Black Wing. Photo: Gold Circle/Vodacom Durban July
Capetown Noir has been confirmed a Vodacom Durban July runner by Dean Kannemeyer and will avoid the Betting World Derby at Clairwood this Sunday, while two other July contenders Gothic and Wild One will also bypass the race.
Kannemeyer’s decision to run Capetown Noir in the big one was made easier by the handicappers dropping him three points to 107.
The handicappers could not ignore that the Western Winter colt had been beaten twice by Vercingetorix, so their decision was unsurprising.
However, there are some that doubt Capetown Noir’s stamina capacity.
Western Winter is yet to produce a July winner, but has gone close with the likes of 2002 runner up Yard-Arm, 2004 fourth-placed Reveille Boy, who went on to win the Gold Cup, 2005 fourth-placed Lion Tamer and in 2006 he had two sons within 0,35 lengths of the winner, third-placed Jagged Ice and tie fourth-placed Natural Selection.
The former Champion stallion generally imparts plenty of speed.
Furthermore, the progeny of Capetown Noir’s dam have tended to be best up to a mile.
On the other hand his dam is by stamina influence Fort Wood.
Karl Neisius is reportedly convinced he will stay the trip and having ridden him to victory in the Investec Cape Derby over 2000m and to a narrow third in the Daily News 2000 he is well qualified to judge.
There is no doubting Capetown Noir’s class and he is currently the 5-1 joint-favourite with Betting World.
Trainer Kumaran Naidoo inherited Gothic a week-and-a-half after he had finished a 0,5 length second to Wylie Hall in the Grade 1 SA Derby.
Naidoo was impressed with that run, pointing out that he had “done it the hard way” and still stayed all the way to the line.
Wyle Hall then franked the form by finishing a 0,25 length fourth in the Grade 1 Daily News 2000.
Gothic is currently still in Johannesburg at Naidoo’s satellite yard and will arrive at Summerveld this week.
Naidoo said that due to the change of training regime and feed etc the yard had not had the necessary time to run the Silvano gelding in the normal pre-July three-year-old races like the Daily News.
He said, “He has come really well now and we don’t want to just run him for the sake of it. He is going to have a proper gallop at the July Gallops. It won’t just be a canter like is normally the case.”
Naidoo is not sure yet who will ride Gothic, but is trying to book a top jockey.
Gothic will be 3kg under sufferance in the Vodacom Durban July according to official merit ratings and has consequently been made a 50-1 shot by Betting World.
Trainer Jeff Freedman was philosophical about Wild One’s chances of getting into the big race.
The Mogok gelding is a borderline case as he was 23rd on the last July log.
This horse has plenty of ability but has been undone by bad draws, bad luck and a lack of maturity.
In his last start in the Daily News, he finished an eye catching sixth, despite having had to be rushed around horses coming up the hill.
The latter tactic would have seen a lesser horse fading away in the closing stages, but in his case he was doing his best work late, a measure of his class.
Freedman said, “The July is only one race and if he doesn’t get in we will just map out a new career for him.”
Wild One is quoted at 50-1 by Betting World.
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