On a day when the large crowd at Greyville racecourse observed 67 seconds of silence in tribute to a gravely ill Nelson Mandela, owner Chris van Niekerk and trainer Sean Tarry combined to record back to back victories in the Grade 1 R3.5 million Vodacom Durban July.
Despite Pomodoro and Piere Strydom’s thrilling victory in 2012, there were doubts whether the entire could repeat the exercise in 2013, especially with 4.5 extra kilos onboard.
In the end, it was indeed a mountain to high for the gallant Pomodoro as he succumbed to traffic problems, but his understudy and stable companion, the four-year-old Heavy Metal stepped in ably as he charged up late to win the Vodacom Durban July going away under the capable guidance of S’Manga Khumalo.
Wagner led the way into the back straight with E-Jet and Love Struck in close attendance.
Favourite Pomodoro sat in midfield, while Heavy Metal loitered at the rear end of the field. On the rounding the final bend barely six lengths covered the compact field. This however all changed as Wagner reached the cutaway rail, which allowed the runners to fan out across the track.
Khumalo asked Heavy Metal to move a little closer to the leaders and as the jockey explained, “ he gave me such a good feel, that I wrapped him up again and waited patiently.” As Wagner started to fade, Run For It threw down the gauntlet under Sean Cormack, followed closely up the inside rail by the only filly in the race Do You Remember and Robbie Fradd.
Khumalo meanwhile had been quietly biding his time, realising that he was in the perfect position to pounce and win the race. With a 100m left to go, Khumalo pressed the button and Heavy Metal unleashed that devastating kick that he is renowned for. Run For It tried valiantly to catch the leader, but the dice had been rolled and the order remained unchanged to the line, with Heavy Metal (59.5kgs) winning by 0.25 lengths in a time of 1.15.44.
Run For It stayed on for second, with Do You Remember in third, a short neck back. Khumalo was delighted, throwing his arms skywards in celebration, before taking Heavy Metal for a celebratory canter down the track. Returning to the winner’s enclosure, Khumalo could not resist throwing his goggles into the grandstand, much to the delight of the crowd.
A beaming Chris van Niekerk, wiping away the odd tear was on hand to lead his newly crowned champion in. Tarry commented that while he was hoping for a victory for Pomodoro, he was delighted for Van Niekerk. There are no definite plans for Heavy Metal yet, but Tarry confirmed that he would consider an international campaign should the current travel ban be lifted.
Heavy Metal by Silvano out of the Baroon mare Percussion, recorded his 6th victory from 20 starts, taking his earnings to R3 744 280.
