INTERNATIONAL FEATURE
JULY 5, 2015
Durbay July Ever-Unpredictable
by Liesl King
Predictable is one thing the Vodacom Durban July (SAf-G1) never is. Once the
South African National Anthem is sung and the gates crash open to the roar of
the crowd, the formbook flies out the window and absolutely anything can happen.
Yet, after the 2014 running of the race — where the winner wasn’t the winner
— surely 2015 would be a more normal race.
Statistics suggested that a three-year-old would return victorious. After
all, they were highly rated, lightly weighted and two of the top three were
trained by the soon-to-be-crowned champion trainer Sean Tarry.
Statistics, however, do not take into account that we are not dealing just
with numbers, but with nine tons of horseflesh, each with a mind of its own.
As the crowd of about 55,000 looked on in disbelief, the Vodacom Durban July
seemed to be experiencing a groundhog day. Once again two horses came together
up the home straight, once again there was a scrimmage, once again the objection
hooter sounded and once again there was an extremely lengthy delay, with no
winner being declared.
The only difference this year is that winning jockey, Stuart Randolph, was
having none of it.
Randolph has been part of the riding ranks for 30-odd years, and prior to
this race, his most memorable victory was in the 2001 Gold Cup. To win South
Africa’s most prestigious race is a dream that had long passed him by, and
Randolph was just happy to steadily keep adding to his total of roughly 1,600
winners.
Then suddenly, rudely and rather abruptly, he found himself in the lead on a
horse that had no intention of stopping.
As the Dean Kannemeyer-trained Power King (Silvano) surged across the line,
Randolph still could not quite believe it. Once Randolph realized that he was
not dreaming and that he had finally, after three decades in the saddle, won
South Africa’s most prestigious race, no objection hooter was going to stop him
from experiencing the moment to its fullest.
Randolph’s smile could have lit up an entire city. He waved, he smiled, and
ever so often he patted Power King. Back at the winner’s circle, owner Lady
Christine Laidlaw had finally arrived and, while she has been fortunate enough
to win most of South Africa’s biggest races, this one had eluded her.
Finally, after an agonizing 20 minutes or so with a tired Power King circling
and his connections waiting, the objection was overturned and the party could
start. Owner, trainer and jockey embraced, even wiped away some tears, as silver
platters were handed over, sashes were draped, champagne corks popped and
fireworks lit up the sky.
It may not have happened quite the way it was meant to, but racing is
unpredictable and even 44-year-old journeyman jockeys can win the July.