Latest news with #CupTrial
The Citizen
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Citizen
Litigation is ready for Durban July call up, says Tarry
Litigation gets into race after withdrawal of See It Again. Two-time Durban July winning trainer Sean Tarry did not hesitate for a moment on Tuesday to add Litigation to the final field for Saturday's renewal after the scratching of See It Again, who was withdrawn from the race due to an abnormal blood count. Litigation was the first reserve runner but will now step into starting stall No 15 for the Grade 1 race over 2200m at Hollywoodbets Greyville – the same gate allocated to Tarry's Cousin Casey last year, from which he finished in the runner-up spot. 'I'm happy to have Litigation in the race,' said Tarry. 'He's in good order and I'm sure he will give a good account of himself. 'To be honest, when I nominated the horse, I thought it might be tough to have him right on July day. But actually, as we got closer to the Cup Trial, I was amazed at how well he was doing.' Litigation ran fourth in the Grade 3 Cup Trial over 1800m at Greyville last month – his first run since the Grade 1 Cape Met back in January. 'I gave him a proper rest after the Met,' said Tarry. 'I thought we may run out of time to first of all qualify and secondly have him perfectly fit. But as it happened, it's all gone very nicely.' ALSO READ: Numbers add up to Eight On Eighteen for Durban July Tarry, who won the race in 2012 with Pomodoro and 2013 with Heavy Metal, is a regular face when it comes to the July. In 2023, he finished third with Bless My Stars and last year saw Cousin Casey finish second. 'Obviously we've ridden a few rodeos in our time. I've had some good results in the July and some good runs. 'Since I won the race, there may have been one or two years I missed in terms of having runners in the field, but I'm not sure,' said Tarry. 'Litigation has had a good preparation. He's obviously a big outsider, understandably so, and he's an older horse. He's had his chances but he is in good form. 'He's got a good weight and we can only hope. It's hard to say whether he can win it. His last run he did need quite badly and I thought it was a very good run. He certainly would have come on from that run.' At the age of six, Litigation finally gets a shot at the July. 'He has shown some good form at Greyville and I don't think he'll disgrace himself.' Litigation's first outing at Greyville was in the 2022 Greyville 1900 (Grade 2), when he finished 3.75-lengths behind Do It Again. That was, however, his last run for that season. Two years ago, he ran in both the Greyville 1900 as well as the Cup Trial but did not manage to place. It was then decided to geld this son of Greys Inn. 'He was gelded after his stint in the Cup Trial in 2023. He gave a good account of himself in the trial that year when finishing behind Winchester Mansion. He gave him a lot of weight. But it was obvious he needed to be gelded.' ALSO READ: What Durban July gallop poll revealed The big question is whether Litigation will finally get a Group 1 win on his résumé. 'Group 1 races for a horse like Litigation will always be a handicap. That's where he will have the best chance,' said Tarry. 'The July is the place where you can run in a Group 1 and also get weight. It will be his best chance of ever pulling it (a Group 1 win) off.' Although delighted to see Litigation in the final field, Tarry also feels for the connections of See It Again, trained by Michael Roberts. 'It's not nice for the other person to deal with the disappointment,' said Tarry. 'You don't want to have your fortune at the expense of someone else's misfortune, but that's the way the game sometimes works. It's the way life sometimes works. 'But I sort of had a feeling that there may be a scratching and that he (Litigation) could get a run. We were ready for the call-up, and we got it.'
