Muis and Striker get their draw — and an auspicious number

Turf legend Michael “Muis” Roberts was once an undisputed master of Greyville racecourse. Old adversary Garth Puller has spoken – admiring, yet still peeved – about how the pre-eminent jockey dictated the pace of races around the long sweeping bend, before uncannily catching his rivals on the hop as he struck for home and victory.

Roberts was on tenterhooks in Umhlanga on Tuesday when the barrier draw for the 2023 Hollywoodbets Durban July was made – he knew the value of getting a gate from which to dictate at the Durban inner-city track.

He wanted No 8 or less. He got No 7. Relief. The horse in question was ruling July favourite See It Again, and the man with the responsibility of pulling a “muis” out of the hat from gate 7 will be Piere “Striker” Strydom.

The number 7

For those who like signs and coincidences: when Michael Roberts won his sole Durban July – in 1997 on an unprepossessing-looking horse called Super Quality (perhaps tongue-in-cheek) – his saddle cloth number was 7. See It Again, the magnificently conformed beast that Roberts now trains, will carry the same number on 1 July 2023.

For his part, Strydom has said in the past that draws 8, 9 and 10 are his July preference. Of course, we know that Strydom – like Roberts in his pomp – has the riding talent to win from a draw on North Beach, as he did on The Conglomerate in 2016.

Speaking of pomp, Justin Snaith-trained Pomp And Power drew the widest gate, No 18, while Sean Tarry’s Rain In Holland ended up with No 17. These two trainers got some “compensation” by drawing 1 and 2: Tarry’s Bless My Stars and Snaith’s Without Question respectively. However, many a pundit reckons being up against the railing paint is not always a good thing as you can get boxed in by eager horses tracking over from wider draws.

No surprises

There were no major surprises when the final field was unveiled, with the only hard-luck case being ultra-consistent Tarry horse Nebraas elbowed out to first reserve. His main rivals for a slot in the lineup had been Winchester Mansion and Pacaya, who were in the top five in the ante-post betting and it would have been contentious to relegate one of those two.

With a host of scratchings at the final declaration stage, the selection panel only had to deliberate over 23 remaining entries. Aragosta, Union Square and Electric Gold were ditched and Jimmy Don was made second reserve.

The days’ developments didn’t have a profound effect on the betting. Winchester Mansion, Son of Raj and Safe Passage shortened slightly – the latter as the news of the booking of international star jockey Christophe Soumillon sank in, tempered slightly by a 14 draw.

Pacaya, Rascallion and Pomp And Power all eased on the draw news, but the biggest drifter was late supplementary entry Trip Of Fortune, who went from 28-1 to 40-1 after landing gate No 16.

Field for the 2023 Hollywoodbets Durban July

Grade 1, 2,200m, R5-million (draw and number, horse, weight in kgs, merit rating, jockey trainer):

1 BLESS MY STARS 52.0 109 [A Mgudlwa] Sean Tarry
2 WITHOUT QUESTION 54.5 120 [R Fourie] Justin Snaith
3 TIME FLIES 55.0 117 [L Mxothwa] Brett Crawford
4 WINCHESTER MANSION 53.0 112 [K Matsunyane] Brett Crawford
5 BILLY BOWLEGS 53.5 118 [S Veale] Alec Laird
6 DO IT AGAIN 57.0 121 [G Lerena] Justin Snaith
7 SEE IT AGAIN 56.5 124 [P Strydom] Michael Roberts
8 SILVER DARLING 55.0 117 [JP vd Merwe] Justin Snaith
9 SON OF RAJ 53.0 115 [M Yeni] Weiho Marwing
10 DAVE THE KING 55.5 122 [C Zackey] Mike de Kock
11 PUERTO MANZANO 58.0 123 [K de Melo] J A Janse van Vuuren
12 PACAYA 53.0 110 [G van Niekerk] Justin Snaith
13 SECOND BASE 56.5 120 [C Maujean] Robyn Klaasen
14 SAFE PASSAGE 58.0 123 [C Soumillon] Mike de Kock
15 RASCALLION 57.5 122 [C Orffer] Vaughan Marshall
16 TRIP OF FORTUNE 60.0 127 [A Domeyer] Candice Bass-Robinson
17 RAIN IN HOLLAND 56.5 120 [S Khumalo] Sean Tarry
18 POMP AND POWER 58.0 123 [B Fayd’Herbe] Justin Snaith
Reserve Runners
19 NEBRAAS 55.0 117 [Reserve 1] Sean Tarry
20 JIMMY DON 53.0 116 [Reserve 2] Erico Verdonese

BETTING

7-2 See It Again
6-1 Safe Passage
7-1 Winchester Mansion
8-1 Without Question
12-1 Pacaya
14-1 Son Of Raj, Rain In Holland
18-1 Dave The King, Rascallion
20-1 Puerto Manzano
25-1 Pomp And Power
33-1 Bless My Stars, Do It Again
35-1 Silver Darling
45-1 Time Flies, Billy Bowlegs, Trip Of Fortune
80-1 Second Base