Give Me Five, already a G1 winner herself, is drawn at one, while her stablemate has drawn the other end of the spectrum, at 14. The speedy Jackodore will be partnered by champion jockey Anton Marcus, while Give Me Five will be ridden by the inform Brandon Lerena.

Both horses are coming off disappointing runs in the G2 Camellia Stakes, and both need to improve to feature against a tough field they meet here.

            SOUTH AFRICAN FILLIES SPRINT (Grade 1)

BETTING WORLD 1900 (Grade 2)

Strydom sent his mount for home with 300 metres left to run, and from there, it was always a matter of how far the pair would win by.
The winning margin was a crushing five and a quarter lengths.

Halve The Deficit was making his first start as a gelding, and the operation has clearly helped him no end. A big horse, gelding has trimmed the 3yo down nicely.

Bred (and part owned by Drakenstein Stud), Halve The Deficit is another winner for leading owner Chris Van Niekerk.

Nicely bred (and beautifully named), Halve The Deficit is by Right Approach out of the G3 winning mare, National Banker.

The latter is a half-sister to multiple G1 winner  Smart Banker.

It was a 1-3 for the Tarry yard, with Roman Wall holding off his stablemate, who finished third. He was given a fine ride by jockey, Brandon Lerena, who bought his mount to the front at the right time, and kept challengers at bay.

Roman Wall, who cost R2 million as a yearling, showed plenty of promise during the early stages of his racing career. An unlucky fifth in the Gauteng Guineas at just his third start, Roman Wall has not quite delivered on that promise, but hopefully he can still make up into a smart horse.
Well done to winning owners, Bernard Kantor, Chris Van Niekerk and Markus Jooste.

Roman Wall was bred by Gavin Schafer, and is by Count Dubois out of the mare, Chica.

The Guineas was billed as a match race between Variety Club and his Cape Derby conqueror, Jackson. Many punters expected Variety Club to get the better of his former rival, and the colt duly did so – with the minimum of fuss. He was given a supremely confident ride by champion Anton Marcus, who sent the star for home with 400 metres left to run.

Jackson, current favourite for the Vodacom Durban July, never looked to be going as well as Variety Club, and the latter pulled away for a comfortable two and a quarter length romp.

Clearly the leader of his generation over one mile, Variety Club looks hard to beat over the trip by any horse in the country. Bred by the Beaumont Stud, he is out of the Secret Prospector mare, La Massine.

His sire, Var, has enjoyed a tremendous season this year, and is currently fourth on the general sires list and second on the leading juveniles sires list. His stakes winners this season includes champion sprinter, Val de Ra, and the outstanding 2yos Twitter and Valdivia.

She was given a fine ride, by Thomas Ncume, who positioned Voodoo Girl well off the pace. The pair accelerated well to win in the easiest of fashion.
Voodoo Girl is another winner for owner Chris Van Niekerk, who is enjoying a stellar season, and who is so deserving of every winner. Chris puts a great deal into the game, and it is good to see him enjoying a purple patch of winners.
Voodoo Girl will be a valuable broodmare when she retires to stud.

A daughter of leading sire Jallad, an emerging broodmare sire himself, Voodoo Girl is a daughter of former G1 Gold Cup winner Colonial Girl.

Pomodoro, a first SA Derby winner for the Tarry yard, is the 20^th individual G1 winner trained by Sean, who has enjoyed success at the highest levels with horses from a variety of backgrounds.

Sean has trained sprinters to win G1 races, and sent out middle distance horses to claim some of South Africa’s greatest prizes. He has saddled such top-class fillies as National Colour, Ethereal Lady and Happy Archer, and has an even longer list of G1 winning colts and geldings.

With a powerful string behind him, Sean looks set to add further to this impressive record.

Positioned mid-field through the early stages, Gold Onyx was given his head with 300 metres to go, and produced a fine turn of foot to reel in former G1 Investec Cape Derby winner Top Seller, and win by half a length.
The Sledgehammer attracted a fine field for a listed event – with three of the first four home being previous G1 winners (dual Guineas winner Solo Traveller ran fourth).

Gold Onyx, who was making it a quick double after scoring a convincing win at, really loves racing in Durban. He has been in consistent form since racing in KZN, winning or finishing in the money, in his last four starts.

Sean could aim the gelding at the G2 Astrapak 1900, and, if he continues in his present vein of form, Gold Onyx, who loves Greyville (home of the Astrapak) could be a strong contender for that important race.

Well done to winning owner Chris Van Niekerk, Gold Onyx seems to be finding the level of form which stamped him such an exciting prospect earlier in his career. Now a five time winner (with two of his wins coming in feature races), Gold Onyx was bred in New Zealand. By Black Minnaloushe, Tuesday’s feature race winner is out of the Kaapstad mare, Egoli Lass.

Pomodoro, who looked an absolute picture on parade, was sent off the second favourite for the 2450 metre classic, behind Dingaans winner Silver Flyer. Stable mate, E-Jet, also looked a big runner, and had his fair share of supporters for the final leg of the SASCOC Triple Crown.

However, it was Pomodoro, ridden by Gavin Lerena, who fought out a desperate finish with Royal Bencher. The pair came together with 200 metres left to run, and there was nothing to choose between them as they drove down to the wire. Judges announced a dead heat, but there was further drama to come, when Royal Bencher objected against Pomodoro, after the pair bumped just before the finishing post.

The objection was eventually overruled, and, for the first time in many years, the SA Derby spoils were shared by two victors. It was a tremendously brave win for Pomodoro, who showed plenty of guts to get up on the line, after looking held by Royal Bencher. E-Jet was not disgraced back in fifth place, while fellow Tarry inmates, Baracah and  Perigrine, ran fair races, finishing sixth and seventh respectively.

It was a deserving win for Pomodoro, who looked unlucky not to win the SA Classic earlier this season. Sean is planning on aiming him towards a possible tilt at the Vodacom Durban July.

A big well done to winning owner, Chris Van Niekerk, who has enjoyed a rich vein of winning form lately. He puts so much into the game, and has been a wonderful supporter of the yard over the years and fully deserves this G1 success.

By the great Jet Master (also sire of former Derby winner Ravishing), Pomodoro’s dam, Golden Apple, has been a wonderful servant to the Tarry yard. Sean trained Golden Apple to win the G2 Gauteng Fillies Guineas, and at stud, Golden Apple’s stakes performers include Quest for Gold, Autumn Gold and former G2 Astrapak 1900 winner, Golden Chariot.

Sean’s good form continued at the Vaal last Thursday when he saddled a quick fire double. The 3yo gelding, National Road, sprung a 22-1 upset when landing race five at the Vaal, a merit rated 77 handicap over 1200 metres. Bred by the Tawny Syndicate, National Road’s form had been a bit disappointing after a promising 2yo campaign, but he bounced back to winning ways here.
He was given a sterling ride by Brandon Lerena, who steered the horse to a comfortable three parts of a length victory. A big well done to winning connections, Messrs Blank, Bonamour, Currie, Bird, Deacon, Nsele and Smith.

National Road is by National Emblem, also the sire of Sean’s multiple G1 winner, Buy and Sell. The latter is a runner in Saturday’s G1 President’s Champions Challenge.

The Tarry yard’s second winner of the day came in the form of Caribbean Dream, who won the day’s eighth event. Caribbean Dream, who was making her first start since winning her maiden, won a good race over the Vaal’s 1600 metre track.
Now the winner of her last two in a row, Caribbean Dream looks a nice type of filly for the future.
Well done to winning owner, Chris Van Nierkerk.  The filly was bred by Reinhald Hass, and is a daughter of leading sire Captain Al.