The Citizen
11-06-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
Underworld plots a Durban July heist
A big race final log has been unveiled amid a scramble for places. Bowlers take great delight in hurling surprise bouncers at batters who appear settled at the crease. Jolt them out of a comfort zone is the idea. Racehorse trainer Justin Snaith did something of the sort this week when he made four-year-old Underworld a supplementary entry for the Hollywoodbets Durban July, to be run at Greyville next month. Underworld wasn't among the 61 first nominations, or a late addition at the first supplementary stage of South Africa's premier horse race. Indeed, Snaith watchers had more than enough to keep them busy with a dozen or so of his July aspirants, including a clutch of them near the top of the betting boards. Then Underworld ran in the Grade 3 1800m Dolphins Cup Trial at Greyville this past weekend and did fairly well – as he should have as a 3-1 favourite. He finished a close runner up to 40-1 roughie Madison Valley, with 14-1 chance On My Honour just behind in third place. Here's the thing: Madison Valley and On My Honour were both Durban July entrants and the surprise Cup Trial result, along with a slew of scratchings at second declaration stage, saw them catapulted into the final July log announced on Tuesday. Neither had featured among the 20 'most favoured' entries of a few weeks earlier. Underworld gave 2kg and 1.5kg respectively to his adversaries in the Cup Trial, but the distance and venue were a good pre-July test and indicated that Snaith's charge might not be wildly outclassed in the big race. Shaking things up The bottom rungs of the Durban July ladder are always hotly contested spaces but connections of horses that make it into 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th on the final log can generally start planning their outfits for the parade ring at Greyville on the first Saturday of the seventh month. Comfort zone; but here comes the bouncer. Based on his merit rating of 108, Underworld has no chance of trumping Madison Valley (115) and On My Honour (116) in the minds of the July selection panel. But Snaith is fond of a mischievous argument and a dig at the official handicappers. One of the horses on those lower rungs of the new July log is My Best Shot in 17th spot. No-one can remember when last there was an Eastern Cape-based runner in the July and many would be delighted to see Alan Greeff saddle up his star three-year-old for the big race – and Snaith wouldn't be a popular chap if his Underworld nixed the country cousin. Merit rating adjustments following the weekend's hectic pre-July action saw Oriental Charm and Gladatorian both hiked to 127, which means they will share the July's top burden of 60kg with See It Again – when weights are concluded next week. Cape Town Met champion Eight On Eighteen – who wasn't in action at the weekend – still tops the final log with his MR of 129. The race conditions stipulate that, as a three-year-old, he cannot carry more than 57kg. The log indicates that there is unlikely to be a female horse in the 2025 July. Three fillies are on the 'next best' list, but they will only come into contention for a place in the field if there are scratchings aplenty in the coming week. Hollywoodbets Durban July Log of 10 June 1. EIGHT ON EIGHTEEN (3C) Justin Snaith 129 2. ORIENTAL CHARM (4C) James Crawford 127 3. SEE IT AGAIN (5G) Michael Roberts 127 4. ROYAL VICTORY (5G) Nathan Kotzen 125 5. CONFEDERATE (3G) Fabian Habib 118 6. GLADATORIAN (5G) Stuart Ferrie 127 7. PURPLE PITCHER (4C) Robyn Klaasen 122 8. ATTICUS FINCH (5G) Alec Laird 121 9. SELUKWE (5G) Andre Nel 111 10. THE REAL PRINCE (4G) Dean Kannemeyer 120 11. OKAVANGO (3G) Justin Snaith 120 12. NATIVE RULER (3G) Justin Snaith 119 13. LEGEND OF ARTHUR (3C) Sean Tarry 117 14. IMMEDIATE EDGE (3G) Mike / Mathew de Kock 108 15. MADISON VALLEY (4G) Frank Robinson 115 16. ON MY HONOUR (3G) Glen Kotzen 116 17. MY BEST SHOT (3G) Alan Greeff 116 18. FUTURE SWING (5G) Justin Snaith 117 19. MUCHO DINERO (5G) Justin Snaith 115 20. POMODORO'S JET (6G) James Crawford 118 Next 9 in alphabetical order BEATING WINGS (4F) Stuart Pettigrew 113 HOLDING THUMBS (4G) Glen Kotzen 107 JOY AND PEACE (4F) Alan Greeff 110 LITIGATION (6G) Sean Tarry 113 MAGIC VERSE (4G) Justin Snaith 113 RAINBOW LORIKEET (4F) Candice Bass-Robinson 111 SON OF RAJ (5G) Tony Peter 119 THE EQUATOR (IRE) (4C) Tony Peter 110 THUNEE PLAYA (4C) Mano Pandaram 104 Final supplementary entries close on Tuesday 17 June after which the weights will be published by the National Horseracing Authority. Final declarations are due on Monday 23 June and the field of 18 runners, with two reserves, will be revealed on Tuesday 24 June when the draw for barrier positions will also take place.
