Mia Moo (orange colours) wins last year’ SA Fillies Sprint to give Sean Tarry a 21st Gr 1 win at Hollywoodbets Scottsville (Candiese Lenferna Photography)
“The King Of Pietermaritzburg”, Sean Tarry, has won a record 21 Gr 1s at Hollywoodbets Scottsville and he once again has a strong team for the Festival Of Speed meeting on 23 May.
He goes for a tenth Gr 1 SA Fillies Sprint and he runs last year’s winner Mia Moo in the 1200m wfa event this year.
He said, “I am very happy with Mia Moo. I thought her run in the Computaform Sprint was very good and it should have set her straight for this race. Double Grand Slam has a profile that is a lot higher and she has been doing well and I respect her and there is also Asiye Phambili, but you have to race, you can’t just give them the trophies.”
Mia Moo did beat an unlucky Double Grand Slam in this race last year and also touched off Asiye Phambili.
Tarry also runs Rodeo Drive and One Fine Winter in the SA Fillies Sprint.
He said, “Rodeo Drive’s disappointing run in the Empress Club was her second run after a layoff, which followed her win in the Gr 2 Ipi Tombe, and it came a bit too soon. But she bounced back nicely last time with a second in the Camellia Stakes.”
However, she does have a lot to do being merit rated 12 points lower than Double Grand Slam and seven lower than Asiye Phambili and six lower than Mia Moo.
One Fine Winter disappointed in the Swallow Stakes and came back full of mucus in her next run. Sean said a line could be drawn through those two runs and he was “very happy” with her 2,30 length sixth in the Camellia.
However, she has a lot to do in this weight for age event off a 105 merit rating.
Jerusalema Rain is doing very well in the build up to the Gr 2 Golden Horse Sprint over 1200m. Ironically when Ashley Fortune left for Australia Sean had asked the owner, who had a a share in a horse in his yard, to send Jerusalema Rain to him, but he declined and sent him to Cape Town instead. However, the Captain Of All gelding has eventually ended up in the Tarry yard and is clearly enjoying being back on the Highveld. He raided Hollywoodbets Greyville in his penultimate start and finished just a half-a-length behind the top class Questioning over 1200m, albeit when receiving 9kg if apprentice claims are included. He then returned to the Highveld and won the Gr 2 TAB Senor Santa Stakes over 1160m. He carried bottom weight in the Senor Santa and went up nine points to 109. He will get into the final field for the Golden Horse. He is set to carry 52,5kg, so he is an interesting contender, considering he is on the up.
Tarry said about Jerusalema Rain’s regular jockey, Mickaelle Michel, “Her confidence is growing and she is starting to deliver.”
Cosmic Speed is an interesting entry in the Golden Horse.
Tarry said, “He got four pounds for running third in the Senor Anta. which didn’t help him.. He took a terrible bump in the Met and that rattled him a little bit. His first two runs after that were around the turn and didn’t help his confidence and he then seemed to enjoy running down the straight again in the Senor Santa. We don’t need to change it for now, but it doesn’t mean that I’m sticking to sprints. I will nominate him for the Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge.”
Tarry said The Specalist might not have a high enough merit rating to get into the Golden Horse, but he hoped Speed Man would get in and reading between the lines it would seem he believes Speed Man to be his chief hope of winning the race, despite the fact he would be under sufferance if he did get in off his 105 rating.
Tarry said, “The In Full Flight over 1100m at Scottsville is always seen as a qualifier and a good showing there often gets them in.”
Speedman ran a cracking 0,40 length second to Kaalvoet in that race. He had won four out of his previous five starts before that and is clearly an exciting prospect.
In the Gr 1 Allan Robertson Tarry has entered Get Up, Griselda, Secretary Bird and Ocean Mistress.
He said, “Secretary Bird’s last run in the Race Coast Slipper I thought was a very good run and she and Get Up are my main two here.”
Sean has also nominated Get Up for the Gr 1 Gold Medallion and he had not decided yet which one she will run in, although he did admit that the Vaughan Marshall-trained Rich Man’s World and the Mike de Kock-trained Haute Couture were two “very nice horses” and they will likely be taking their places in the Gold Medallion.
Tarry also has Status Symbol and Egremont in the Gold Medallion and said, “It’s obviously going to be tough for them. Status Symbol did run second in a feature last time, but this is definitely a way stronger race. Egremont won his maiden on debut and I’m looking at him and I will see how he goes during the week.
