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Picture: The WSB Met one-two Kommetdieding And Jet Dark will be joint Hollywoodbets Durban July topweights (Wayne Marks)

Kommetdieding And Jet Dark July Joint-Topweights

The Justin Snaith-trained Jet Dark has been lowered one point to 129 after his Grade 2 IOS Drill Hall Stakes sixth place finish was followed by a 0,60 length third in Saturday’s Grade 1 Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge and he and Kommetdieding will be joint topweights in the Hollywoodbets Durban July.

The handicappers used the Grade 1 Wilgerbosdrift HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes winner MK’S Pride as the line horse for the Gold Challenge and the winner Al Muthana was consequently raised three points to 125. He only beat fourth-placed 122-rated MK’s Pride by 1,20 lengths, which equals 2,4 merit rated points, but they rounded it up to three points on the grounds of him being eased before the line.

Jet Dark’s lowered mark means that with former July winner Belgarion having been lowered to 128, the joint topweights for the July are going to be Jet Dark and Kommetdieding, who are now both merit rated 129.

The Hollywoodbets Durban July weights will officially be published tomorrow

Jet Dark and Kommetdieding will both carry 60kg.

Al Muthana wil carry 58kg despite beating both Linebacker, who will carry 58,5kg off a 126 rating, and Jet Dark on Saturday (by 0,40 lengths and 0,60 lengths respectively).

Jockey Richard Fourie, after scoring his possibly record-equalling seventh Grade 1 winner of the season, said he believed Al Muthana would easily get the July 2200m trip. However, a new jockey will have to be found for him because Fourie is already committed to Pomp And Power.

The ruling favourite Safe Passage, a three-year-old rated 122, will carry 54,5kg.

Third favourite Sparkling Water is merit rated 116, meaning she will carry 53,5kg.

Pomp And Power is next in the market and will only be half-a-kilogram under sufferance carrying the minimum weight for a three-year-old of 53kg off his 118 merit rating.

Do It Again will carry 58,5kg off his 126 merit rating, which is 1kg more than he carried last year when a desperately unlucky fourth.

However, he will be 4,5kg better off with both Kommetdieding and Linebacker for a respective 1,75 length and 1,25 length beating from last year’s race, although if weight for age improvement is taken into account he will effectively only be 2,5kg better off with them.

Nevertheless, the dual July winner has been the best performed horse in the race for four successive years and has a fine chance.

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Picture: Callan Murray (Chase Liebenberg).

Callan Murray To Ride Al Muthana In July

Today saw the final supplementary stage deadline for the Hollywoodbets Durban July.

35 of the original 69 entries accepted.

The one supplementary entry Airways Law has until next Monday to accept.

There were a number of jockey declarations.

The most interesting of them was Australian-based South African Callan Murray being declared to ride the Mike de Kock-trained Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge winner Al Muthana.

Murray has ridden nine Grade 1 winners in his career, including a treble at one meeting, two of them for Mike de Kock.

The 36 horses still standing and their weights below:

