Aragosta looks best in 1900

Jack Milner

The race is on for berths in the R5-million Hollywoodbets Durban July and the Grade 2 World Sports Betting 1900 at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Saturday is one of the main qualifying events.

In fact, barring miler Indlamu, all the runners in this year’s event have been nominated for the Grade 1 race on 1 July and one could make a case for a number of runners.

However, Aragosta could be the runner they all have to beat in this R400,000 race. Mike de Kock’s runner has run two excellent races in Grade 1 races, despite the fact they were five months apart – the Betway Summer Cup and the WSB Premier’s Champions Challenge, both over 2000m at Turffontein.

Both races were won by Puerto Manzano, and in the Summer Cup Aragosta finished third, beaten 1.40 lengths, while in the Champions Challenge, although running seventh, was just 2.75 lengths behind the winner.

The four-year-old gelding clearly needed his last run and he will have come on nicely from that effort. He comes into this race as the best weighted runner and will be ideally suited by the distance.

Last year, Aragosta ran third in the Grade 1 Daily News 2000 behind stable companion Safe Passage, despite hanging right across the track.

He unfortunately repeated his “hanging trick” in the Durban July, but seemed to be better in the Gold Cup, although the problem in that race is that he was placed so far back he got completely lost in the race but did run on strongly.

Craig Zackey rode Aragosta in the Champions Challenge and is back in the irons for this race. They will jump from No 5 draw.

The other interesting fact about this race is it sees another meeting of Justin Snaith-trained Pacaya and Peter Muscutt’s Quasiforsure.

The two produced one of the most controversial finishes of the Cape summer season in the Listed Jet Master Stakes over 1600m. Quasiforsure looked to have the race all wrapped up but his overconfident jockey stopped riding which allowed Pacaya to get up on the post.

Quasiforsure had an impressive win in his first race at Hollywoodbets Greyville over 1400m and

the Quasillo gelding looks capable of shrugging off a 2kg swing in the weights and get his revenge on Justin Snaith-trained Pacaya.

Snaith is a dab hand at coming in under the radar and ensuring his charge will get into the July with a low weight but even he will be hoping that Pacaya, who is coming off a rest, wins the 1900 as off his current merit rating of 104 he may not get in.

Do It Again loves racing at Greyville and the dual Durban July winner will make his seasonal debut in Race 4, a Pinnacle Stakes over 1600m.
If Do It Again wins his heat, the race should be named after him going forward. He has the amazing statistic of having won his first starts back to KwaZulu-Natal after his usual Cape Summer season campaign back home.

Jack Milner’s selections

Race 1: 13 Mauritania, 3 Errols Legacy, 2 Porto Zante, 8 Secret Identity

Race 2: 7 Bedtime Story, 10 Kumemori, 11 Rafa's Boy, 9 Down By The River

Race 3: 6 Indian Ocean, 4 Pixie In Love, 5 Queen Britanna, 2 Fiery Filly

Race 4: 6 Do It Again, 5 Captain Fontane, 3 Union Square, 10 Captain Casey

Race 5: 1 Rockie Reef, 2 Let's Not Linger, 9 Aquae Sulis, 11 Capetown Beauty

Race 6: 1 Time Flies, 2 Dawnofanewday, 3 Sister Light, 7 Virginia Sweet

Race 7: 5 Aragosta, 9 Quasiforsure, 4 Pacaya, 3 Rascallion

Race 8: 4 Strawberry Bear, 2 USA's Hope, 1 Coin Spinner, 10 Tread Swiftly

Race 9: 10 Ponte Pietra, 9 Addabar, 5 Kingdom Of Heaven, 7 Lady Serena

Race 10: 3 Quanabi, 1 Ashanti Sword, 4 Just Be Nice, 2 Danse Milord

BEST BET

Race 3 No 4 Indian Ocean

VALUE BET

Race 7 No 5 Aragosta

BEST SWINGER

Race 6 1x2

BIPOT

R216

Leg 1: 7, 10, 11

Leg 2: 6

Leg 3: 3, 5, 6

Leg 4: 1, 2, 9, 11

Leg 5: 1, 2

Leg 6: 4, 5, 9

PLACE ACCUMULATOR

R216

Leg 1: 6

Leg 2: 5, 6

Leg 3: 1, 2, 9

Leg 4: 1, 2

Leg 5: 4, 5, 9

Leg 6: 2, 4

Leg 7: 5, 9, 10

PICK 6

R2160

Leg 1: 3, 5, 6, 10

Leg 2: 1, 2, 9, 11

Leg 3: 1, 2, 3

Leg 4: 4, 5, 9

Leg 5: 1, 2, 4

Leg 6: 5, 6, 7, 9, 10

JACKPOT 1

R144

Leg 1: 1, 2, 9, 11

Leg 2: 1, 2, 3, 7

Leg 3: 4, 5, 9

Leg 4: 1, 2, 4

JACKPOT 2

R225

Leg 1: 4, 5, 9

Leg 2: 1, 2, 4

Leg 3: 5, 6, 7, 9, 10

Leg 4: 1, 2, 3, 4, 7