Please Note: South African Quartet Pools with fractional betting offered at Goodwood (UK) – 7 June 2026.

Andrew Harrison

After a slow start to his riding career, apprentice Blaine Marx-Jacobson has burst onto the scene in recent months and currently heads the national Apprentice Championship. One of his early mentors was Louis Goosen and that combination came good with veteran galloper Donquerari in the B Stakes that headed the card on the poly at Hollywoodbets Greyville yesterday.

A touch unlucky at his previous start when checked at a crucial stage of the race, this win was a just reward for Donquerari as Marx-Jacobson rode a patient race. Content to take a hold in the early exchanges as Vanakkam and Pop Chart set a break-neck pace up front that saw both put up the white flag early in the straight. Marx-Jacobson slipped Donquerari up the inside of his field with Connery also in contention. It was left to the three apprentices in the race to fight out the finish with Jacey Botes, reunited with his favourite mount Connery, and Anaas Mosaheb chasing home for third aboard Kalahari Roller.

Hazel Green was sent out favourite for the second but after disputing the lead for much of the race with Magical Spring, both folded quickly as apprentice Dezahn Louw, who had sat in just off the pace on Wendy Whitehead’s filly, sent Dancing In Demark for home and she waltzed into the lead to win by and extended margin with the luckless Tipperary chasing home a well beaten second.

There was a desperate finish to the first leg of the Pick 6 with Nicholas Patel getting Last Ovation up in the shadow of the post for a dead-heat. Keagan de Melo made his move on Skipper O’Malley behind the Drill Hall to quicken up the pace and it looked to be a winning move as he pinched a lead in the straight. However, Gareth van Zyl’s filly gradually ate into the lead with Skipper O’Malley crying for the line and just managing to hang on to share the spoils, with Crimson Typhoon running on stoutly for the minor money.

Visiting Thoonsil won an excellent race in the Class 4 Handicap making all the running and holding off a strong challenge from Blizzard Boy in another tight finish.

Tristan Godden set a solid gallop aboard Mano Pandaram’s gelding and was in a race of his own until the last 200m as the field change places behind him every furlong or so. Serino Moodley made an early move on The Wolf but that came to nothing as Thoonsil kept galloping and it was Blizzard Boy that came out of the pack and looked to be going on by, but Thoonsil stuck to his guns as Blizzard Boy’s challenge faltered over the last 100m.

Apprentice Girish Dookhit took a leaf out of Tristan Godden’s book and made all the running on Alyson Wright’s seven-year-old Ultra Quick in the Class 5 Apprentice Handicap. Setting comfortable early fractions the gelding lasted just long enough to hold off challenges from Mountainsofthemoon and National Dream.

Godden employed the same tactics as he had earlier on Thoonsil, making all the running on outsider Little Cracker. Jumping from the widest draw, Godden had Tony Rivalland’s gelding out in a flash and was not for the catching. Challenges came from all sides but Little Cracker kept up a relentless gallop with Lunch Money and Paratrooper unable to get on terms.

Time In Paris looked set for a major upset in the last of the day as Anaas Mosaheb took Kom Naidoo’s mare to the lead, one she fought gamely to hold to. But it was in vain as Mxolisi Mbuto, hanging on to Marx-Jacobson’s tail in the Apprentice Championship, pulled one back as he got Lucinda Woodruff’s filly to respond gamely up the inside fence to eventually wear down the pacemaker with favourite Preacher Man a well-beaten third.

David Thiselton

The Daily News 2000 meeting always has an impact on the Hollywoodbets Durban July and the reaction of the handicappers and the bookmakers to the result of the Daily News 2000 and to the Woolavington 2000 is always one of the talking points.

Owner Jonathan Bloch has only ever had one Durban July runner before and it had an interesting name, Ess Five Beaches, which was the address of a residence owned by the late great owner-breeder Graham Beck. However, Bloch now part-owns all three of the horses who are currently at the top of the July boards with the sponsor,  Star Major, Note To Self and Wish List.

It is always interesting that the bookmakers seem to prefer winners to lightly weighted horses, because of course the handicappers job is to equalize the chances of horses in a race if they were to meet again. The handicappers used the fourth-placed Viva’s Liberte as the line horse for the Daily News 2000 and raised Star Major four points to 122 and raised Happy Verse nine points to 119.

