well back, but inside the last 200m it was only Jagged Ice who ever threatened the frontrunner.
The Dean Kannemeyer-trained Jagged Ice loomed up alongside Elusive Fort close home and looked briefly as if he would go on to land the hefty bets laid on him, but Elusive Fort was not about to surrender after doing all the legwork. Finding a little bit more under a driving Johnny Geroudis ride, Elusive Fort fought his way back to edge out the gallant Jagged Ice by a nose, with Hunting Tower running on very strongly into third. Eyeofthetiger ran on nicely to finish fourth and cannot be out of the July picture, but he did give the impression that he really would be better on a more galloping course. He did win his previous race at Greyville, but that was against 6 rivals in a relatively easy event and he may not really be the right type for the mad dash up the short Greyville straight which is inevitably a feature of the Durban July.
Money Bags was disappointing. He showed an inclination to hang, racing with his head held a little sideways under pressure, and didn't give Jeff Lloyd the easiest of rides. He did of course run all over the place before losing the Gr1 Cape Derby in the boardroom, so is perhaps not the most straight forward of mounts, because this time he looked a shade reluctant to go between other horses. He is obviously better than this form suggests, he has proven that often enough, but he will just as plainly need to be more cooperate if Guv'nor Lloyd is to finally break his July duck this year.
It could be argued that Elusive Fort enjoyed the run of the race, having had a largely uncontested lead for so long, but he was still travelling very smoothly on the turn for home where his nearest pursuers were all off the bridle and being pushed along. Those nearest pursuers included Bennie Blue, who had finished within 1.25 lengths of Elusive Fort in the SA Derby, so any suggestions that the winner was more-or-less handed the Daily News 2200 on a plate don't really wash. He ended up beating the likes of Bennie Blue (who by the way is particularly effective at Greyville) and Sun Screen a good deal more comfortably than at Turffontein, which would seem to confirm the impression that Elusive Fort is getting better all the time. Further evidence of this is seemingly offered by the Gr1 SA Classic over 1800m at Turffontein in March, where Elusive Fort finished 2.25 lengths second behind Hunting Tower.
If you are one of the many pundits who believe that this season's July can only be won by a 3yo, then Elusive Fort now belongs very high on the list of possibilities. Jagged Ice would have to be respected on the strength of both this effort and his fast finishing 4th, beaten less than one length, in the Cape Derby. However, it remains to be seen how much of a penalty the handicapper will slap on him for this latest performance. He raced off a 93 merit rating, whereas Elusive Fort was rated 99 and Hunting Tower 103, so some sort of a hike in Jagged Ice's rating seems inevitable. If the handicapper uses the ever reliable Hunting Tower as his line horse, then Elusive Fort looks in line for a penalty as well. All of which suggests that we need to wait for the final weights to be issued before we jump to any conclusions about which (if indeed any) of the 3yo crop is going to wind up winning the July.
Elusive Fort is a son of Fort Wood and is the 4th foal (and third winner) of Secret Prospector mare Ever Seeking, who won five races up to 1600m and was placed in several Stakes events. Ever Seeking changed hands at auction for R300.000 when Elusive Fort was a weanling, a price which looks pretty cheap now, especially as her most recent yearling was sold at the recent National sale for double that amount. Elusive Fort himself was a R750.000 purchase from the 2004 National Yearling Sale. Bred at Wilgerbosdrift, he has now won 4 from 7 and earned R1.405.625 in stakes.

Gr1 SA Fillies Sprint - Scottsville 28/05/06
Whatever anybody may tell you, there are more certainties in life than death and taxes. One of them is, National Colour will win the champion three-year-old sprinter filly prize at the next Equus Awards bash. You may even find a way to dodge your taxes, but that you can take to the bank. Following on from her spectacular performance in the Gr1 Computaform Sprint at Turffontein the previous month, National Colour added another valuable prize to her collection when she won Sunday's SA Fillies Sprint over 1200m at Scottsville, writes Matthew Lips.
The highest merit rated filly in the country, National Colour was predictably sent out 9/10 favourite to beat her own sex at WFA, despite some doubts as to how she would cope with the stiff 1200m at the Pietermaritzburg track. Needless to say, she would have been less than half those odds if the race were contested over 1000m. As it was, some considered her vulnerable and there was plenty of support for second favourite Overarching, winner of the race in 2004 and runner-up 12 months later.
