Piere Strydom kept See It Again up to his work throughout at last Thursday’s official Hollywoodbets Durban July Gallops (Candiese Lenferna Photography)
Trainer Michael Roberts said he had asked Piere Strydom what draw he would like before last week’s draw ceremony and the reply was “ten”, so he said he was going to be able to sleep soundly at night after duly drawing exactly ten.
See It Again is now joint favourite with the sponsor at 9/2 as Green With Envy has drifted out to those odds.
See It Again only just failed last year from draw seven carrying 56,5kg off a 124 merit rating, but this year he has to carry top weight of 60kg off a 131 rating.
However, the older horses have had their bottom weight increased to 54kg, which makes it easier for the topweight.
See It Again is 2kg worse off than weight for age with the best three-year-old Green With Envy, which won’t make it easy.
However, Michael said he would have come on from his last run, an excellent third in the weight for age Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge over 1600m and Strydom rode him all the way to the line in last Thursday’s official Hollywoodbets Durban July gallop, which should put him spot on.
Roberts will be out to become the fourth man in history to win the July as both a jockey and a trainer, while Piere Strydom will be out to equal Anton Marcus’s record of five July-winning rides.
Owner Nick Jonsson is out to score a third July victory, having won it twice with his part-owned Do It Again.
However, if See It Again (or Double Superlative or Without Question) wins he will have his familiar cyclamen and spectrum green colours hanging on the Classic Room’s wall of honour for the first time.
The four-times July-winnning jockey Anthony Delpech tipped See It Again to wn at the Hollywoodbets Durban July Gallops panel discussion.