However, the sponsor shortened Star Major to  7/2, with Note To Self and Wish List now 11/2, while Happy Verse is out at 8/1 together with See It Again and Regulation.

Punters might prefer to look for horses who benefit from the raise in weights of others.

Note To Self should be cherry ripe for the July and being by stamina influence Futura out of a mare by stamina influence Judpot augurs well for the step up in trip to 2200m. Note To Self didn’t have as immediate a turn of foot as Star Major or Happy Verse and another discussion point might be whether he would benefit from blinkers. This might help him gallop resolutely from a long way out and make it into a stamina test.

Happy Verse has always been a horse who has oozed class and he is now beginning to fulfil it. The Daily News 2000 was his third run after gelding and he at last showed the class he had always promised. He can progress further as he had a nice smooth race in the Daily News and that should have brought him on, so he should be a big runner in the July. He is by Vercingetorix, who won the Daily News 2000 and a Gr 1 in Dubai over the same trip, out of a mare by stamina influence Giant’s Causeway, so he should also enjoy the July trip.

Star Major will also be a big runner. His part-owner Ravi Naidoo has preached this horse from a long time ago and he has proved to be spot on.  The Querari colt has matured into a top class horse and can follow in the footsteps of the like of Big City Life and Legislate by winning the Guineas, the Daily News and the July, although the latter pair had also both won the Cape Derby before arriving in KZN. Big City Life carried a mere 51kg in the July in an era when topweight was 58kg, while Legislate carried a record weight for a winning three-year-old of 56kg in a race where topweight was 60kg, although he did win it via the boardroom with an upheld objection whose outcome drew plenty of criticism. Star Major will, as things stand, carry 56kg too, although the topweight this year will be 62kg.

A horse who has snuck into the July picture is the Gr1 SA Classic winner Grand Empire. He was in position 20 on the first July log, but after the scratching of both Okavango and Jan Van Goyen, he could come into the all important top 18. On the negative side for Grand Empire is, although he might end up with bottom weight, how good a preparation is he going to have had by the time of the July? His final run before the July comes on Sunday at Turffontein in a 1400m Pinnacle event, so he will not have enjoyed as good a build up into the big race as the like of Happy Verse have had.

Happy Verse was in the outside looking in horses on the first log, and will likely leapfrog Grand Empire, so the latter might still be under pressure for a place in the final field.

On the other hand, Hazy Dazy, who was in 14th place on the first log, might be in trouble after seemingly being outclassed in the Daily News by the males as she was beaten 11,40 lengths into 8th. She might be dropped from the log.

Wish List has the same 117 rating as Hazy Dazy, so will carry 53,5kg in the July as things stand. Her four wins on the trot include two Gr 1s and two Gr 2s. She will easily get the July trip being a daughter of Legislate out of a Silvano mare, Wind Chill, who won the SA Oaks. There are not many horses who would fetched the pacemaker the way she did on Saturday as she had to make up a lot of ground up off a slow pace. However, the question is how much the effort took out of her. It was likely not quite the race the connections had envisaged.

Meanwhile, the next big upheaval to the betting and log positions etc happens this Saturday in the Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge race meeting, which not only features the Gold Challenge itself, but also the all important Gr 3 Betgames Cup Trial over 1800m, which is always a big July pointer race.

Regulation will be under big pressure to win the Cup Trial. He is an 8/1 shot for the July with the sponsor, despite having been in the outside looking in horses on the first log. He will likely need to win the race to definitely force his way in and on the downside he has drawn wide in barrier ten out of 11 for Saturday’s race. If he does win it there will be more pressure on the like of borderline horses like Grand Empire.

David Thiselton

Star Major is the second favourite for the Gr 1 Daily News 2000 and this progressive Querari colt has been in fine fettle at Randjesfontein after his superb win in the Gr 2 WSB Guineas.

Tim Woodruff is the Randjesfontein assistant to trainer James Crawford and he said about the Maine Chance Farms-bred bay, who is owned by passionate Durban-born owner, Ravi Naidoo, together with Neville Isdell, Mr J I Bloch and Mrs Prakashni Pillay.

Tim said, “He is all good, we have just tried to freshen him up because it is a quick turnaround between races, but he is doing good. You do get your things between races you sometimes have to deal with, but I do think he will be alright for the Daily News.”

Star Major jumped from a wide  draw in the WSB Guineas and was dropped out.

