DURBAN JULY 2011 : THE HIGHER THINGS IN LIFE

Click above to watch Pierre Jourdan - last season’s biggest earner.
(Image : JC Photos - Footage : Summerhill Stud)

VODACOM DURBAN JULY
2 July 2011

Commencing the first extracts from the 2011/12 Summerhill Sires Brochure. This one is particularly appropriate, with the Vodacom Durban July looming.

The entries for this year’s Vodacom Durban July, remind us why we like this game. Africa’s biggest sporting event is racing at its democratic best, and the Summerhill entry is the prima exemplar.

The ruling favourite is Igugu, part owned by Dubai’s Sheikh Mohammed, and the nation’s first ever winner of the Triple Tiara. A daughter of the world’s hottest stallion, she represents the “toffs”. Predictably, she stripped a million from an unsuspecting wallet at the Emperors Palace Ready to Run Sale.

But it wasn’t always like this. Igugu’s original owner was a former battler and a one-time electrician, who’s come well of late. He’s never managed a mention in Fortune magazine, but he did play scrum half for Diggers’ Fourths. As an apprentice, they paid him two quid a week, and he used to punt half. He wrote his bets on his hand. That way, he could keep track of his bank balance while he played.

At the other end of the scale, the “plebs” include last season’s biggest earner, Pierre Jourdan, and Black Wing, emerging star of the sophomore generation. You could have bought both at the same sale, for R100,000. In a manner of speaking, they’ve put the battlers back in the “July”; they’ve brought back its egalitarian traditions. All can play, all can win. Victory goes to the hungry. Horseracing is not surrounded by dainty old ladies serving cucumber sandwiches to retired vicars. Nor is it contested by quiet and neighbourly countries like Sweden and Greenland, who always finish high on the list of happy nations. Racing is more like the Balkans. Everyone is at each other’s throats, especially in the July.

They’ll need to be good to take on Igugu though. Very good. She’s not only got the blood; the boys on the farm will tell you, she’s got the “BMT”. She’s found a public home these days, on cable TV and in the nascent blogosphere. When she took the third leg of the Triple Tiara, Andre Macdonald suffered a euphoria so intense, it was notifiable.

But this is the July; it’s the crucible of old. Others will fancy their chances. Everyone fancies their chances. The real question goes to the nerve. Some will develop the “fever” - for which there is no known cure.

When they turn for home, the sticks come out. This is where upbringing counts; it matters where you grew up. In the rush of battle, heroes feel no pain. It’s no longer the dog in the fight; it’s the fight in the dog.

All three of these beasts will carry the Summerhill flag on the first Saturday of July. No-one with the slightest pretensions to The Higher Things In Life, could allow them to run naked. Either way, imagine their values today. Many, many times their original cost. Which begs the question…

If you want to own a Champion, why not dial the Champions?

For more information please visit :
www.summerhill.co.za

VODACOM DURBAN JULY
Greyville, Turf, 2200m
2 July 2011

First Declarations

#	Horse	Kg	MR	Trainer
1	PAST MASTER	60.0	115	Darryl Hodgson
2	BIG CITY LIFE	59.5	114	Glen Kotzen
3	BRAVURA	57.5	110	Joey Ramsden
4	PIERRE JOURDAN	57.5	110	Gary Alexander
5	CAPTAIN’S WILD	56.5	108	Mike de Kock
6	LION IN WINTER	56.5	108	Joey Ramsden
7	HAPPY LANDING	56.0	107	Joe Soma
8	VERTICAL TAKEOFF	55.5	106	Sean Tarry
9	IGUGU	55.0	109	Mike de Kock
10	RUN FOR IT	55.0	109	Justin Snaith
11	THE APACHE	55.0	109	Gavin van Zyl
12	BULSARA	55.0	105	Gavin van Zyl
13	IN WRITING	55.0	105	Dean Kannemeyer
14	ENGLISH GARDEN	54.5	108	Mike Bass
15	FLIRTATION	54.5	104	Mike de Kock
16	FORT VOGUE	54.5	104	Mike Bass
17	BLACK WING	54.0	107	Paul Gadsby
18	SAFWAN	54.0	103	Mike de Kock
19	CASTLETHORPE	53.0	105	Mike Bass
20	EMERALD COVE	53.0	105	Justin Snaith
21	GOLD ONYX	53.0	105	Sean Tarry
22	GALILEO’S DESTINY	53.0	104	Mike de Kock
23	MYSTIC MOON	53.0	103	Greg Ennion
24	PERANA	53.0	103	Mike de Kock
25	IL SAGGIATORE	53.0	102	Joey Ramsden
26	HAMMIE’S BOY	53.0	99	Mike Bass
27	SUPER STORM	53.0	99	Mike Bass
28	ESTECO	53.0	96	Mike de Kock
29	MAHOGANY	53.0	96	Weiho Marwing
30	SOUL MASTER	53.0	92	Geoff Woodruff
31	BROWN PENNY	53.0	88	Mike Bass
32	GOAT	52.5	100	Paul Lafferty

Bold denotes Summerhill entries - Correct as at 9 June 2011