Royal Victory was the first out of province horse to win the World Pool Gr 1 Premier’s Champions Challenge and will be out to make more history on July 6 (JC Photos)
Nathan Kotzen had Royal Victory prepared to the tee for the Gr 1 Betway Summer Cup and Gr 1 Premier’s Champions Challenge and will no doubt have the four-year-old in prime condition for the country’s most sought after race, the Hollywoodbets Durban July.
Royal Victory did not take a conventional route in to the Premier’s Champions Challenge, running in the Non-Black Type Fever Tree Stakes and then Nathan opted to gallop him once thereafter rather than run him again.
He said about the Pathfork gelding’s route into the July, “We don’t want to accumulate any more points so there is a Pinnacle over 1500m at Hollywoodbets Scottsville on May 19 and then there is a sprint over 1000m on June 17 at Hollywoodbets Greyville (MR 112) which might be an option to give him a warm up ten days before taking him to the course for the July gallops, or otherwise I might miss that sprint race and just take him to the course for a gallop instead. He doesn’t need much and I will just see how he goes in the Pinnacle first.”
He said if the Pinnacle race didn’t stand up he will go for the Gr 3 Cup Trial over 1800m at Hollywoodbets Greyville on June 8.
He said the Cup Trial might be an option anyway, although he is mindful that there is a risk of accumulating more merit rating points by winning or going close in that race.
Royal Victory is currently merit rated 125.
As things stand he will be carrying 56,5kg in the July, assuming the 132-rated See It Again will be in the field.
The second highest rated entry is Main Defender on 131, but it will be a suprise if he runs considering his excellence from 1400m up to a mile.
Dave The King is on 126 and he is also questionable over the trip, especially considering he is four points higher than when finishing a 5,50 length sixth in the July last year. On the other hand, gelding has settled him down.
Royal Victory’s 125 merit rating is the same as Gimme A Nother’s and on 124 are the reigning champ Winchester Mansion as well as Royal Aussie, who is another entry with a stamina doubt.
Nathan said Royal Victory had been in fine fettle.
He is the only out of province horse to ever win the Premier’s Champions Challenge, having become just the second out of province horse this millennium to win the Summer Cup after the Dylan Cunha-trained Strategic News in 2007.
He will be attempting to be the first to do the Summer Cup/Premier’s/July treble.
He will be out to become only the second horse to do the Premier’s/July double after Heavy Metal in 2013 and he will be out to become the first since El Picha in 1999/2000 to do the Summer Cup/July double.