The race can be pretty much summed up in one sentence: National Colour led from start to finish. She didn't perhaps quite take off out of the gates as she had in the shorter Computaform Sprint, but even so she managed to build up a lead of at least three lengths within the first couple of furlongs, with Sovereign Beat closest to her as Lee Danzig (a stable companion to National Colour) showed some toe as well. Jazzy was next in line as National Colour continued to lead them a merry dance. Sovereign Beat weakened out of contention inside the last 200m, as did Lee Danzig, but one danger to the frontrunner emerged in the form of Disco Queen. It can be a long way up the hill at Scottsville and backers of the favourite may have endured a few queasy moments as Disco Queen began to inch into National Colour's lead, but the latter actually still had a bit up her sleeve and fairly comfortably held off Disco Queen in the end to win by a neck under a beautifully executed from her regular pilot, Brett Smith.
Jazzy stayed on to finish third, with Grand Velvet Bay making some progress into fourth, but Overarching was never sighted with a chance and was very disappointing, especially as she didn't even have to travel from her Gauteng base this time. Unlike previous years, trainer Ormond Ferraris has a string of some 20 horses in KZN for the winter and that was widely expected to be a big plus for Overarching, who has more than once flopped on her journeys away from home.
National Colour is a daughter of National Assembly, and was that sire's second Gr1 winner of the day after Trust Antonia had taken the earlier Allan Robertson Fillies Ch'ship. As an influence for speed, this son of Danzig is in a league of his own amongst contemporary South African stallions. National Colour is the 6th foal and third winner of Mr Eats mare Rainbow Cake, who won 7 up to 1200m for trainer David Ferraris, including a Listed event. Bred by Altus Joubert, National Colour was acquired for R150.000 at the '04 National Yearling Sale and has now won 6 from 9 starts for R763.000 in stakes. She is trained by Sean Tarry for owner Chris van Niekerk, who paid R800.000 to buy National Colour's yearling full sister at this year's National Sale, one day after the Computaform Sprint.

Gr1 Golden Horse Casino Sprint - Scottsville 28/05/06
Let's Rock 'n Roll looked set for big things, only to completely lose his form when the Gauteng Feature season hit top gear. Well, he's back. Catching most punters entirely by surprise, the 3yo found his feet at just the right time to record a 50/1 upset in the Golden Horse Casino Sprint over 1200m at Scottsville on Sunday. Amongst those who finished out with the washing behind him were his much better fancied stable companion, Tiza, writes Matthew Lips.
Ultra consistent What A Question was sent off 2/1 favourite to win a race which many experts seemed to think could realistically only be won by one of the six three-year-olds in the 16 runner field. They got that part right, at least. National Flame was quickly away, but very soon it was his stable companion Mocha Java who found herself blazing a trail up front, with National Flame next in line followed by Ball Sider and Tiza. Let's Rock 'n Roll was a few lengths off the early speed, with What A Question also choosing (wisely) not to chase the hot early pace.
Mocha Java was starting to wobble racing into the last 300m and soon weakened, leaving the race briefly wide open, but Let's Rock 'n Roll picked up a narrow lead inside the final 200m. What A Question was now chasing hard, but the Gauteng visitor had pinched the advantage and ran on well under Randall Simons to beat What A Question by 3-parts of a length. The runner-up was scarcely disgraced, for he conceded 2.5kg to Let's Rock 'n Roll, who is, despite his recent loss of form, a very decent sprinter indeed. That made it 3 2nd place finishes in the day's 4 Gr1 races for the favourite's jockey, Jeff Lloyd. It must have been a long drive home for the Guv'nor, but he's been around more than long enough to know that such frustrations are just part of the game.
Vega stayed on well to finish 3rd, enjoying a clear run up the outside and allaying fears that his 17 draw, coupled to his style of racing from well off the pace, would leave him stuck behind a wall of horses. Far Under Par ran on steadily to finish fourth, but the early leaders and their nearest pursuers all fell by the wayside well before the line was reached.
Trained by former Zimbabwean Paul Matchett, 3yo Let's Rock 'n Roll is a son of Mr Prospector horse Muhtafal, and became his sire's 1st Gr1 winner in the process. He's the 1st foal of Northern Guest mare First Arrival, who won 6 up to 2000m in Zim, incl. a pair of Gr3s. She was that country's champion 3yo filly of the 1999/2000 season. Let's Rock 'n Roll was bred in KZN by Bruce and Anne Nicholas' Hallmark Thoroughbreds, and his victory at the highest level will no doubt provide a morale booster for displaced Zim breeders everywhere. Let's Rock 'n Roll failed to reach his R120.000 reserve when offered at the 2004 National Two-Year-Old Sale and has now won 6 from 11 for R495.310.