Horse	Weight	MR	Trainer		Jockey
Zillzaal	54	117	Sean Tarry		……………
Never Ending Rain	53	101	Glen Kotzen		……………
Astrix	56.5	122	Paul Peter		……………
Nebraas	54.5	118	Sean Tarry		……………
Hoedspruit	53.5	116	Justin Snaith		Craig Zackey
Divine Odyssey	53	113	J A Janse van Vuuren		……………
Waterberry Lane	53	117	Dean Kannemeyer		……………
FireAlley	53	112	Candice Bass-Robinson		……………
Bingwa	55	119	J A Janse van Vuuren		Kabelo Matsunyane
Marina	54.5	118	Candice Bass-Robinson		……………
Sovereign Spirit	53.5	116	Ashley Fortune		……………
Red Saxon	53	118	Joe Soma		……………
Super Silvano	53	107	Brett Crawford		……………
Linebacker	58.5	126	Vaughan Marshall		……………
Zapatillas	53	118	Brett Crawford		……………
Belgarion	59.5	128	Justin Snaith		Piere Strydom
One Way Traffic	53	104	Justin Snaith		……………
Second Base	54.5	118	J A Janse van Vuuren		……………
Flying Carpet	53.5	116	Sean Tarry		……………
Crimson King	53	108	Glen Kotzen		……………
Puerto Manzano (ARG)	55.5	120	J A Janse van Vuuren		……………
Silvano’s Timer	53	98	Dean Kannemeyer		……………
Kommetdieding	60	129	HWJ Crawford/M Rix		……………
Russian Rock	55.5	120	Dean Kannemeyer		……………
Pomp And Power	53	118	Justin Snaith		Richard Fourie
Do It Again	58.5	126	Justin Snaith		Aldo Domeyer
Jet Dark	60	129	Justin Snaith		S’manga Khumalo
Native Tongue	53	107	Justin Snaith		……………
Warrior	53	108	Justin Snaith		Grant van Niekerk
Crown Towers (AUS)	53.5	116	Justin Snaith		……………
Safe Passage	54.5	122	Mike de Kock		Muzi Yeni
Sparkling Water	53.5	116	Mike de Kock		S’manga Khumalo
Aragosta	53	118	Mike de Kock		Warren Kennedy
Al Muthana (AUS)	58	125	Mike de Kock		Callan Murray
Airways Law	53	108	Andre Nel	Still To Be Declared
Chollima	53	102	Glen Kotzen

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Picture: Puerto Manzano wins the Grade 3 Jubilee Stakes over 1800m at Turffontein Standside on Sunday (Candiese Lenferna).

Vermaak, Janse van Vuuren And De Melo Toast Of The Wernars’ Household

Bloodstock agent Justin Vermaak, trainer Johan Jansen van Vuuren and jockey Meagan de Melo were the toast of the Laurence Wernars household over the weekend.

Wernars’ racing fortunes have risen to a high level recently and this has allowed him to “enjoy it again”.

Therefore, he has lately always made a point of acknowledging the talent and hard work of those who have allowed him to get it to that level.

His first winner of the weekend was the Querari three-year-old filly Homely Girl.

Vermaak astutely purchased her out of the Justin Snaith yard on behalf of Wernars after she had finished third in the Grade 1 WSB Cape Fillies Guineas.

She finished second in her first three starts for Janse van Vuuren on the Highveld and he decided to put a pair of “half-cup” blinkers on for the Grade 2 East Coast Radio Tibouchina Stakes over 1400m.

he bexplained she had been hitting a flat spot on the Highveld tracks that she would not have been able to afford on the sharper Hollywoodbets Greyville track.

De Melo said the blinkers had made a big difference.

He rode a race which woould provide a good lesson for the academy riding school classes on race tactics.

He found hlimself caught wide at about the 900m mark in a one out position in joint third place.

However, instead of wasting time looking around to try and slot in and this unbalancing the horse he accepted his fate and allowed her to slide forward slowly, ensuring she wasted no energy pulling.

She this turned home just a length off the pacemaker in the weight for age plus penalties event.

The small filly galloped resolutely down the straight with a nice big action and won by a cosy 0,80 lengths from a fast-finishing fellow Higheld raider Ecstatic Green.

Then on Sunday the trio of Van Vuuren, De Melo and Wernars combined again to win the Grade 3 Jubilee Stakes over 1800m with the Argentinian-bred Puerto Manzano, who gained his first bold black type.

Wernars explained to the Sporting Post, “We bought Puerto Manzano on a second trip to Argentina. On the first Justin Vermaak bought Mohican, who bolted up at his second start, but unfortunately went in the wind. He also bought Kay Tee Perry who got black type. Also on the second trip, Justin went back to buy Kay Tee Perry’s sister and we needed two colts for the flight. Puerto Manzano was well priced and by a first season sire, but as a specimen he was the best yearling Justin felt he had seen all year. So Justin added him to the group.”

De Melo was at his best again, expertly finding cover from a wide draw and then bringing through the field from the back to get there at just the right time.

“Sickening the amount of talent this oke’s got,” said Janse van Vuuren abut De Melo after the race and he then echoed Wernar’s sentiments by saying, “We’ve just got a lovely team at the moment.”

Puerto Manzano fulfilled the belief from last season that he would blossom as a four-year-old by running a Grade 1 secoind and third respectively recently.

