Trainer Snaith hails dual July winner as ‘Federer of racing’

Trainer Justin Snaith described seven-year-old Do It Again as the “Roger Federer of SA racing” after the dual Durban July winner notched the ninth win of his career at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Saturday.  

With a sponsor portfolio unmatched in the sports world, Federer has to be one of the richest sportsmen on the planet and he’s earned his reward with outstanding performances in tennis.

Do It Again’s bankroll isn’t too shabby either, with the first prize of R218,750 in the WSB 1900 bringing his career earnings to more than R9.2m.

Do It Again is one of only five horses to have won back-to-back Durban Julys. The others are Campanajo (1897-1898), Corriecrian (1907-1908), Milesia Pride (1949-1950) and El Picha (1999-2000).

There have been only five seven-year-old winners in the history of SA’s most famous race, so statistics are not in his favour.

Amazingly, while on-course presenters at Greyville said the result had delighted most punters, that really wasn’t the case as Do It Again drifted from a price of 15-10 on Friday to start at 7-2.

A number of runners were supported to land the first prize, including this column’s each-way selection, Gainsford. Those punters who took the swinger of Vaughan Marshall’s four-year-old with Do It Again were rewarded with a dividend of R9.30.

Bookmaker reaction to the result was to clip Do It Again’s July price from 20-1 to 12-1. No question he will head to the big day in top shape.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he was right there when the chips are down at the end of July this year,” enthused jockey Anton Marcus after the race.

A horse who did delight backers was She’s A Keeper — a confident selection in this column — who was backed from 22-10 on Friday to start at 11-10.

The first leg of a feature race double for Marcus, She’s A Keeper proved too smart for her 13 rivals in the KRA East Coast Cup. It proved a memorable day for trainer Gareth van Zyl, who took the runner-up prize with his four-year-old, Princess Anatasia.

Owned and bred by the Missing U Syndicate, She’s A Keeper is another fine advertisement for her sire, Gimmethegreenlight, whose offspring averaged R703,000 at the recent National Yearling Sales.

Meanwhile, UK trainer William Haggas — a regular visitor to SA — has another champion on his hands in Baaeed. The son of Sea The Stars made it seven wins from seven starts with a three-lengths win in Saturday’s Lockinge Stakes at Newbury.

Jockey Jim Crowley told reporters: “I’m very lucky a horse has come along like this. That was just a piece of work to him, he hit the front, pricked his ears like he did in France and he’s just very easy to deal with. He’s everything you want in a racehorse.”