Roberts hopes the cards fall right

Jack Milner

The horse is 90%, the rest is luck.

That is how trainer Michael Roberts views Saturday’s Hollywoodbets Durban July.

Roberts trains current 75-20 favourite See It Again in the R5-million race over 2200m at Hollywoodbets Greyville and no one knows better than him the part played by good fortune.

Although an 11-time champion jockey in South Africa as well as holding the same title in the UK, Roberts battled to win South Africa’s most treasured title. That all changed in 1997 when he got aboard Super Quality for David Ferraris.

“Even that was luck,” Roberts points out. “He actually engaged me to ride North By Northwest, but when that won the SA Derby Weichong (Marwing) decided that was the horse he wanted to ride and I was put on Super Quality instead.     

“In the Durban July the cards need to fall right.”

Even acquiring See It Again was sort of lucky for Roberts. “We were at the CTS Sale and when he came into the ring I marked him down as being quite immature. Nic Jonsson’s father, Benji, was a good client of mine for many years and Nic also gave one or two horses every year.

“I went over to the table where he was sitting with Bernard Kantor and some others and he gave me the ticket to collect the horse.

“From the beginning I could see he had ability and when he won the Model Man Mile, I told Nic I wanted to take him to Cape Town for the Cape Derby.

“He said ‘aren’t you jumping ahead of yourself’ and I responded, ‘you’ve got a proper horse, Nic. This horse’s speed will kill them, he will mow them down’.

“Of course, the wind was taken out of me when they nominated Charles Dickens.”

And as they say, the rest is history. Fate intervened once again when Piere Strydom’s ride was taken out of the Derby, and he was engaged to ride the Twice Over colt. The six-times champion jockey kept a keen eye on Charles Dickens, and when he had the opportunity, See It Again pounced, storming past the Cape Guineas champion to win comfortably.

“You know what they say, you don’t find good horses, good horses find you, and I was really lucky to get him.”

Should See It Again win the Hollywoodbets Durban July, history will be made. He will become the first three-year-old to win with 56.5kg while Roberts will become only the fourth person to ride and train a Durban July winner, the others being Syd Garrett, David Payne and Bert Abercrombie.

Strydom will equal Anton Marcus’ record of five victories in the race and become the oldest winning jockey.  

“If I win the July everything will be special,” admits Roberts. “My one daughter is here from the UK so the whole family is together.

“I want to be confident but the July doesn’t work like a normal race.

“I was more nervous about the Daily News. I’m more excited than nervous about this race but I know my horse is 100%. It is a big step up, and to a large extent he’s still a baby.

“I know what it takes to win a July. I’ve ridden some of the best horses in the country and did not win.

“I’m just hoping for a nice clean race.”

Roberts says See It Again’s preparation could not have gone any better. “Condition-wise he has not given me one day where we have had a problem.

“Closer to the day I know the nerves will kick in but I just tell myself everything has gone right. If you build it up too much you feel flat if he doesn’t win.

“It’s a big day for Nic because although he has a share in the Do It Again, this would be the first winner in his colours.

“But, whatever happens in the Durban July, See It Again is going to be one helluva four-year-old!”