Janse van Vuuren was glad he had got in the winner’s enclosude for the first time for over a year as it would give him a nice confidence boost going onto the Hollywoodbets Durban July. He will have to find a new jockey tihrough because De Melo’s first obligation is top tihe Dean Kannemeyer yard and he will be riding Waterberry Lane in the big one.

The team had done well a week earlier when the Janse van Vuuren-trained Duke Of Marmalade mare True To Life, bought by Vermaak in training as a two-year-old, finished second in the Grade 1 SA Fillies Sprint brought to you by The Witness in the Wernars colours ridden by De Melo.

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Save The Date For The CTS Farm Yearling Sale (See Above Advert)

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Picture: Lot 13: Normandy’s strong, well-made colt, out of a full-sister to multiple graded stakes-winner Depardieu. (Normandy Stud).

Normandy hopes to sell another flag-bearer

Oscar Foulkes is excited about the young colt and four fillies entered in Sunday’s CTS Farm Yearling Sale, and said: “With Grinkov flying the flag for our Farm Sale graduates, we hope to be able to look forward to more of the same from these five”:

Lot 13: c. Pomodoro – Janis

“He is a strong, well-made colt, out of a full-sister to multiple-graded stakes-winner Depardieu. It is also the family of Winter Solstice, Bravura and Mother Russia. Pomodoro has a few highly promising juveniles, amongst which is a colt we bred, Return to Russia.”

Lot 64: f. Erupt – Upper House

“This is a well-grown, beautifully-topped filly out of a National Assembly mare that has bred a few prolific winners. Her dam is a half-sister to the uber-consistent sprinter, Cap Alright, who at one time was referred to as the ATM of Cape racing.”

Lot 47: f. Gimmethegreenlight – Royal Jubilee

“I think this filly is going to surprise a lot of people when she gets to the racecourse. I am not going to pretend that she is not easy to fault – she is on the small side, and she splays. What she does have going for her, though, is that she is very athletic when she moves, and she is by Gimmethegreenlight. Her grandam won the Gold Cup, and has bred a graded stakes-winner.”

Lot 78: f. Potala Palace – Ashram

“This is a neat, well-made filly with loads of quality. Potala Palace is a hugely underrated stallion – I cannot think of another who has bred Grade I winners out of this class of mares. Ashram was a very courageous race filly, who would surely have won more races if she did not have screws in her fetlock.”

Lot 84: f. Master of My Fate – Captain’s Catch

“There cannot be many yearlings on the sale that move as well as this filly. She is super athletic. Her dam was a useful race filly, who has already bred a stakes-winner and a stakes-placed. It is a family with plenty of potential.”

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Picture: Lot 94: This scopey daughter of William Longsword is from a Silvano half-sister to Just Sensual (Soetendal).

Soetendal’s trio brings sweet memories

Julia Pilbeam of Soetendal Estate noted the following on the three lots offered at the CTS Farm Yearling Sale on Sunday, 19 June, at Kenilworth Racecourse. They are all well-related, with stars from the recent past in their pedigrees.

Lot 43 : Prince of Tibet

“This supremely athletic colt is a very good mover. He is by Potala Palace, the sire of Katak, out of a half-sister to Secret Obsession (dam of Bunker Hunt and Salvador Mundi). He is a half-brother to five winners, and looks to add to the mare’s page!”

Lot 93 : Plum Blossom

“This strong, deep-girthed filly is a beautiful type with plenty of quality. By Ideal World, the sire of Smart Call, she is a half-sister to three winners, and her black-type dam is a half-sister to Badger’s Gift.”

Lot 94 : Essential

“A scopey daughter of William Longsword, this filly has lovely rein and shoulder, good bone, and a good hind leg. She is from a Silvano half-sister to Just Sensual. The dam’s first runner is a recent winner by 7 lengths in Johannesburg, and this is a great opportunity to buy into this wonderful family.”

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Picture: Baeed runs in the opening race of the Royal Ascot meeting tomorrow (Sporting Life).