He turned for home in last place with a number of lengths to make up, but then produced a good turn of foot followed by an impressively resolute finish coupled with an eyecatching late gear change that saw him surging to a 0,90 length victory over the hot favourite Tin Pan Alley.

 Of course sectional timing invariably shows that apparent late surges or apparent flying finishes are usually an optical illusion caused by the other horses slowing down at a more rapid rate than the apparently strong-finishing horse. Invariably the surging horse is actually also slowing down.

Indeed the sectional timing of the WSB Guineas shows Star Major’s 100m to finish time to be his slowest sectional of the entire race.

However the fact that he was able to have the fastest 100m to finish time of the whole field, despite having had to make up many lengths to get there, seems to show that he has got some stamina.

He did win the Gr 3 Politician Stakes over 1800m and finished a fair 3,20 length fourth in the Gr 1 Lucky Fish Cape Derby over 2000m, both at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth. In the latter race he ran on despite having been a bit keen in the running.

That would illustrate he has the stamina, but hopefully he will be able to settle better this time.

He settled very well in  the WSB Guineas and due to his wide draw Tim Woodruff said the same tactic of being dropped out will be employed.

He added, “Obviously it’s a short straight so it’s obviously not ideal. But just looking for a good run  and then obviously the July afterwards.”

He gave his opinion on the 2000m distance, “He should get the trip.”

Querari won a Gr 1 over 2000m and Star Major is out of a mare by stamina influence Silvano and this mare not only won over 1900m, but was an own sister to Follow The Star, who won the Listed Glenair Trophy over 2800m.

So on pedigree he will easily stay the trip.

Mickaelle Michel retains the ride and if winning it she will become only the second woman in SA history to win a Gr 1, the only one to date to have won one being Lisa Prestwood on the Buddy Maroun-trained Al Nitak in the Golden Horse Sprint on June 1, 2023, almost exactly 23 years ago.

Mickaelle has been in excellent form and Tim confirmed that if everything went well in the Daily News she would keep the ride for the Hollywoodbets Durban July too.

Tim agreed she had been outriding many of her male weighing room colleagues and added, “She has got the touch.”

It would be somewhat ironic if Mickaelle did win the Daily News with a horse conditioned by assistant trainer Woodruff, because Tim’s mother Carol (nee Millard) was the first woman to have a professional license in SA. She had started riding work for her legendary father Terrance Millard at the age of 12 and from age 14 started riding in and winning many amateur races. She was apprenticed overseas and rode in the tough school of England and Germany in professional races. However, the SA authority of the time refused to allow her to ride in professional races in SA, gross unfairness. To get around the legalities the authority installed a rule that overseas apprentices wee not allowed to ride here. This came back to bite them because years later a top apprentice from Europe came over only for everybody to discover he was not allowed to ride here. Carol was able to ride in Cape Hunt races against professional jockeys, ironically a more dangerous discipline than flat racing, and she was able to ride in Zimbabwe under a “Day” license, which was usually utilised when there were not enough professional riders available. She remembers winning a Cape Hunt race on Hawkins, who had formerly been one of Terrance Millard’s many Gold Cup winners. She also finished second in “The Schweppes” in Zimbabwe.

But back to Star Major, who is still a colt meaning a Daily News win will look very good on his stallion CV.

Tim said, “If you win the Guineas and the Daily News it is just next level.”

Tim said Star Major had a fine chance of realising the dream of Ravi Naidoo and no doubt all the other owners too, a win in the R10 million Hollywoodbets Durban July.

He concluded, “He is ticking all the boxes, He’s a machine.”

David Thiselton

 

The July build up of 60 years ago was like no other before it and It is fitting that this year’s Hollywoodbets Durban July, carrying a record-breaking stake of R10 million, falls on such an auspicious anniversary date

In the month of May 60 years ago the great Sea Cottage began his July preparation by running in a race often used by Syd Laird as starting point for his best July contender, the Gr 1 Newbury Stakes over 1200m.

Sea Cottage beat another famous horse in the 1966 Newbury renewal, the previous year’s Gr 1 SA Guineas winner William Penn, whose story bears repeating.

Willaim Penn had won six Grade 1s up until being retired to stud in 1969 and was a July runner up by half-a-length in 1968, carrying topweight and giving the winner Chimboraa 24 pounds.

