Madison Valley and Gavin Lerena teamed up to win the Michaelmas last October. (Candiese Lenferna Photography).
Frank Robinson described it as a coup to land Gavin Lerena for his Sid Moodley-owned Mambo In Seattle gelding Madison Valley for the Hollywoodbets Durban July.
He said the top jockeys usually try and get on the horses from the big yards.
Big yards invariably win the July, with the last example of a smaller yard winning it being the Harold Crawford and Michelle Rix-trained 2021 winner Kommetdieding and ironically Gavin Lerena was aboard.
Before that one probably had to go back to the Pat Antelme-trained Gondolier in 1985 to find a small yard winner of South Africa’s premier horse race.
However, Frank himself has been associated with a small yard winner as he was working for Summerveld trainer Gael Thompson when Jamaican Rumba won in 1982 ridden by Paddy Wynne.
That was two years after he had worked for Johnny Nicholson when Beau Art won in 1980. Frank was still at school when he worked for Nicholson and he used to arrive in the mornings on hs 50cc motorbike, then drive to Pinetown Boys High for school lessons and return to the yard on his motorbike in the afternoons.
Frank later had a long association with the legendary Herman Brown Snr, which culminated in him having a shared licence with Herman Brown Jnr and he then took over the yard on his own.
The Browns Snr and Jnr between them had many narrow calls in the July, including crossing the line first with Gatecrasher in 1975, before being demoted to third after an objection, finishing second with Bold Monarch in 1977, second with Versailles in 1984, second with Sleek Machine in 1996 and second with Sushisan in 2006. The yard’s most recent closest call was third with Orbison in 2010.
Madison Valley was the winner of the Gr 3 Hollywoodbets Dolphins Cup Trial over 1800m and last year won the Gr 3 DSTV Gold Vase over 3000m and he finished a flying 2,35 length fourth in the Gr 1 Betway Summer Cup when jumping from a wide draw and coming from the back of the field.
Gavin Lerena was aboard Madison Valley when he won the Non-Black Type Michaelmas Handicap over 1900m at Hollywoodbets Greyville last October, which was the second time he had ridden the rangy horse.
In other July riding news Callan Murray has been confirmed to be riding the Mike and Mathew de Kock-trained Immediate Edge, as was expected.
