Michael Roberts landed the Grade 2 Post Merchants on Friday night (June 15) at Greyville with Mike’s Choice, who was delivered with perfect timing by replacement jockey Keagan Latham.
The five-year-old Tamburlaine gelding started at generous odds of 15-1 and was travelling well throughout the race, which was run in good to soft going.

From his good draw of five Latham placed him one wide of the rail in midfield and the horse relaxed well in the running as the frontrunning type Bielorusso set a fair pace. Coming off the false rail, which was set very wide, there was the usual calvary charge for the line with some horses going right and others left. However, from the connections of Mike’s Choice’s point of view the gap that opened in front of him must have looked like the parting of the Red Sea as it allowed him plenty of galloping room as well as a straight path to the line.

Mike’s Choice took his opportunity with both hands and quickened very well to join the leaders. He then showed a lot of grit, finding extra to repel the dangerous challenge on the outside of the Gary Alexander-trained 40-1 shot Rebel Knight, winning by 0,25 lengths. The favourite, the Charles Laird-trained Sports Coach, as well as the 12-1 shot Copper Parade and the outsider Monsieur Dupont had all run on well towards the inside to finish next best in that order.

Depardieu ran a fine race in sixth considering that as a three-year-old he was carrying joint topweight. However, the unlucky horse of the race was last year’s winner Splash Gold, who was moving ominously well before being jostled while trying to come through a gap.He was unable to regain his momentum thereafter. Anton Marcus had to slim down from his normal 55kg riding weight to 53,5kg to ride Sports Coach. It was significant that he still had a fine meeting, riding four winners, as the two horses that are the most likely candidates to have him aboard for the Vodacom Durban July, Vettel and Ilha Bela, have been allotted 53,5kg and 53kg respectively. This was Roberts’ biggest win to date as a trainer and it was fitting that it came in a race that he was synonomous with as a jockey. Roberts’ won this race many times in the saddle including on such memorable horses as Ted’s Ambition and Calvados.

Roberts was very disappointed that Mike’s Choice had not got into the Grade 1 Golden Horse Casino Sprint, for which he was reserve, as he felt he had him “cherry-ripe” for that race. Mike’s Choice would have been drawn on the right side of the track for the Golden Horse, as it turned out, but would have also been 1,5kg under sufferance, so would have had a tough task. Whatever the outcome would have been there, his win on Friday night was a fine consolation and was thoroughly deserved as he has been a model of consistency.

The five-year-old Tamburlaine gelding stays 1400m and has a fine turn of foot, so a Greyville 1200m event that looked to have a lot of pace in it was always going to be right down his alley and so it proved. Roberts fancied his chances, so it was a blow when his stable jockey Brandon Lerena had to pull out with an elbow injury the day before the race. Roberts said: “He’s an easy ride if you know how to ride him as he has his quirks. You can’t hit the front too soon with him but you can’t wait for too long either.” In the winner’s enclosure, among others, he not only thanked his assistant trainer Shannon Hill and substitute jockey Latham but also his sister-in-law, who fielded a call from him at eleven o’clock on Thursday night to find out how much rain was around.

“The ground was perfect for him,” said Roberts.