Gr1 Gold Medallion - Scottsville 28/05/06
There have been some impressive displays by two-year-old males in SA this season, but surely none of them could match the hiding which Zeeno handed to his ten rivals in the Gold Reef Casino Resorts Medallion over 1200m at Scottsville on Sunday. The race may have lost much of its glitter when unbeaten Gr2 SA Nursery winner Rebel King was withdrawn, but even the latter would have had to run some race to retain his spotless record, writes Matthew Lips.
laced 3rd behind Red Tribution (who turned up again here) on debut at Scottsville before running away with a Clairwood 1200m maiden in April, Zeeno was the subject of hefty market support ahead of the big Scottsville dash and bookmakers knew their fate long before the winning post was reached. Zeeno was tucked in on the outside just off the early speed as Red Tribution showed up narrowly ahead of Procurer and hitherto unbeaten favourite Sovereign Circle, with strongly supported Vaal debut winner Super Profit moving up into the firing line around 400m out.
That was all well and good - until jockey Alec Forbes released the brakes on Zeeno. Once given his head, Zeeno put the race out of reach of everyone else in a handful of strides, pulling clear over the final furlong or so to win by an eye-catching margin of 2.5 lengths from Sovereign Circle. Divine Jury, always just behind the pace on the inside of the course, stayed on to finish 3rd ahead of Paper Money, who acquitted himself well in only his second visit to the races. These Gr 1 contests are always extremely hard to win with a horse that has only started once previously, as the many backers of Super Profit (who faded to finish almost last) found out. So did supporters of Krica in the earlier Allan Robertson Fillies Ch'ship, for that matter.
It's anybody's guess how good Zeeno may really be. It could be argued that runner-up Sovereign Circle was returning from an 11 week rest and that stable jockey Anton Marcus had opted to rather ride Rebel King before the latter was withdrawn, but Sovereign Circle still finished second and may not have run too far below his very best. It is easy to make a case for Zeeno to be the best 2yo in the country right now, especially as he looks to have improved substantially with each of his three runs, and on this evidence he will probably stay a bit further than 1200m.
This marked the biggest career success by far for trainer Duncan Howells, who not only managed to keep this valuable prize in KZN, but did so with such resounding ease. It takes a brave man (or woman) to pursue a career in a profession where so much firepower is concentrated in relatively few hands, leaving the majority to largely eke out a living in the lower echelons of the sport, but this result will hopefully make prospective patrons sit up and take notice.
Nor did it require a horse with an obscene price tag for Howells to saddle his first Gr1 winner. Zeeno was bought for just R40.000 at the 2005 National Yearling Sale, where there obviously are still bargains to be had. The Gold Medallion winner is a son of rags-to-riches sire Count Dubois, who evidently covered a mere handful of mares in 2005 but who was long ago fully booked for 2006 on the strength of a string of big race wins by the likes of Zaitoon, Asylum Seeker, and Ethics this season. You want to send him a mare, go the back of a very long queue -the son of Zafonic now has more admirers than Brad Pitt. Amazing what a few months can do for a stallion's reputation, and what about seventy seconds can do for a trainer's.
Zeeno is the 2nd foal and first winner of Northern Guest mare Ice Floe, who won only one race (over 1000m) but who in turn is a daughter of Gr 3 winning sprinter Melting. Those with long memories or a knack for racing trivia will recall that Melting was the only horse to beat Empress Club as a 2yo. Bred at Northwood Stud, Zeeno has earned R350 625 in stakes and will doubtless have come to the attention of prospective exporters even before his jockey had dismounted.

Gr1 Allan Robertson Filles Ch'ship - Scottsville 28/05/06
Showing plenty of pace from the start, Trust Antonia justified trainer Mike Azzie's high opinion of her with a gallant success in the Allan Robertson Fillies Ch'ship over 1200m at Scottsville on Sunday. Never a man to mince his words, Azzie left viewers of Tellytrack's Under Starters Orders programme in no doubt whatsoever that whatever beat Trust Antonia would win. Nothing did, writes Matthew Lips.
Krica, comfortable winner of a maiden against older rivals in her only previous start, was a heavily backed favourite to land the Allan Robertson in the absence of Surabi, with Trust Antonia the market second choice. Anton Marcus had Azzie's filly out in a flash and disputing the lead with Ghost Writer as Sally Bowles raced just in behind the speed. Krica was well in touch, a couple of lengths behind the early leaders. Ghost Writer headed Trust Antonia for a while, but coming to the last 200m the latter had regained the advantage. It was only Sally Bowles who proved any sort of a threat from there, running on strongly all the way to the line, but she couldn't quite bridge the gap in time and was a head behind Trust Antonia at the post.
