Durban July Ever-Unpredictable

By Liesl King

Predictable is one thing the G1 Vodacom Durban July never is. Once the South African National Anthem is sung and the gates crash open to the roar of the crowd, the formbook flies out the window and absolutely anything can happen. Yet, after the 2014 running of the race–where the winner wasn't the winner–surely 2015 would be a more normal race. 
Statistics suggested that a 3-year-old would return victorious. After all, they were highly rated, lightly weighted and two of the top three were trained by the soon-to-be-crowned champion trainer Sean Tarry. Statistics, however, do not take into account that we are not dealing just with numbers, but with nine tons of horseflesh, each with a mind of its own. 
As the crowd of about 55,000 looked on in disbelief, the Vodacom Durban July seemed to be experiencing a groundhog day. Once again two horses came together up the home straight, once again there was a scrimmage, once again the objection hooter sounded and once again there was an extremely lengthy delay, with no winner being declared. 

The only difference this year is that winning jockey, Stuart Randolph, was having none of it. Randolph has been part of the riding ranks for 30-odd years, and prior to this race, his most memorable victory was in the 2001 Gold Cup. To win South Africa's most prestigious race is a dream that had long passed him by, and Randolph was just happy to steadily keep adding to his total of roughly 1,600 winners. 

Then suddenly, rudely and rather abruptly, he found himself in the lead on a horse that had no intention of stopping. As the Dean Kannemeyer-trained Power King (SAf) (Silvano {Ger}) surged across the line, Randolph still could not quite believe it. Once Randolph realized that he was not dreaming and that he had finally, after three decades in the saddle, won South Africa's most prestigious race, no objection hooter was going to stop him from experiencing the moment to its fullest. 

Randolph's smile could have lit up an entire city. He waved, he smiled, and ever so often he patted Power King. Back at the winner's circle, owner Lady Christine Laidlaw had finally arrived and, while she has been fortunate enough to win most of South Africa's biggest races, this one had eluded her. 

Finally, after an agonizing 20 minutes or so with a tired Power King circling and his connections waiting, the objection was overturned and the party could start. Owner, trainer and jockey embraced, even wiped away some tears, as silver platters were handed over, sashes were draped, champagne corks popped and fireworks lit up the sky. It may not have happened quite the way it was meant to, but racing is unpredictable and even 44-year-old journeyman jockeys can win the July.