Graeme Hawkins. Concerned about weather impact
The weather could play the single biggest key role in an already controversy rocked 2013 Vodacom Durban July.
Gold Circle’s Racing Executive Graeme Hawkins was talking to David O’ Sullivan on Channel 702 just before 6 am this morning.
South Africa’s greatest horserace has been in the limelight since the final field was announced on Tuesday 25 June.
With mud being thrown in all directions and industry insiders being generally critical of the composition of the final field, the National Horseracing Authority finally stepped in this past week to launch an enquiry into the goings on and the process itself.
Now the mud has shifted to the track and hospitality area.
O’ Sullivan, who has chaired the live broadcast of the day in years gone by, opened the live interview by bizarrely referring to the tragedies involving Rabiya and Big City Life.
Rabiya broke down in 2005, while Big City Life, who won the race in 2009, broke down meters after the line after finishing sixth to Igugu in 2011.
Hawkins deftly sidestepped the pointless introduction and said that the weather was of some concern.
“We are hoping for a dry day today, but I fear that the damage may have already been done. The track could come up heavy, which could complicate an already tough race.”
“The hospitality village preparations have also been interrupted. The trucks have created bunkers on the Royal Durban Golf Course where they didn’t previously exist,” he said.
Hawkins suggested that trainer Sean Tarry held a ‘very strong hand’ and that his personal fancy was E-Jet.
The Vodacom Durban July is scheduled to be run at 16h20 tomorrow afternoon.
The final race, the innovative KZN Yearling Sale Million, will be run at just before 8pm under the lights.
Questions have also been raised as to why this race involving inexperienced 2yo’s was programmed under the lights and also considering that the track could well be cut up by this time.
