Alec Laird’s best chance of winning the Hollywoodbets Durban July this year, 30 years on from his only win in the big race, probably lie chiefly with Fire Attack, who is pictured above winning the recent Gr 2 Colorado King Stakes (JC Photos)
Alec Laird has six entries in the Hollywoodbets Durban July in a year in which the iconic race’s renewal will mark the 30th anniversary of his only win of the big race with London News (Bush Telegraph) in 1996.
It will also mark the 60th anniversary of the July’s most infamous incident, the shooting of the legendary Sea Cottage just three weeks before the big race.
Sea Cottage, trained by Alec’s Hall Of Fame father Syd, recovered to run fourth in that year’s race before winning it in 1967 in a dead-heat with Jollify.
So with 30 years between the Sea Cottage incident and London News’ win, it would be fitting if a Laird horse made the headlines again 30 years further on.
Therefore it is somewhat ironic that Alec’s chief July hope, Fire Attack, has only had two wins this season and they are of the Gr 3 Betway London News Stakes over 1800m in March and the Gr 2 TAB Colorado King Stakes over 2000m last up.
As if winning the London News was not enough of a coincidence, Colorado King was another great July winner trained by Syd Laird, scoring by 1,75 lengths as a three-year-old in 1963 before going on to have a spectacular career in the USA.
However, Alec is not too sure of the immediate future for Fire Attack, who has never been tried beyond 2000m.
The 124-rated Fire Away colt has won five races, but four of those races have been Graded events.
His other Graded wins have been the Gr 2 TAB SA Nursery over 1160m and the Gr 1 wfa Premier’s Champions Challenge over 2000m at Turffotein Standside.
Staying the tough Turffontein Standside 2000m trip should see a horse being able to stay the easier 2200 trip of the Hollywoodbets Durban July.
However, Alec said, “He took his run in the Colorado King well, so we can have a look at another race. I don’t know if the July is the right race for him with the weights and everything, but we will cross that bridge a bit later.”
Alec’s other Gr 1 winner Atticus Finch finished last in the Colorado King Stakes and was blowing hard afterwards with some white mucous on the nostrils. Alec said he did not bleed, but another test will be done.
The Master Of My Fate gelding was in scintillating form in the early season, culminating in an impressive three length victory in the Gr 2 Allied Steelrode-Onamission Charity Mile.
However, he was then tailed off in the Betway Summer Cup when not striding out on his right hind.
However, his comeback was going well, with a seventh place finish in the Gr 1 Wilgerbosdrift HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes being followed by a decent 5,50 length fourth to See It Again in the Gr 1 wfa HKJC World Pool Premier’s Champions Challenge.
(Fire Attack’s run in the latter race can have a line drawn through it as he was caught wide and began over-racing).
Alec said about the six-year-old Atticus Finch, “I was expecting a big run in the Colorado King and the way he had been working, there is still some life in him, so we will see.”
Atticus is rated 127 and Fire Attack 124, so as things stand they would carry 60.5kg and 59kg respectively in the July.
Alec admitted his other four July entries Texas Missile (94), Greeting My Master (110), Parisian Walkway (113) and Aristotle (106) were all longshots, but he said he would be seeing what he could do to qualify them for the big race.
Alec is a member of the July’s most successful dynasty.
He has won it once himself as a trainer with London News (1996); his grandfather, also called Alec Laird, won it once as a jockey in 1911 on Nobleman; his great-uncle Syd Garrett won it twice as a jockey (Goldwing (1919), Pamphlet (1920)) and three times as a trainer (Full Dress (1930), Sadri II (1941), Left Wing (1960)); his Hall of Fame father Syd Laird won the big race a record seven times as a trainer, (Kerason (1961), Colorado King (1963), Java Head (1966), Sea Cottage (1967), Mazarin (1971), Yataghan (1973), Politician (1978)); his cousins Dennis Drier and Charles Laird won it once apiece as trainers with Spanish Galliard (1992) and Hunting Tower (2007) respectively. That is 16 July wins for the family dynasty in total and 18 if Dennis Drier’s father-in-law John Breval is included (King Willow (1965), Principal Boy (1975)).
