Please note: South African Quartet Pools with fractional betting offered at Kempton and Southwell (UK) – 11 February 2026.

David Thiselton

 

There is unlikely to be a SA Triple Crown winner this season because although in the past Mike and Mathew de Kock would have had two live horses going forward with Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas winner Jan Van Goyen and Saturday’s Gr2 TAB Gauteng Guineas winner Splittheeights, the Cape Guineas no longer counts as an alternative first leg.

 

Mike De Kock said about the impressive winner of Saturday’s Gauteng Guineas, Splittheeights, “He is not a Derby horse, so even if he wins the SA Classic he won’t go for the last leg.”

 

He said about the owners of Splittheeights, Jayson and Preshalin Murugasa, “They have had horses for about eight to ten years and have spent a helluva lot of money in the game. But they are fantastic people and unbelievably good sports. You normally say that about the winners, but they have also lost for a long time and have taken it all on the chin. They have spent a lot at the Sales. In fact I think Brett Crawford bought this horse for them, credit to him, although I would have to confirm that. I have really enjoyed training for them. They (Jayson and Preshalin) give it a good Turffontein shout when they hit the front, don’t you worry about that!”

 

The Vercingetorix colt Splittheeights was a R600,000 purchase at the National Yearling Sale bought by JASM Solutions who were often associated with the Brett Crawford yard.

 

His Gauteng Guineas victory was also the perfect start for the De Kocks in terms of a new sponsorship.

 

The yard was announced in the big Lucky Fish promotion at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Friday night as the second yard to be sponsored by Race Coast’s new fixed odds betting and online casino betting arm.

 

Mike said, “It proved to be a very “Lucky” move!”

 

Mike said both Splittheeights and Jan Van Goyen would go for the SA Classic and One Eye On Vegas would also probably run in the Gr 1 1800m classic on March 7.

 

He said about Splittheeights’ stamina estimation, “Vercingetorix has a lot of quick runners, but he is a super sire, he throws two-milers and he throws five furlongs. Raymond Danielson felt that he still had more at the line, but I recognise the fact that he is a half-brother to William Robertson, so the extra 200m is not guaranteed for us. We are well aware of that, so it is going to be interesting.”

 

Asked on how confident they were before the race of Splittheeights winning, Mike said, “We were pretty confident, but we were nervous of our other horse One Eye On Vegas. I think One Eye On Vegas drawn three of four would have given him a little bit more cheek.”

 

One Eye On Vegas ran on well from last on Saturday after being dropped out from a wide draw  and he crossed the line 0,90 lengths behind the winner in third place, before being demoted to fourth after an objection against him on behalf of the favourite Trust was upheld.

 

Mike said about One Eye On Vegas’ SA Classic participation, “I have always been a little bit wary of the extra 200m for One Eye On Vegas, but based on Saturday we will have to try. He is fast more than he’s got stamina, he’s a pretty quick horse and he’s by Buffalo Bill Cody, so one has to say his top end is probably a mile, but given Saturday’s performance, finishing like he did, I would say we have to run him in the 1800m.”

 

He can not have any such qualms about Jan Van Goyen, because asked on whether he viewed him as a Hollywoodbets Durban July horse, he replied, “Most definitely.”

 

He said a line could be drawn through Jan Van Goyen’s Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas run and explained that just a glance at the sectional timing of the race was enough to confirm that the jockeys of the De Kock coupling Dave The King and Jan Van Goyen had had no idea how fast they were actually going. Dave The King had set a ridiculous pace, and Jan Van Goyen had chased it a few lengths behind him.

 

However, he said Jan Van Goyen was fine and would be running in the SA Classic.

 

He added that the R10 million prize for the July would make the build up for a potential three-year-old runner a whole new ball game and elaborated, “Handicapping is going to be everything.”

 

He said running in open races would be avoided by potential July three-year-olds, because of the risk of a massive merit rating raise.

 

Avoiding certain races will likely be even more in vogue this year due to the longer handicap being introduced with a 10kg spread in the weights.

 

However, the three-year-old classics should not be compromised as De Kock pointed out that the three-year-old form had shown there to be no dominant horse and their form was well exposed. They look to be overrated even with no big ratings for any of them yet.

 

He said Trust had not shown himself to be a 119 on Saturday, although admitting he might not have performed to his best. Trust was hampered at a crucial stage too.

 

He pointed at numerous examples of exposed three-year-olds, with two examples being from Saturday’s Gauteng Guineas, the 0,30 lengths runner up Grand Empire and the 2,15 length fifth-placed Yippee Kiyay.

 

He said, “Those are two well exposed three-year-olds in my opinion and Grand Empire actually didn’t win that Listed race against older horses either (off a 102 merit rating he had finished second to 104-rated Pressonregardless (in the Wolf Power 1600 (handicap)). So what does that say about the three-year-olds? What are their real ratings?”

 

The build up to this year’s Hollywoodbets Durban July is certainly going to be fascinating and have tongues wagging as trainers jostle for position, weighing up the weight they come in with against the risk of not qualifying if they are too cautious.

 

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.

Race Coast is thrilled to announce a game changing new era for South African horse racing punters with the official launch of horse racing with Colossus Pools on Monday, 1 December 2025!

Following the successful introduction of Colossus world class sports pools, we are now bringing this innovative technology to the multi-leg racing bets. To kick off the launch, the horse racing pools will feature predetermined, high value UK race meetings, giving local punters access to massive international jackpots.

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For the first time in South African racing, you will be able to take advantage of key features that put you in control of your bet:

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Race Coast is committed to innovating and ensuring our horse racing proposition is the most exciting and engaging in the country.

Get Ready to Play!

Look out for the Colossus button on the www.tote.co.za website and from December 1st, toggle between Football and Horse Racing, and experience the new generation of betting.

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We are thrilled to announce a ground-breaking new chapter in your betting experience! We’ve partnered with Colossus Bets, a leading UK-based company, to bring you an exciting new product never before seen in the South African tote betting market.

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To access the Colossus soccer products, simply follow these steps:

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Be sure to look out for the Colossus horse racing products – Coming Soon!