Marshall Magic – The July Countdown Rolls On

To borrow a cheesy superlative out of the yellowed pages of an American High School yearbook of yesteryear, Vaughan Hawkins Marshall looks to have become the trainer ‘most likely’ to win the 2021 Vodacom Durban July.

A smashing performance from his Jonsson Workwear Gr1 Cape Derby winner Linebacker, who was chased home in the Gr1 Daily News 2000 by stablemate Rascallion at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Saturday, has set the 69 year old veteran up for his biggest chance yet in what will be an overdue Durban July trophy.

He told the Sporting Post earlier this week that the intention is to run both current joint favourite Linebacker, and the good-looking Rascallion, in the Gr1 Vodacom Durban July to be run over 2200m at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Saturday 3 July.

We asked him for a straight opinion on Linebacker.

“He’s good – he’s very good. And up with the very best I have trained,” he says confidently as he points out that the son of Captain Of All is very fit and will now tick over for the next five weeks, with his final blow-out being the official public gallops scheduled for Thursday 24 June.

We asked how it is that the Met gallops have been dispensed with, yet the July sticky buns ‘n coffee morning is still a feature of the big race build-up.

“I think the use of the word ‘gallops’ is something of a misnomer in the first instance. Most of the guys do it as it’s a condition of the race. And the majority will actually really just canter. I realise that the public seem to have an appetite for the ‘gallops’ in KZN – it was always part of the social countdown. But for a trainer they are probably not ideal in reality. Our horses are prepped on the back of the feature race programme – and in the old days we didn’t have all these lead-in races too.”

We then move to Rascallion – who, on paper, looks something of an exciting bridesmaid.

Bryn Ressell and Marsh Shirliff’s son of Vercingetorix has run places in all of the Cape Classic, Concorde Cup, Cape Guineas, Politician Stakes, Cape Derby and the Sledgehammer – and on Saturday flew late to pip Kommetdieding for an eyecatching second in the Daily News.

“The Daily News was only his second run since gelding. I made a mistake when running him in the Sledgehammer in April – he wasn’t quite ready for it. But he has improved and looks like he could be ready to drop the ‘bridesmaid’ tag, as you call it.”

On Black Knap’s impressive victory in the Lonsdale Stirrup Cup, Vaughan says that the son of Dynasty will be aimed at the Durban July Consolation race.

“He has come back to himself very nicely after the injury last year. He will run in the consolation race and the Cape Town Met will be his summer target.”

Currently in seventh position on the SA Champion Trainer national log with just over R4,8 million in stakes, Vaughan has only had four shots at the Durban July – Silvino (1989), his first Met winner La Fabulous (1995/96), while Tales Of Bravery and Top Seller was the Marshall coupling in 2012.

His July record is literally ‘one world’ away from what he has achieved in the flagship event in his adoptive Cape Province.

The aptly named One World, who races in the same blue and white silks as the massively talented Linebacker, gave Vaughan his third strike in the Met when beating Rainbow Bridge last year. He previously saddled Hill Fifty Four (2014) and La Fabulous in 1996 to lift the coveted silverware.

And facing the likes of champion Justin Snaith with his powerhouse July army doesn’t scare Mr Marshall – 35 years ago he hit the N2 to take on the might of the late Terrance Millard, cheekily travelling from his then home base of KZN into the Cape summer big league to snare the first of his 35 odd Gr1 victories.

The year was 1986, and while Kepler Wessels and his South African side  hammered Kim Hughes and his Aussie rebels 1-0 in the unofficial cricket test series, the up-and-coming Durban rookie walked  away with the first of his five Gr1 Cape Guineas trophies, courtesy of a terrific ride from his present day Summerveld neighbour and colleague Muis Roberts, on an R18 000 National Yearling Sale graduate called Sea Warrior.

“I’d only been training for a couple of years and took what seemed like a bold decision to go to the Cape and take on the might of Mr Millard, who had the likes of Ecurie and Potomac. It was a decision that eventually paid off. It was a very good and very exciting time in my life, and we managed to win the Guineas four years later again with Face North,” he reminisces as he reflects on his 2021 SA Champions Season dream.

While Vaughan is enjoying his racing and has a positive outlook on life and business, his flight is booked to attend the CTS De Grendel Farm Sale down in Cape Town on 20 June.

But he feels that the position that racing presently finds itself in is ‘critical’.

“I understand that Covid-19 has been devastating and that there are  red tape and legislative requirements. But the situation is critical and the time for talking has long expired. Something concrete needs to be done about the stakes situation. The middle market owner is disappearing fast. We have 400 boxes empty at Milnerton. Look at the field sizes. The Cape is bleeding. The mathematics just don’t work. Owners are selling horses to Mauritius or moving them to PE, where the stakes are on a par. These horses are a vital cog in our overall population, but they are going.”

He went on to use his own business as an example.

“I would usually have an intake of 50 to 55 2yo’s every season. This year I’m down to half of that. And, believe me, the overheads remain largely static. I am fortunate to have a work-force where 28 of my 40 grooms have been with me for over 30 years. But one cannot simply turn the labour force tap on and off, and play with the lives of dedicated and loyal men. Owners and trainers are collectively carrying a massive burden. Stakes will be the only turning point. And there we need to lift betting turnovers and make the game more attractive – treat our punters better. In these economic times, I realise that sponsors are hard to come by. But racing also needs to sell itself properly.”

He added that the World Pools initiative on Daily News day was an encouraging move and Gold Circle would have enjoyed a welcome cash boost.

“I don’t know what the maths was, but some of those pools were massive. If we could do this more often, there must be great benefit for racing. But right now we need direction and information, coupled with action on stakes!”

On Saturday, Vaughan is at Hollywoodbets Scottsville for a meeting where he has enjoyed plenty of success over the years.

“We always enjoy the Pietermaritzburg day and the four Gr1 sprints. In the Gold Medallion, I have the two runners – both very smart youngsters. Safe Return would have needed his last run in the Godolphin Barb and he will strip fitter on Saturday. Ambiorix was runner-up in the Cape Of Good Hope Nursery and he has been doing well up here. Then in the Golden Horse, Grant van Niekerk rides the lightly raced No Laying Up. He ran third behind Tempting Fate in the Gold Medallion last year. Don’t leave him out – his close up fourth in the In Full Flight last time has brought him on nicely.”

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