Trainer Sean Tarry is confident he will be left celebrating a successful South African Derby Day at Turffontein Racecourse courtesy of his strong team of runners, including Legend Of Arthur, whom he believes has a “massive winning chance” in this weekend’s feature.
Tarry has enjoyed G1 SA Derby (2450m) glory on three occasions and the trainer believes Legend Of Arthur has the ability to get his name on the roll of honour after the gelding ran on for third on March 1 in the G1 South African Classic (1800m).
“He’s a nice horse and he certainly would have the ability to win a race like this,” Tarry told Andrew Le Jeune on the latest Idol Horse Podcast. “He does get a little bit strong in a race and it’s about how efficiently the jockey rides him and how well he responds.
“If he settles, I believe he has a massive winning chance. But if he does a bit too much over the 2450m, that would be a concern.”
Tarry’s last SA Derby success came with Al Sahem in 2017, while he also trained star gallopers Legal Eagle and Pomodoro to win the contest in 2015 and 2012, respectively.
In the lead-up to Legend Of Arthur’s Derby bid, the three-year-old ended up further back than anticipated on a wet afternoon at Turffontein but flew home in attritional conditions to finish third in the SA Classic.
“There had been a lot of rain on the day and the front runners were getting going and the horses at the back end weren’t really making up the ground,” Tarry said.
“The horse ended up way further back than he should have been but he also did have some interference after about two furlongs and the horse coming onto him made him more aggressive.
“The jockey had a hard time settling him and he ran on from last, so I thought it was a very good effort from where he was, although I was expecting a little bit more prior to the race.”
Tarry also runs Don’t Cry For Me in the 13-strong field, which features the Weichong Marwing-trained Grey Jet. In the saddle, Marwing rode in Hong Kong for many seasons and partnered Viva Pataca and Irridescence to G1 QE II Cup (2000m) wins on the Sha Tin turf.
Outside of Saturday’s SA Derby, Tarry will bid for top-level success in the G1 Empress Club Stakes (1600m), G1 Computaform Sprint (1000m) and the G1 HKJC World Pool Premier’s Champions Challenge (2000m).
Of his top-level contenders, the trainer hopes his four-year-old, Let’s Go Now, can throw down the gauntlet to a trio of three-year-old fillies in the Empress Club Stakes.
“She’s been very honest and I think a win like this is probably overdue,” Tarry said. “It’s a strong race, it’s a small field and the three-year-olds I think have the edge. I think she’ll be very competitive.”
Tarry has high hopes Lucky Lad can handle five furlongs in the Computaform Sprint, despite the minimum trip potentially being short of his optimum distance.
“He’s a quality horse and he’s a very brave sprinter,” Tarry said. “The 1000m might just be on the short side of his spectrum – 1200m is a better distance for him – but he certainly has the class to get the job done.”
The trainer has three runners in the G2 South African Oaks (2450m), headlined by World Of Alice, who finished third in the G1 South African Fillies Classic (1800m) last time out.
“We are taking the chance with the other two [Cocomelon and Gerbera] as it’s not the strongest renewal,” he said.
“Alice has had a good prep and she also ran on from a very tough position on Classic day. She’s got the benefit of a good draw and over this type of distance, I don’t see her getting that far back. I think she’ll only have four or five lengths to make up at the most and she’s certainly capable of doing that.” ∎
