Stars come out as lockdown clouds lift

Hawwaam and Vardy are among the many rising turf stars who’ll step out this weekend as horse racing’s pent up big-race programme is released.

There are plenty of other exciting names on the cards at Turffontein and Greyville. Soqrat, Summer Pudding, Golden Ducat, Count Jack, Mississippi Burning, Sachdev, Bunker Hunt and Eyes Wide Open are all likely to play starring roles in the coming thrill-fest of a congested and intertwined Joburg and Durban winter season.

Many of the aforementioned gallopers will be among first entries for the Vodacom Durban July due to be named on Monday morning.

Shut-down famine is over; time to feast.

The fun starts at the Big T with trainer Mike de Kock’s awesome duo of Hawwaam and Soqrat facing off in the Grade 1 HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes over 1600m. The former has been hailed as the best thing since a bootleg bottle of moonshine in lockdown, while pundits reckon the latter has been a tad underrated in his stablemate’s shadow.

Hawwaam tops the Durban July ante-post betting but hasn’t raced since coming third in the Sun Met in early February. With the important 25 July date in mind, he won’t be fully wound up for this gig, which might also be on the sharp side for him these days. Plus, he’s notoriously hot-headed and might need a little re-orientation to a racetrack environment. The vast, empty, silent grandstands might prove a good thing in that regard.

Australian import Soqrat has been out of competitive action for even longer, though the tough Turffontein mile is right up his alley. He has drawn gate 10, as opposed to Hawwaam’s No 5.

It shapes up as an epic and there is dangerous firepower in the rest of the field, too. For example, champion trainer Sean Tarry saddles three good ones in former Summer Cup champion Tilbury Fort and rising four-year-olds Cirillo and Tierra Del Fuego.

Much focus will be on the Oaks, in which trainer Paul Peter’s charismatic filly Summer Pudding tries to land the Triple Tiara. The daughter of Silvano is unbeaten in five outings and appears to have the stamina pedigree to go an arduous 2450m and claim the glittering headgear last donned by her formidable auntie Cherry On The Top.

She is definitely a banker candidate for exotic bets.

By contrast, the SA Derby looks wide open, with a phalanx of young stayers seeking to make a historic mark in the time-honoured classic.

Tarry’s charge Shango, Fabian Habib’s Youcanthurrylove, Corne Spies-trained Imperial Ruby and Got The Greenlight from Joe Soma’s barn present difficult choices. A couple of relatively unexposed rivals must also be considered for permutations.

On to Durbs on Sunday, with all eyes on Cape sensation Vardy, who took out the Queen’s Plate in imperious style but had a troubled passage when disappointing in the subsequent Sun Met.

The 1400m of the Grade 2 Drill Hall Stakes might be too short for young trainer Adam Marcus’s gelding, but the race should give us some idea of how he has come along in recent months and how well he has adapted to relocation up the east coast.

Two of Marcus’s Cape Town compatriots, Justin Snaith and Glen Kotzen, both saddle two in this famous old race – crack sprinter Kasimir and likely July candidate Bunker Hunt, and Eyes Wide Open and smart filly Snapscan, respectively – and all four should be included in all bets.

Impressive Cape Derby winner Golden Ducat is the standout in the Guineas, while Mississippi Burning catches the eye in the fillies heat.

Quite a weekend.

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