Ghost Writer held on well enough to finish a sterling third, making this a pretty good result for the progeny of London News, who also sired the runner-up and whose juvenile daughters generally have done very well this season. Madam Milly finished fourth, lacking a sustained effort where it was most needed, but faring quite well for a horse that needed four starts to win a maiden. Krica was under pressure a good 400m from home and weakened to finish last, while the hitherto unbeaten Syrian Sonja (who had accounted for Sally Bowles over the same course-and-distance last time out) appeared to be a shade slow into stride and was never seen with a chance.
With the best will in the world, this could not be considered to have been a vintage renewal of the Allan Robertson. Not one of the five highest rated juvenile females in the country took part, but what we did have were plenty of promising and relatively unexposed types. What the result might have been had Surabi not been scratched we will never know, for she did finish 2.5 lengths ahead of Trust Antonia in the Fillies Nursery at Turffontein in April, when the latter was returning from a 14 week rest. It always seemed likely that Trust Antonia was better than that form, for she had thumped a decent enough field when winning her only previous race.
Trust Antonia has a smart pedigree to go with her precious Gr 1 winner's status. A daughter of the hugely successful speed sire National Assembly, she is the 9th foal and 8th winner of Averof mare Loyal Linda. The latter won just once, over 1200m, but her previous progeny have included Gold Flier, who won what is now the Gr1 Gold Reef Casino Medallion when it was still known as the Smirnoff Futurity and was the ARCSA champion juvenile male of the 1994/95 season. Bred at Highlands Farms Stud and bought for R350.000 at the 2005 National Yearling Sale, Trust Antonia has earned R263.750 from her 3 visits to a racecourse. Her real value in the current bloodstock market is practically inestimable. Sprinting is likely to always be Trust Antonia's forte, but that is not necessarily true of the runner-up, who herself looks well capable of winning a decent prize before the end of the season.

Gr1 Computaform Sprint (29/04/06)
Conventional wisdom was turned on its head when three 3yo's left elders in their wake in the Gr1 Computaform Sprint, run at weight-for-age over 1000m at Turffontein. Worse still, the first two finishers were speeding fillies, who scored by 4 lengths and 3, writes Karel Miedema.
The fast rack conditions certainly played a big role, favouring as it did front runners. Right from the jump, the two fillies were ahead of the pack, lightning fast National Colour already leading Mocha Java by a few lengths with 800m to go. National Colour, going well within herself, extended her lead in the final stages. The grey filly stopped the clock in 55.61 seconds (Catalochee holds the record with 55.49). Clearly, she'd won her race at the start: when a horse going track record pace is 3 lengths ahead of the rest after 200m, the pack would have to break the track record by a good few seconds to catch her. Impossible!
Ridden in fine style by Brett Smith, National Colours competes in the colours of Chris van Niekerk for trainer Sean Tarry. The win brought her career earnings to R575.000 from 5 wins and 2 places in eight starts.
The racing style of National Colours, who is bred by Altus Joubert at his Riethuiskraal Stud, is reminiscent of that of her dam Rainbow Cake, also a grey front runner. She was trained by David Ferraris to win 7 races from 1000 to 1200m up to A-division level. National Colour is her sixth foal and first stakes winner. She was sired by National Assembly, following earlier foals by Bel Byou, Badger Land and Model Man. Her 2yo full brother Kaleido is a winner of his only start to date, making the mating to National Assembly looking worthy of further repeats.
National Assembly, resident sire at Highlands in Robertson, had already shown his mettle as an outstanding sire of speedsters. His sons National Emblem and National Currency went on from a successful start as juveniles to become hero's. His daughters Historic Lady and Forward Filly were the champion 2yo fillies of their respective years. It must be short odds for National Colour to achieve similar status this season at 3.

Gr1 SA Derby Turffontein (1/04/06).
