Igugu (SAF) silenced the doubters in no uncertain fashion as she crowned a superb seasonal campaign by winning the Gr 1 Vodacom Durban July over 2200m at Greyville on Saturday. Pierre Jourdan (SAF) claimed the runner-up berth ahead of English Garden (SAF) and The Apache (SAF).

The race panned out perfectly for the favourite who tacked across from a middling draw and briefly led before settling nicely in second behind expected pacemaker Happy Landing.  Bravura, Emerald Cove and Big City tracked the leading pair just ahead of Past Master and Pierre Jourdan. English Garden raced about six to seven lengths off the leader with Run For It also held up along the rails while The Apache raced a good ten lengths off the speed.

Happy Landing brought the field in for home and quickly came under pressure as Igugu swept on by. Bravura and Big City Life were quick to challenge with rank outsider Emerald Cove running the race of her life and Pierre Jourdan starting to lengthen his stride to the outside. English Garden, meanwhile, emerged as a threat to the inside of Igugu. Try as they might, though, the chasing pack never really looked like getting to her and Igugu galloped on resolutely to hold Pierre Jourdan at bay by a length with a similar margin back to English Garden.

Igugu's detractors had argued before the race that she was taking a huge step up in class and had not beaten anything of note when becoming the first horse to land the Triple Tiara in Gauteng earlier this season. That was a fair enough observation but her performance here, under a stiff 55kg, convincingly settled the issue and eclipses even that of her brilliant stablemate Ipi Tombe, from a weight-carrying perspective. Quite a simply, a 3-year-old filly does not win the country's premier race by a fluke with that much weight on her back and Igugu deserves to be feted as one the best fillies ever to race in this part of the world - perhaps even the best around this sort of trip, to the extent that it's possible to argue about horses across different generations. If not undone by the dreadfully stringent quarantine regulations around South African-based horses, we'll surely see her strutting her stuff in Dubai and possibly other international venues next season.

There was a distinct sense of deja vu with Igugu racing in the same colours as last year's winner Bold Silvano who also represented the potent winning combination of  trainer Mike de Kock and jockey Anthony Delpech.

Pierre Jourdan  confirmed his comeback following a setback that caused him to miss the recent autumn season in Gauteng. He is a classy athlete with a fine turn of foot and he didn't do much wrong here. They didn't exactly go at a rousing clip early on in the race and it was just too much for him to get to a strong galloper like Igugu once she had established her advantage in the straight.

English Garden has enjoyed a tremendous season, considering he didn't look to be anything like a Gr 1 performer at the beginning of 2011. He's now run a string of top races at the highest level and must be a contender for the Equus 3-year-old male award.

So too is The Apache. The Daily News 2000 winner had beaten English Garden in that race and there clearly isn't much between them. Although having the form reversed here, he's also won the Dingaans this season and, taken in conjunction with his July placing, it may swing the Equus vote his way. He emerged with plenty of credit here having turned for home with plenty to do.

While the first two placings were clear-cut, the next six finished in a heap with less than half a length separating them, testament to the less than frantic early pace.

There was a very sad postscript to the race with former winner Big City Life breaking down at the finish and having to be euthanised. The high-class 5-year-old who won four Gr 1 events, including the 2009 July, during an accomplished career, ran a fine race to finish a close-up sixth under a hefty 59.5kg despite having been beset by problems over the past two seasons  and not having had the best build-up to this year's running. He provided his connections with the biggest highs of their time in racing and he leaves the stage with his reputation intact as a top-level middle distance performer.

3 b f Galileo (IRE) - Zarinia (IRE) by Intikhab (USA)
Owner: Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Maktoum and Mr and Mrs A J Macdonald
Bred by Kia Ora Stud, NSW
Winning trainer: Mike de Kock

Pictures of the day