Danie Toerien
Trainer Sean Tarry has proven yet again he is the man for the big race days, winning three of the seven Graded races on Durban July Day.
He kicked off his treble by taking the honours in both the Grade 3 DStv Gold Vase over 3000m with Future Pearl, as well as the Grade 2 Zulu Kingdom Explorer Golden Slipper over 1400m with Mrs Geriatrix.
These two races were the opening legs of the R16-million Pick 6.
Both were the tote favourites to win their respective races and many bettors opted to banker Mrs Geriatrix in their big dream exotic bet, with Tarry duly providing.
Mrs Geriatrix is now unbeaten in five starts, and the sky seems to be the limit for this Vercingetorix filly after she demolished the field in the Golden Slipper to win by 3.70-lengths.
Jockey Richard Fourie kept up with the early frontrunners throughout, but over the last 250m Mrs Geratrix exploded into action to leave the field rooted to the Hollywoodbets Greyville turf track.
“She’s not the biggest, but boy does she have a stride on her. She’s a Classic filly,” said Fourie after the race.
After five victories, which include three Graded races, it remains unsure when Mrs Geriatrix will be in action again.
She was slightly stressed after the race, and she has definitely done more than enough to deserve a break.
“Look, she got the job done,”Tarry said. “She took it all in her stride. She was a little bit overwhelmed and at the end of it you could see she was a little bit strained.
"But she is a superstar!"
Tarry rounded off his Graded treble with Princess Calla winning the Grade 1 Ridgemont Garden Province Stakes over 1600m.
It was always expected to be a two-horse race between Tarry’s girl and Mike de Kock’s Desert Miracle, with the latter finishing in second place. But the winning margin of 1.80-lengths was a surprise.
However, her defence, Desert Miracle spread a shoe on the way to the start and that could have affected her performance.