Justin Snaith – margins and money
Donovan Dillon boosted his chances of getting more of the Bernard Fayd’Herbe mounts by booting home his first four-timer at Durbanville on Saturday, writes Michael Clower.
Fayd’Herbe, 34 on Monday , is taking three weeks off on doctors’ advice to help heal the knee he damaged in the KZN season and so the mounts on the Justin Snaith winner-producing machine are up for grabs.
Dillon has taken to Durbanville like a duck to water – “It takes a different style of riding, you’ve got to get your position early and I feel I am getting the hang of it” – but on Aspara in the mile handicap he broke one of the most important of the Snaith Ten Commandments: Thou shalt not win too far.
He set the 22-10 favourite alight fully 400m out and rode him to the line to score by six and a half lengths with commentator Jehan Malherbe announcing to the world: “This horse races off 83 and he shows that’s all wrong.”
Snaith, promptly envisaging a 13 point hike, said: “Donovan’s a young jockey and I don’t think he knows there is a handicap system in South Africa. You certainly don’t want to expose a horse too much and when you win that far the handicappers nail you.”
Dillon is too talented to make this mistake more than once, and too dedicated.
Donovan Dillon – first four timer
The time between the second and third legs of the four-timer was spent in the sweat box. He rides work on the Snaith battalions almost every day as well as for as many other trainers as he can, and second string on Thursdays involves a mad rush to Durbanville to ride racecourse gallops. Of course many other jockeys are just as busy but it shows his commitment to making the grade in Cape Town.
Three of the Snaith winners – Jo’s Bond and Fifty Cents as well as Aspara – are eligible for the CTS Million Dollar (R13.5 million), prompting their trainer to remark: “You are not worried about the Guineas when you’ve got a race like that. What’s the Guineas worth? A million?”
Donavan Mansour has had less opportunity to display his talents to the Western Cape than Dillon but the way he made all on Arachne – repeatedly asking for more, and getting it, when the pursuers came at him – was inspired stuff. An impressed Adam Marcus commented: “Donavan rode exactly to instructions. It was a great ride.”
Mike Stewart emerged from a cough-induced six weeks in the wilderness to score with Casey’s Jet (Heavelon van der Hoven) to delight his ex-MI5 brother Paul while Shane Humby and Neil Bruss also got off the mark for the season with outsiders Exploracy (Neisius) and Argun to give punters little chance. The former started at 30-1 and Devin Ashby’s mount at 50-1.
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