Royal Ascot Opening Day Preview

By Sporting Life

2.30 (15H30 SA Time) – BAAEED

BAAEED extended his unbeaten run with no difficulty when slamming Real World by 3¼ lengths in the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury on his return last month, producing the sort of performance rarely seen at this trip in Britain since the days of Frankel, so he’s very hard to a oppose in a race of similar quality. Real World can follow the selection home again, with Order of Australia best of the others.

3.05 (16H05) – BLACKBEARD

Aidan O’Brien has won this a record 9 times and holds a strong hand once again with BLACKBEARD and Age of Kings, who both looked smart prospects when scoring last-time out. The latter was very strong at the finish at the Curragh 2 weeks ago but Blackbeard seems to have more natural pace having displayed an impressive turn of foot in the Marble Hill Stakes there, so gets the vote. Persian Force looks best of the home team, with Bradsell, Remarkable Force and Royal Scotsman also worth a mention.

3.40 (16H40) – GOLDEN PAL

GOLDEN PAL failed to fire when only seventh in last season’s Nunthorpe at York but Wesley Ward’s US colt is unbeaten since and well worth another chance to prove himself a top sprinter on these shores. Australian-challenger Nature Strip has the form to play a leading role too and could prove his biggest threat, with Twilight Calls and Man of Promise appealing as the pick of the home challenge.

4.20 (17H20) – COROEBUS

A very intriguing renewal, featuring more unknown quantities than is sometimes the case. That said COROEBUS sets a very high standard on his win in what looks a strong renewal of the 2000 Guineas so the likes of William Haggas pair My Prospero and Maljoom and the Gosdens’ Mighty Ulysses, who all have the potential to make their mark at the highest level, will need to take another sizeable step forward to trouble Charlie Appleby’s charge.

5.00 (18H00) – RESHOUN

Unsurprisingly a host arrive with claims, including last year’s winner RESHOUN. Operating from the same mark, he warmed up for this with an encouraging fifth over shorter at Haydock last month and, with the cheekpieces/return to further both obvious positives, Ian Williams’ charge is fancied to make a bold bid to follow up. Irish-raiders Pied Piper and Bring On The NIght are both fascinating contenders and feared, along with Coltrane and Aracdian Sunrise.

5.35 (18H35) – FOXES TALES

This looks very open. FOXES TALES was able to negotiate a wide stall when landing a C&D handicap at this meeting in 2021 so he’s chanced despite being drawn in 16. He seemingly didn’t quite stay 1½m at Newbury last time and had finished in front of last year’s winner Juan Elcano, who should go well again, when a creditable second on his reappearance at Sandown. Harrovian and the reappearing Tasman Bay are others to consider.

6.10 (19H10) – STOWELL

The Gosdens saddled the winner of this last year and STOWELL could be another for the yard. He was a fine third in the C&D Queen’s Vase at this meeting 12 months ago (sole previous attempt at this trip) and has shown enough in Group 3/listed company this year to suggest that this mark will be within reach now pitched into a handicap. Chester Cup winner Cleveland probably has more to offer and is greatly respected, while Juan de Montalban, Okita Soushi and Platinumcard are others to consider.

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Ashley Fortune and Ryan Munger scored a quick double at The Vaal today and the clincher, Jaimala (Flower Alley), is pictured been led in. Fortune went to 55 winners for the season at a strike rate of 11.80%. Munger has now ridden 76 winners this season at a strike rate of 9.38%. Lucky Houdalakis and Muzi Yeni also scored doubles at the meeting. Houdalakis went to 31 winners for the season at a strike rate of 10.99%. Yeni has ridden 140 winners this season at a strike of 11.35%

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Today’s Question

Why was the runner up in the Durban July 40 years ago in 1982 i.e Sweet Wonder, not so aptly named.

Picture: The Gail Thompson-trained Jamaican Rumba (Jamaico) with Paddy Wynne up won the July in 1982.

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Kenilworth Winter Course Wednesday June 15

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Today’s Question Answer

The runner up in the July of 1982, Sweet Wonder, attempted to savage the winner Jamaican Rumba close to home. The picture shows his head still twisted shortly after the incident.

Picture Source: The history of the July book by Ernie Duffield

Turf Talk Newsletter – 13 June 2022