Jack Milner
Piere Strydom is fully aware this is probably going to be his last ride in the Hollywoodbets Durban July and to pick up a mount with the quality of See It Again is a bonus.
Should he win the R5-million race over 2200m at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Saturday the six-times champion jockey will be the oldest to win the race and will also equal Anton Marcus’ record of five wins in the race. In addition, the Michael Roberts-trained runner will be the first three-year-old to successfully carry 56.5kg.
“He’s probably the best horse in the field and he’s good enough to win, even with the weight, but you need luck,” said Strydom.
“It’s an 18-horse field and it’s not always the best horse that wins.”
But so far everything has been going to plan.
“The main issue is trying to do the weight and that I have achieved. Now I can spend the last few days maintaining the weight and picking up my energy levels.
“That takes off the pressure.”
He admits that luck has got him to this point as he picked up the ride in the Splashout Cape Derby after the horse he was due to ride was pulled out. He went on to beat Charles Dickens and Without Question and that put the son of Twice Over on track to his place in the Durban July.
See It Again then ran second in the World Sports Betting Guineas to Charles Dickens before winning the Grade 1 Daily News 2000.
“Last time he was still slightly tubby and a little sweaty so there was lots of improvement to come from him.
“He’s a big horse, a young horse, and he is looking good. I know Muis (Roberts) is happy with things.”
Strydom has ridden some of the best horses this country has produced so how does he rate See It Again against some of those. “At this stage it’s hard to compare him to London News or JJ The Jet Plane, but he is very decent.
“As far as the weight is concerned my take is that in the past all our best horses always stayed in South Africa. Now many of them are sent overseas, which gives the three-year-olds a chance in this field.
“Over distances from 1600m upwards he’s proven himself to be the best of his age group.”
Strydom is pretty happy with No 7 draw although he would have preferred to be a little further out. “Maybe barriers 10 or 11 but I don’t want to be drawn on the rail.
“In some races, over 1200m or 1600m I want to be drawn No 1 but in the July I don’t want to be drawn No 1. The first 200m can be brutal as everybody jockeys for a position.
“London News won from the middle and my last two winners, Pomodoro and The Conglomerate, were drawn widest of all.
“It gives me the opportunity to bounce them out and mind my own business.
“You want to be up with the pace and be in the first half of the field in the latter stages of the race. That gives you the best chance. If you are too far back turning for home it is really difficult to get past everybody in an 18-horse field at this course.”
Many people over the years have argued Strydom can be negative when analysing his chances in a race but he claims one has to be realistic. “There’s no point looking at your ride in isolation, you have to study the quality of your opposition.
“I believe in myself but not always sure about my horse. It’s all very well to say my horse is well but forget how the opposition has improved.”
With that in mind, who does he view as his biggest opposition in this race?
“The obvious one is Without Question. He has finished two lengths behind me twice at level weights and is now 2kg better off.
“Dave The King has the same form line as my mount when he finished second in the Daily News, but will he be able to control the pace from up front? I don’t know, I’ve never ridden him, but I think his best chance is to get to the front and try to get a soft lead.
“When Son Of Raj ran on the Highveld he was always up with the pace but in the Daily News he was dropped out. If he is ridden differently, he must be a threat.
“And among the older horses, I would have to say Pacaya.”
Strydom’s one reservation about his mount is that See It Again can be a little unpredictable at the gate. “He goes in with a hood and when they take the hood off he wants to play up. He has been getting better in the pens but I can’t predict how he will jump on the day.”
Roberts said he was quite irritated when he read a comment about that in an article quoting Strydom. “I called Piere and said to him, you know where the winning post is, they don’t pay out at the top of the gate. You can’t change a horse’s running style.”
Meanwhile, as retirement nears, Strydom is still looking ahead. “I would love to equal the record and I’ve been contemplating that if I won the July, I would call it a day.
“However, if they are planning to go overseas with the horse, how can I retire?”
Let’s leave the final word with four-time champion jockey Anton Marcus, who currently holds the record alone.
“I hope Piere does win. It’s been lonely here for a while. And he will be in good company.”