Future Swing bolstered his Durban July claims with an emphatic score in the Greyville 1900 on Saturday. Justin Snaith’s entry got a smart figure of 105 + which can be sharply upgraded due to a very strong 400m to finish closing sectional of 22.6. Future Swing could well be better than 111, which brings him right into the picture as a potential July winner.
Oriental Charm (s/s 107) ran gamely to hold second ahead of Master Redoute (s/s 108 with sectional upgrade), who put forth a sterling effort at the weights. Both have bright KZN seasons ahead and it will be interesting to see how trainers Brett Crawford and Andre Nel respectively plan their campaigns.
Snaith was also spot on in Race 2 where talented juvenile, Great Plains (s/s 91 ++) justified market confidence to rocket home. The Danon Platina grey dashed down the inside in 22.8 seconds to win by two lengths. He is one to follow.
Spare a thought for second placed Rhydian (s/s 87 ++) who was taken out when gathering serious momentum in the centre of the course. This was only his second career start, and he too is one to watch as he matures and gets a slightly longer trip.
Nel and Crawford were also to the fore in the KRA East Coast Cup with Nel’s Saartjie just pipping Future Girl. She appeared to have a big class edge over her rivals and duly defied top weight to get the job done.
Hithemhardsunshine is a consistent sprinter that repeatedly runs figures around 100 and he again did so to beat off Magic Tattoo in a knock down brawl over 1000m. He was, arguably, fortunate to keep the race given the skirmish that ensued close to the wire.
Flag Man produced the other notable fig on the day. The Flying the Flag gelding from Gareth van Zyl’s yard attained a hat trick when surging past The Grey King in a 1900m contest. The final time was 1.4 seconds slower than Future Swing’s but the come home sectional of 22.6 was precisely the same. This marks the improving Flag Man (s/s 94 +, can exceed 100) as a below the radar lurker to keep onside in three-year-old Graded races.