Strydom embarks on experience to win July

IT was no mean feat when Piere Strydom steered The Conglomerate through the finishing line to win the Vodacom Durban July at Greyville on Saturday, July 2.

Markus Jooste finally achieved his cherished dream of victory at the Durban July when the Joey Ramsden-trained The Conglomerate streaked home.

Ingrid and Markus Jooste have bought and bred more horses than anyone has ever owned in South Africa, including some brilliant runners. But the couple possibly didn’t truly believe that one of their lesser lights would bring them the biggest prize.

Strydom, who resides in Alberton, drew on all his considerable skill to get The Conglomerate (20-1) over from a wide draw, find a prominent racing position and then blitz the opposition as they charged down in the straight, holding off a fierce late challenge from Mike Bass-trained Marinaresco (16-1).

The winning margin was 0.25 lengths. In third place, a further two lengths back was Weiho Marwing-trained Mac De Lago (45-1). Just behind was It’s My Turn (15-2), with 70-1 rank outsider Saratoga Dancer in fifth and favourite Bela-Bela (11-2) next.

The latter looked dangerous for a few strides as the field turned into the straight, but jockey Anthony Delpech couldn’t extract the filly’s usual burst of speed.

There was plenty of other disappointment. Eventual tote favourite Abashiri threatened for a moment halfway down the straight but faded right away into 14th position. Also much fancied French Navy failed to fire and was 11th.

The Conglomerate cracked a place in the July line-up thanks to a 101 merit rating generated earlier in his career. But he hadn’t won in more than a year and – the biggest off-putter to punters – he drew widest of all.

Jooste-retained jockey Anton Marcus opted to ride stablemate St Tropez in preference to The Conglomerate.

Something drastic was needed for this horse to win. One magic factor was ace jockey Piere Strydom, who magically overcame the 18 draw.

Another significant factor might well have been gelding. After losing his way as a racehorse, The Conglomerate lost something else in January and has been slowly improving on the track ever since. His three runs since then were all progressive and an astute follower of form might have noticed that he was ready to deliver.

The Conglomerate, by Lonrho, has now won six races from 17 starts and more than R3-million in stake money.

Markus and Ingrid Jooste have now won all four major events in South Africa, The Sunsui Summer Cup, The Met, The Premiers Champions Challenge and now the Vodacom Durban July.

Credit: Phumelela.

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