The remarkable feat of breeding the first 3 finishers in a Gr1 race can very rarely have been achieved anywhere in the world, and Mary Slack and her Wilgerbosdrift team would have had very good reason to celebrate well into the night after this young stud succeeded on Saturday where so many much older establishments never have. The first 3 past the line in the million rand SA Derby over 2450m at Turffontein were all bred at Wilgerbosdrift. When you consider that the last three winners of the Gr2 KZN (until 2004 the Gr1 SA) Guineas were all products of the same farm as well, you can understand why the name Wilgerbosdrift has very rapidly come to be synonymous with quality
It was well backed favourite Elusive Fort who led home a procession of his former studmates in a race that was thankfully returned to its former Gr1 status after one year as a Gr2 contest. The butchery which the Graded Stakes committee performed on SA's major 3yo races last seasons is well documented and was about as well received within the industry as an equine 'flu outbreak, but much of the damage has already been reversed with the Cape Derby also being reinstated to the highest level after one year as a Gr2. Phumelela didn't waste the opportunity to boost their newly re-promoted race, running it as the showpiece event on a card with six other Stakes races and touting the whole show generally as Derby Day. You have to admit it has a certain ring to it, because in the world of the thoroughbred the word Derby does have almost mythical implications. Whether the field that lined up under a thankfully clear blue sky for this mile-and-a-half slog around the standside track was the best ever assembled for a seven figure purse is debatable to say the least. Indeed, the absence of Hunting Tower, who had won the first two legs of the Gauteng Triple Crown, from this, the final leg, obviously took a great deal away from the Derby. Still, Elusive Fort had shown himself to be a very good prospect when running on stoutly to finish second to Hunting Tower in the Gr1 SA Classic at his last start, when racing for only the fifth time in his life. He had shaped as if a longer distance would suit and not surprisingly attracted plenty of support to win the Derby, ousting SA Classic fourth Wise Son from the top of bookmakers' boards in the process. The pace on going still labelled soft despite the bright weather was reasonable but unspectacular, with Spitzbergen taken straight to the front and showing the way ahead of Paris To Peking, Wise Son, and Sun Screen. Bennie Blue was just behind the leaders as Elusive Fort raced more than halfway down the field, caught three deep after starting from the widest draw in a 13 runner field. Bennie Blue moved closer around the final turn to be in second spot behind Spitzbergen as heads turned for home. Paris To Peking was the first to make a bid for glory when Spitzbergen weakened and led racing into the last 400m. This rank outsider with a merit rating 22 pounds inferior to the best in the race was in no hurry to give up the ghost once he took command and for a brief moment a huge surprise looked conceivably possible, but not for long. Elusive Fort had been taken to the far rail for his challenge and was coming home hand over first, while deeper out Bennie Blue and Sun Screen were also steadily getting the upper hand on Paris To Peking. Elusive Fort was clearly going best of all 100m out, though, and under a typical Mark Khan drive he ran on well to win by almost one length from Bennie Blue, with Sun Screen third and Paris To Peking fourth. Wise Son disappointed when weakening out of contention; under pressure early in the straight, he was pretty much the 1st one beaten and may have raced too keenly early on in his first attempt at this kind of distance. Hitherto unbeaten Likeithot stayed on to finish just out of the frame, but was never in contention. The winner is a son of Fort Wood, whose progeny won 4 of the 6 that collectively made up the 2 Gauteng Triple Crowns (one for the boys, one for the girls) this season. The 2nd and 3rd are both by former Wilgerbosdrift resident sire, the now deceased Rich Man's Gold. Elusive Fort is the third foal and third winner of Secret Prospector mare Ever Seeking, a daughter of dual Gr 1 winner Epoque who won five races up to 1600m and was Gr 3 placed. This is the immediate family of "galloping goldmine" Empress Club, and with that pedigree it is no small surprise that owner Ebrahim Khan had to cough up R750.000 to buy Elusive Fort from the select session of the 2004 National Yearling Sale. Winning trainer Geoff Woodruff was almost as relieved as he was delighted with this result. His stable has been combating the effects of a severe virus for some months now and has had a pretty horrible summer, but the wheel has been visibly turning in recent weeks and the yard should be out in full force for what remains of the Gauteng Feature season and the KZN winter campaign which follows. Woodruff stated that Elusive Fort would be entered now for the Vodacom Durban July, which is natural enough even though the colt has been raced in such a way that he has never met an older horse beyond maiden class level. The relative proximity of 73-rated Paris To Peking in fourth makes one wonder about the strength of the Derby form, and whether it matches up to the best of all age groups in the land is not something the pundits will agree on, but Elusive Fort is a progressive sort and certainly deserves the opportunity. In any case, SA Derby winners in recent years have a good record in the July. 2004 winner Greys Inn went on to win the July in his 3yo season, while 2003 winner Yard-Arm and 2005 Derby hero Silverpoint went on to finish a close 2nd at Greyville a few months after their Turffontein heroics. For now, Elusive Fort has won 3 times from six starts and earned R936.875.