His wins included the 1968 J&B Met with topweight. He was two-one up in meetings between himself and his more celebrated half-brother Hawaii, who went on to become USA’s Champion Grass Horse as well as a successful sire, standing at Claiborne where he produced 25 stakes winners including Epsom Derby winner Henbit. William Penn proved infertile at stud, siring only nine foals, although they included three stakes winners. He was brought out of retirement as a ten-year-old and the first run of his comeback was in the J&B Met of January 1972. He flew up for second, three lengths behind the winner Force Ten to whom he gave 18 pounds. He went on to race successfully until he was eleven, the best performance of his final season being a 0,2 length second to the great In Full Flight in the Grade 1 Champions Stakes over 2000m at Greyville, beating another champion, Mazarin.

Back To Sea Cottage who was back at Greyville a week after the Newbury Stakes to win the Gr 1 SA Guineas by 3,5 lengths, his eleventh career victory in just 12 starts.

Six days later the country woke up to shocking news.

On that bright Friday morning Sea Cottage had been shot while walking under the Blue Lagoon bridge on the way to the Syd Laird ring on the beach.

The story is well documented with the shooter Johnny Nel being apprehended later the same day. The well-known gangster had foolishly used his easily recognisable yellow-coloured convertible to drive to the shelter on the south side of the bridge, which is still the same structure today as it was back then, to perform the dastardly deed.

He was allegedly acting on behalf of bookmaker Sonny Chislett, who had allegedly approached the owner of the Monaco Club, Monty Labuschagne, with the news that if Sea Cottage won the July he would have to close his business and therefore he demanded the debt he was owed by the latter be paid up.

Labuschagne’s alleged response was what would it be worth if they stopped Sea Cottage from winning the July and Chislett’s alleged response was that he would forego the debt.

It was Nel, a bouncer at the Monaco club, who hatched the plan.

If Nel can be forgiven to any extent it was in his later testimony that he had found it difficult to shoot an animal and had deliberately aimed for the soft flesh of the hindquarter in order to not kill him.

Syd Laird was still able to nurture Sea Cottage through the worst of the injury and he had him ready to run in the July three weeks after the shooting.

The big bay unfortunately suffered interference at a crucial stage and ended up running a four length fourth.

It was a bitter-sweet day for Laird because Sea Cottage’s six-year-old stablemate Java Head won the race.

However, the following year saw the July’s most celebrated renewal.

The 1967 SA Guineas winner Jollify, who was receiving 27 pounds from Sea Cottage, stole a march at the top of the straight under a fine ride by John Gorton.

Sea Cottage had a lot of ground to make up, but began eating up the ground.

He had to get around King Willow, who was going straight, before the natural instinct of shifting towards the leader, was able to happen.

A flying Sea Cottage with his enormous stride bore down on the three-year-old, despite the latter showing no signs of stopping.

The two Birch Brothers-bred horses flashed past the post together.

But had Sea Cottage got there in time?

Commentator Ernie Duffield thought not and said, “I think Jollify has held on.”

Minutes later the on course crowd let out a roar when the numbers were put up together to declare a dead-heat.

But the rest of the country apparently had to endure an agonising wait for news as the radio commentary ended and they went back to the  studio.

Craig Peters, who has by the way commentated 39 Julys, ten more than Ernie Duffield’s previous record of 29, recalled that day, at which time he was a young boy living with his parents in Mayfair, Johannesburg.

He said, “It was only sometime later on Pat Carr’s Forces Favourites program that we heard it was a dead-heat and I was absolutely elated (especially considering he had shed tears after Sea Cottage’s defeat the previous year). We saw the photo in the Stop Press and about two weeks later we watched the African Mirror footage of the race at the Drive-In. I remember also being at Sea Cottage’s last ever race, the Cutty Sark at Gosforth Park, which attracted a massive crowd. I watched by standing on the bonnet of my father’s car.”

“The immortal” Sea Cottage won twenty of his 24 races and there was still a reminder of him nearby at Hollywoodbets Greyville until recent years.

Syd Laird had always been terrified somebody would “get to” Sea Cottage and had metal plates fitted over the air vents on the road side of his stable.

His old stable served as a vendor stall in recent times at The Stables Lifestyle Market next to the Hollywoodbets KIng’s Park rugby stadium.

His stable was the third one down from the main entrance.

Those rusty metal plates were still in place across the air vents on the roadside of the stall until the closure of the market in March 2020.

Sadly, the building soon became completely dilapidated and an intriguing piece of Durban history went down with it.