Tarry-trained The United States Gelding Favourite For Dingaans

Wild And Free wins impressively on debut at Hollywoodbets Scottsville (Candiese Lenferna Photography)

The L’Ormarins and Friends syndicate includes well known owners Gaynor Rupert, Ravi Naidoo and Neville Isdell and they have a lot to look forward to with the Sean Tarry-trained Wild And Free, who was bred by Rupert’s Drakenstein Stud.

It is interesting to note that this good looking chestnut gelding is out of the Trippi mare Trip To India and is a full-brother to the Mike Azzie-trained Gr 2 SA Nursery winner Sheela, a Drakenstein-homebred  who was an out and out sprinter, although she was always held in very high regard by Azzie.

On debut Wild And Free, who is strongly built and has a big white blaze, proved his classic credentials by coming from a handy position to win comfortably over 1400m at Hollwyoodbets Scottsville.

In his next start he was up against a big KZN talking horse, the Tienie Prinsloo-trained Coast Of The Sun, who is by Hawwaam out of the three-times Gr 1-winning speedster and Equus Champion Three-year-old filly Alboran Sea.

Coast Of The Sun was considered unlucky to not make the field for a couple of the big two-year-old races last season.

He has proved a point by winning three-in-a-row since a third place finish from a wide draw over 1200m at Hollywoodbets Greyville on debut.

In his last race he defeated Wild And Free by half-a-length despite giving him 3,5kg.

However, in the 1400m event under the Hollywoodbets Greyville lights, Wild And Free was slowly away that day and had to sit at the back of the eight horse field under Serino Moodley.

He ran on well in the straight to make up the ground and only lost by the aforementioned half-a-length.

Next Up, Wild And Free ran in the Gr 3 TAB Graham Beck Stakes over 1400m at TAB Turffontein Standside.

He was drawn 15 out of 16 and Moodley was aboard again.

He dropped him out to last and halfway down the straight he looked to be going nowehere.

However, Moodley then gave him his head and he sped home in eyecatching style.

He had to do some weaving late on as the path on the rail was blocked, but he finished second, only 2,25 lengths shy of the winner Fierceness.

Fierceness had sat in the box seat from a plum draw and stretched out superbly in the closing stages to win well.

However, Wild And Free made up a lot of ground on him in the final 300m and that coupled with him having landed the number one draw for the Dingaans is the likely reason he is the favourite for this iconic three-year-old mile race.

Fierceness has landed a tough draw of 17 in the 20 strong Dingaans entry list and is a 5/1 shot in the Hollywoodbets ante-post betting, while Wild And Free is at 7/2.

The Dingaans is always a great pointer to the classic season.

This season it will be eagerly watched by many and if Wild And Free does win it many will be asking, how good is Coast Of The Sun?

The latter is owned by the Wernars Family, Mukund Gudjadhur, Rikesh Sewgoolam and Harry Willson and they have a lot of excitement to look forward to with that gelding.

Fierceness is also by Hawwaam and both he and Coast Of The Sun were bred by Wilgerbosdrift and Mauritzfontein.

The Dingaans entries are shown below: