David Thiselton

The Mike and Mathew de Kock-trained Jan van Goyen will be out to become only the sixth three-year-old to win the L’Ormarins King’s Plate since World War II, but he will on the other hand become the third three-year-old to do it this decade and the second three-year-old in succession.

He is a 2/1 chance with Hollywoodbets to pull it off.

He might be a twice Gr 1 winner already, but is in fact still relatively unexposed, because he won both of his Gr 1s by comfortable margins and without being put under undue pressure by his regular rider Callan Murray.

The winning margins were 3,70 lengths in the Gr 1 World Pool Moment Of The Day Premiers Champion Stakes and 2,75 lengths in the Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas.

In the Champion Stakes his time was 97,63 seconds, which was a touch slower than the 97,39 seconds recorded by the Gr 1 Douglas Whyte Stakes winner Golden Palm and was a lot slower than the 95,63 seconds recorded by I Salute You in the Listed Michel Nairac Stakes Darley Arabian, although the latter was carrying 4,5kg less than Jan van Goyen.

However, Jan van Goyen’s Cape Guineas time of 98.45 seconds was quicker than the Gr 2 Ridgemont Green Point Stakes time of 98.77 seconds by his stablemate Dave The King.

Furthermore, he looked to still have plenty in hand, while Dave The King was at the end of his reserves and being challenged on all sides.

Jan van Goyen’s only defeat over 1600m came in the Gr 2 Jackpot City Dingaans, but that was his first run for four months and he was caught wide without cover.

Jan Van Goyen will receive 5kg from the top rated horse Eight On Eighteen on Saturday, but off an official 118 he is 5,5kg under sufferance with the 129-rated Equus Horse Of The Year.

However, he has not yet had an opportunity to prove himself against older or higher rated horses. The LKP will be his acid test.

Eight On Eighteen, who achieved his high rating over 2000m and 2200m,  is making his reappearance and has in fact not run since finishing second in the Hollywoodbets Durban July six months ago. He would obviously prefer further, but did finish a 1,25 length second to One Stripe in last season’s Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas and the latter then went on to win the King’s Plate.

However, Eight On Eighteen was beaten by Sail The Seas in the Gr 2 WSB Guineas the last time he came back from a layoff and he was only a long-head in front of Cosmic Speed in that race. He is a 5/1 shot with Hollywoodbets for the LKP, while Sail The Seas is 25/2 and Cosmic Speed is 33/1.

Dave The King won the Gr 1 wfa Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge and the Gr 2 Ridgemont Green Point Stakes, despite carrying a Gr 1 penalty in the latter race and achieved his 128 rating over this trip and over 1800m.

He is a 10/1 shot whilst See It Again, whom he beat by 0,35 lengths in the Green Point and with whom he will now be 2kg better off with, is 6/1. However, See It Again was coming back from a long layoff in the Green Point and lost two lengths at the start after fly-jumping. Furthermore, See It Again’s downfield finish in the Gold Challenge was due to him being severely hampered. He did later beat Eight On Eighteen by 1,35 lengths in the Gr 1 wfa HKJC Champions Cup over 1800m. The bookmakers might also be viewing new trainer Justin Snaith’s Champion Trainer status as worth a point or two on the betting boards.

Dave The King beat The Real Prince by 2,50 lengths in the Green Point and will face him on the same terms in the King’s Plate and yet is 10/1 compared to The Real Prince’s 6/1. The 126-rated The Real Prince was returning from a four-and-a-half month layoff in that race and had caught the eye with an effortlessly fast finish in the Gr 2 IOS Drill Hall Stakes over 1400m before his Hollywoodbets Durban July win. He also beat Dave The King in the Champions Cup by 2,55 lengths. However, his 126 rating was achieved over that 1800m trip.

If the Champions Cup is a good measure of form for The LKP then it is questionable why the 127-rated Gladatorian is out at 14/1 odds. He won the Champions Cup but was already a 127 from his Gold Challenge run. He was said to have been unusually strong in the Green Point, where he was beaten 3,25 lengths. He was only 0,35 lengths behind Dave The King in the Gold Challenge and was closing fast. That should be a more accurate assessment of his mile ability and he should be more settled on Saturday having experienced the course.

Without delving any further into the form, it has become clear already from the above discussion that it is somewhat muddled among the older horses and they look to be ripe for a beating by a top newcomer.

On the other hand, the horses Jan Van Goyen beat in the Cape Guineas have the same sort of muddled form and the Dingaans form is not looking too good. Trust does look visually exceptional but was only 5,10 lengths ahead of an East Cape horse and 5,40 lengths ahead of Shadowfax, who was subsequently beaten 3,50 lengths in a Graduation Plate by a 98 rated horse at level weights.

In conclusion there are still question marks about Jan Van Goyen, but the visual appearance of his Guineas win make him an exciting prospect and he could give the De Kock yard a second win of the iconic L’Ormarins King’s Plate.

Andrew Harrison

With race meetings coming thick and fast over the holiday season, local trainers are running out of suitable horses as punters face a seven-race card on the poly today. However, it is a card that punters will need to do their homework.

The programme is headed by a B Stakes over 1200m where Glen Kotzen’s runner Circumbendibus tries for a winning hattrick. He has won comfortably at his last two but has gone up 12 points in the handicap for those wins. However, both were impressive and he can go in again. A likely danger is Mvelelo who is hunting his fourth straight win. He got a five-point shunt up the handicap  for his last effort which could be enough to halt his winning streak. Visiting Wild At War is the first KZN runner for the sister combination of Candice and Tammy Dawson and is their only runner on the day. The gelding has been making steady recent improvement and has come down in the ratings to what could be a more competitive mark. Buttercup Baby is a smart filly with a handy weight who goes well this course and distance. The form of her last win has been franked and one can expect another forward showing.

Best bet on a tricky card could come in the first where Mike and Mathew de Kock saddle Strutting. She was caught in the last strides last time out and drops back in trip. She looks the part in this mostly modest field.

Of the balance, Harpa was a close-up second last run without the blinkers but they are back on and this trip should suit. Anemie has patchy form but has shown some form over course and distance.

The second is a competitive handicap. Rafiki returns from a break and goes well on the poly. He was close-up under a big weight last start and has a better galloping weight here. Ibutho was due to run last Wednesday but won well last time out and can follow up depending on that latest outing. Stable companion Winter Waves meets him at level weights and should be able to turn the tables given their last meeting.  Another Alyson Wright runner Ultra Quick is back on his favourite surface and with a 4kg claimer up could be the stable pick.

The Pick 6 starts in the third where Isivivane finished second best last run in the Christmas Handicap but goes well on the poly. He steps up in trip but should see it out. Sundance Kid was back to best when an easy winner last time out. He goes well on the poly and again has the 4kg claimer aboard. Gotta Go Eddie was a touch disappointing last run but now has a light weight from the best of the draw and can do better. Eventidor has come good of late as he bids for a hattrick. He is up in class but should still be competitive. One to watch in the market is Star In Motion. Back in KZNB after some modest performances in Cape Town, he only has 52.5kg to shoulder and Cape form is often much stronger than local.

The fourth is a competitive sprint with many in with chances. Adam Azzie is still hunting his first KZN winner but it could come in the form of Summer Winter. She has the widest draw to overcome but has had two runs back from a break and should now be at her peak. She has also run well on the poly. Tienie Prinsloo saddles Miss Munroe who was disappointing first run for her new stable after two Highveld wins. The compression mask is back on and she can make amends. Louis Goosen has two chances. Arverni Princess who steps up in class but only got a one-point raise in the handicap for her last win. She only has 49.5kg to shoulder and is over her optimum trip. Stable companion Malshana Mou was a recent maiden winner and has a hefty handicap rating. However, she goes well over course and distance and can follow up.

The fifth is wide open. Grand Force took an age to shed his maiden but followed up with a solid handicap effort. He has a 4kg claimer aboard and should be competitive in a modest line-up. Cappellino was a neck behind Grand Force when last they met and meet on the same handicap terms and there should be very little between the two. Axis Power is lightly raced and has dropped significantly in the handicap and could be the surprise package while Trafalgar Square has not been far back at recent outings and goes well this course and distance.

The last is another open contest but although Izibulo has the widest draw he has come to hand of late when taking on stronger and should be a big runner. Copacabana was a game winner over the distance last time out and she only got a three-point raise in the handicap that has been offset by a 2.5kg claimer. However, there should be little between her, Blind Speed, Futano and Amafort who all should be considered in exotic calculations.

David Thiselton

The L’Ormarins King’s Plate meeting is one of the iconic meetings of the South African turf and features the country’s oldest race, which has been run annually since 1861.

The Pick 6 will be worth taking as the pool always reaches a decent size.

The first leg of the Pick 6 is the Gr 2 Cartier Sceptre Stakes over 1200m. Gr 1 WSB Cape Fillies Guineas winner Quickstepgal carries a 2kg Gr 1 penalty. She was beaten 1,75 lengths over 1400m in her penultimate start by Princess Of Gaul, who carries a 1kg penalty as the winner of Gr 2s over 1200m and 1400m. However, Quickstepgal likely needed the latter race and beat Princess Of Gaul by 2,50 lengths in the Guineas. Quickstepgal had fine form in KZN too from 1200m to 1400m. Mia Moo is the Gr 1 SA Fillies Sprint reigning champion and come off a Listed win over 1160m. Mon Petit Cherie has blossomed into a classy sort and is a runner. Symphony In White and Lowveld Lily could be considered for wider permutations.

In the next leg, the Gr 2 Antonij Ruper Premier Trophy over 1800m, Okovango and Native Ruler are the best weighted pair according to official merit ratings and should fight it out with preference for the latter as he is drawn in pole and has been more eyecatching. Regulation is progressive and he can be considered too from a good draw, despite officially being 7,5kg under sufferance.

In the Cartier Paddock Stakes defending champion Double Grand Slam will go close from draw five out of ten. She comes off a win over 1600m and British Champion jockey Oisin Murphy is up with Andrew Fortune being jocked off. However, Fortune still has a fine chance aboard Double Grand Slam’s stablemate Wish List. This Legislate filly was finishing well from a wide draw in the Cape Fillies Guineas (CFG) for a two length third and on pedigree will relish the step up in trip. She has yet another tough draw of eight. Reet Petite finished strongly in the CFG and it appeared her loss by 0,75 lengths was only because she ran out of real estate. From pole position and with Richard Fourie up she is the choice to win over a step up in trip she should enjoy on pedigree. Rainbow Lorikeet is a reliable sort and is sure to thereabouts again from a good draw. Red Palace was runner up last year, but needs to bounce back from a shocker last time and that won’t be easy from the widest draw of ten. Her stablemate Keukenhof came from last in the Cape Fillies Guineas and was only 3,90 lengths back at the line and will relish the step up in trip. Sukhumvit was impressive last time out when romping home in the Gr 3 1Voucher Victress Stakes over 1800m. She will now be 9kg worse off with the 3,25 length runner up in that contest, Rainbow Lorikeet, so on paper the latter has her measure, but Sukhumvit has just never got going in her career and now that she is coming into her own she could be the surprise package from draw seven. Minogue is in tremendous form and tries a trip for the first time that she is actually bred for, so has a fine chance too from draw six.

Gr 1 Mercury Sprint winner Buffalo Storm Cody is unbeaten in three starts this season and is the highest rated horse in the country on 132, so will take a power of beating in the Gr 1 World Pool Cape Flying Championship. He is drawn 13, so hopefully there is not the bias towards the low draws that there has been on occasion. If there is a bias towards low draws then the second highest rated runner, Tenango, will not actually be favoured by barrier one because he is a hold up horse with a terrific finish and will have traffic problems if the field track over towards the inside. I Am Giant is drawn two and is one who likes to relax in midfield before unleashing his powerful finish. Asiye Phambili will love this distance and will be hoping the gaps open for her from a likely midfield position from draw five. Truth and Snow Pilot both have good pace and are outsiders to consider. Constellation is officially way out at the weights but this three-year-old is relatively unexposed and is on the up. Lucky Lad is a twice Gr 1-winning sprinter and although he might need luck from draw three he will enjoy the normal furious pace of this race. Richard Fourie is aboard Gr 1-winning three-year-old filly Direct Hit, whose first career defeat in six starts was last time out when beaten 2,60 lengths over this course and distance by  Asiye Phambili. She was only half-a-kilogram worse off than weight for age in that race, so is up against it with Asiye Phambili here, but that was also her second run after a layoff and she could bounce back.

In the King’s Plate Jan Van Goyen could be something special and will take a power of beating from draw two. The Real Prince can turn it on in fine style and will be a threat. Gladatorian is way better than his last run when unusually strong on the bit and if bouncing back to his best he will be a big runner. See It Again is fresh and a big runner if able to produce his best. Dave The King is always dangerous if able to dictate due to his long run in. Garrix impressed last time and must be a runner too and outsiders to consider are Cosmic Speed and Fire Attack.

The last race over 2500m is tough but the trio who make most appeal are Holding Thumbs, Ahead Of The Facts and Triple Time.

David Thiselton

The national trainers championship is particularly intriguing this season, because it is closer than it was last season at this stage and the R10 million Hollywoodbets Durban July also has the potential to bring about a dramatic change in the standings in just one race.

Last season Justin Snaith was well over R7 million clear of his chief rival for the title every season, Sean Tarry, at this same stage, while another perennial contender, Mike de Kock, was R8 million behind and the championship-winning Peter yard were more than R6 million behind.

This season Snaith is only about R2.8 million clear of both Peter and Tarry and the Mike and Mathew De Kock yard are less than R100,000 behind the latter pair.

Snaith has an even money chance, with Hollywoodbets, of adding R593,750 to his tally with Double Grand Slam in the Gr 1 R1 million Cartier Paddock Stakes on Saturday at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth.

Tony Peter has a 25/20 chance of adding R890,625 in the Gr 1 World Pool Cape Flying Championship with the highest rated horse in the land,  Buffalo Storm Cody.

The De Kocks have a 2/1 chance of adding a big R1,781,250 to their tally with Jan Van Goyen in the Gr 1 L’Ormarins King’s Plate (LKP).

Of course there can be upsets and the De Kocks also have the 10/1 chance Dave The King in the LKP, while the Snaiths have a strong hand with 5/1 chance Eight On Eighteen and 6/1 shot See It Again as well as 10/1 chance Sail The Seas and 33/1 chance Legal Counsel.

Sean Tarry has the 33/1 Cosmic Speed in the LKP and he could be fair value as he is a Gr 1 weight for age winner over a mile and has champion jockey Gavin Lerena up. His form in the Gr 2 WSB Guineas and Gr 1 wfa Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge over this 1600m trip also puts him close to Sail The Seas, Eight On Eighteen and See It Again. Cosmic Speed was a 2,95 length tenth in the Gr 2 Ridgemont Green Point Stakes but that was his second run after a five-and-a-half month layoff and his first run in Cape Town, so he was entitled to need it.

In the Cape Flying Tarry has the 25/1 and 67/1 outsiders Lucky Lad and Quantum Theory.

Snaith has the 20/1 shot Snow Pilot, while the De Kocks have the exciting three-year-old Constellation, who is rated a 25/2 chance.

In the Paddock Stakes Snaith also has the 25/2 shot Wish List and the 33/1 chance Little Suzie.

The Gr 1 wfa WSB Met carries a R5 million stake and Snaith could get a massive boost towards retaining his championship in that race.

He has the defending champion Eight On Eighteen, who will be hard to beat.

Eight On Eighteen will have some competition from a plethora of stablemates i.e See It Again, Sail The Seas, Regulation, Happy Verse and Native Ruler.

Dean Kannemeyer will have a strong hand in the Met with the Hollywoodbets Durban July winner The Real Prince and his talented full-brother Gimmie Rules.  Kannemeyer does not have the numbers to be a fancied championship contender, but he does have a lot of quality and as he has the potential to do the  Met/July double he has to be an outsider to take note of.

Tarry’s Met challenge relies on Legend Of Arthur, who has been disappointing since his SA Derby win, and Cosmic Speed, who might be stretched by the 2000m trip, although this Querari gelding’s dam is by Silvano, which makes it interesting.

The De Kock’s Dave The King will be stretched by the Met trip.

Tarry’s perennial opportunity to plunder comes in the Highveld feature season and the De Kocks could also rake in a lot of stakes money there.

Tarry has an exciting unbeaten three-year-old in the Vercingetorix colt Grand Empire and he has plenty of hard knockers for the Highveld season.

Tarry is famously prosperous at the Hollywoodbets Scottsville Festival Of Speed meeting and his promising two-year-old colt Turn It Up, a half-brother to Gr 1 Gold Medallion winner Proceed, is an obvious candidate, as is the like of Mia Moo, who will be out to defend her SA Fillies Sprint crown, while stablemate One Fine Winter will be one of Mia Moo’s chief dangers. The like of Lucky Lad will be a Gr 2 Golden Horse Sprint contender and Tarry is likely to have contenders for the top two-year-old fillies race, the Allan Robertson.

Jan van Goyen is not an entry for the WSB Met and the De Kocks might be eyeing the Highveld Triple Crown events with him.

They have plenty of promising three-year-olds like Miami Mountain, One Eye On Vegas, Constellation, Splittheeights, Trombolines and fillies like Drumnadrochit.

Tony Peter could also have a good Highveld season with his established stars being joined by the like of exciting two-year-old Heath House.

However, the July is going to be the big one and it looks like the Snaith yard will hold the aces for that race with a host of contenders like Eight on Eighteen, Native Ruler, See It Again, Regulation, Okovango, Happy Verse, Legal Counsel, Magic Verse, Randolph Hearst etc.

The Snaith yard have the numbers and the all round strength in all divisions and crucially they are likely to have to have the strongest hand in the July.

Hollywoodbets have them at 4/10 to defend their title and that looks to be a fair price for those brave enough to take it.

Sean Tarry and the De Kocks are at 6/1 and the Peter yard is at 8/1 with James Crawford and Dean Kannemeyer next best on 25/1 respectively.

David Thiselton

The 2026 Hollywoodbets Durban July will be a milestone one with the prize money doubled to R10 million and with a longer handicap introduced as the topweight will be upped to 62kg and bottom weight lowered to 52kg.

It will fittingly fall on the 30th anniversary of the centenary July, which turned out to be one of the greatest of all Julys as it was won by the legendary Alec Laird-trained London News, who went on to put South African racing on the map by winning the QE II Cup in Hong Kong.

The renowned South African wildlife painter Henk Vos released his celebrated work, the Painting Of The Century, depicting a century of July winners, after the July’s centenary running.

The iconic painting now hangs in the Classic Room at Hollywoodbets Greyville.

Alec Laird actually ordered one of the prints of the painting before it was completed as the print had the first of his great Uncle Syd Garrett’s five July winners on the left and the greatest of his father’s record seven July winners, Sea Cottage, was in the centre.

The right hand side just had a blank with a silhouette of a horse, because Vos did not know yet which horse he was going to paint there.

Alec, who trained out of Randjesfontein on the Highveld, related, “He hadn’t made up his mind what horse he was going to put in the last panel (the 20th panel) and he even said to me ‘I would like you to win the July because I would like to put you as the last painting.’ With about a year to go I said to him I’m not going to make it.’”

However, fate then had it that London News not only became the 14/10 favourite for the 100th running of the July, but he was also saddle cloth number 20, being the only three-year-old in the field and the bottom weight.

Piere Strydom recalled, “I remember at the traditional Friday night cocktail Henk Vos was there with his big painting and there was one spot left for the 100th winner and I can still remember saying to someone that I think my picture’s going to be up there.”

London News duly won the race and Alec, London News and Piere Strydom are now at the forefront of the famous painting’s 20th panel and the horse is fittingly carrying the no. 20 saddle cloth.

The London News story starts at the National Yearling Sale of 1994.

Alec recalled big owners Laurie and Jean Jaffee’s chief aim at that Sale was to buy a yearling by their own 1987 July winner, Bush Telegraph.

Alec recalled Harmony Forever being his number one choice at that Sale.

However, he remembered London News being “a nice horse.”

He added, “On the first day a Bush Telegraph colt called Mr Newspaperman went for about R300,000. London News looked more athletic and Jean Jaffee actually said to me, ‘What about this one?’ On the first day they didn’t get a horse, the second day they didn’t get one and the more they asked me about London News the nicer he got, because I was otherwise going to go home without a horse!”

The Jaffees managed to secure London News.

Alec recalled, “He was a light youngster and even as a three-year-old was quite light. He didn’t show immediately, but we always had the feeling that he would be a nice horse when he matured.”

In fact, London News made a particularly inauspicious debut, beaten no fewer than 16,5 lengths under Anton Marcus in a 1200m Maiden Juvenile Plate over 1200m at the Vaal on June 6, 1995.

However, he got better and better and when he smashed the Greyville 2000m course record, which still stands today, in the Gr 1 Daily News 2000, he had won six out of eleven starts including the Dingaans and two middle distance Gr 1s.

Piere Strydom was aboard for the Daily News 2000 too.

He reflected on the 1996 July, the first of his four victories in South Africa’s greatest race, “London News was a lekker horse to ride because he had gate speed, a lot of natural speed and he would travel right up there in front and he had a good kick. But at the top of the straight (having led) I thought with a light weight let me just let the reins go a bit and get a length or two for the short straight. But he accelerated way quicker than I had expected and that’s when he made up three or four lengths on the field. Obviously it was going to tell at the end and he was stopping quite badly at the end. I heard the horses coming and I was just hoping for the line and he held on.”

Alec added, “Mike Rattray had invited me to watch in his box because it was on the line and he won by a neck but my eyes wouldn’t believe it because there was so much pressure. I wanted to see the number up!”

Alec described the emotion of being on the honour roll together with his late record-breaking seven-time July-winning father Syd.

In fact his extended family is comfortably the most prolific July-winning family in history with his grandfather Alec winning one as a jockey, his great Uncle Syd Garrett winning two as a jockey and three as a trainer, his father Syd winning a record seven as a trainer, and the cousins Dennis Drier, Alec Laird and Charles Laird each winning one July apiece – a total of 16 for the July dynasty.