Andrew Harrison

Garth Puller, peerless in the saddle as a rider and a horseman of note. With three of the seven runners in the Progress Plate that headed the card at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Friday evening, one was never sure which was the ‘right’ one, all on a different agendas.

Best proved to be Cardinal Chief as Rachel Venniker booted home her third winner of the evening, the third of four, and three for Michael Roberts.

It was all to play for at the top of the straight as The Marquee led the way but Cardinal Chief gradually reeled him in, going on the win comfortably.

Fortress Of Fire lost his way after showing potential in a smart debut win. He was nowhere in a couple of juvenile features that left Michael Roberts puzzling.

Six months down the line and the son of Fire Away is finally for filling that early promise as he crushed a Class 4 against some useful opposition in the first leg of the Pick 6.

The field was cut to five runners given all the scratchings but after taking a few knocks after the start Rachel Venniker settled her mount in behind. Keagan de Melo made an early dash for the line crossing the subway but Venniker had all under control allowing Fortress Of Fire to drift in without breaking his momentum. He was 2.5kg worse off with second-placed Maphaka on their last meeting which says a lot for his progression.

Master Du Rouvray turned the tables on Gotta Go Eddie after the two met back in October last year. Gotta Go Eddie has one of the more consistent formlines and Mark Dixon’s runner is still progressing as he showed when hooking up with ‘Eddie’ at the top of the straight and out-dueling Mike and Mathew de Kock’s runner. Dixon was more than happy with the win as he pointed out that his charge needed further but he was forced into Friday night’s race due to a lack of opportunity.

Yadav Singh stayed loyal to Cole Dicken after the rider had made the most of his pick-up ride on Iron Will at his previous start that resulted in a comfortable front-running victory.

It was more of the same as Iron Will led the six-horse field all the way until challenged by Grand Appeal some 300m out. Callan Murray appeared to have time his run to perfection as Grand Appeal pocked his nose in front, but Iron Will lived up to his name and refused to give in under a driving ride from Dicken and came back for more. It was heads up-and-down at the line with Iron Will a nose to the good.

Willie Pieters was a Gr1 winning trainer before switching to the safari business but he is back with the Classic Racing Syndicate in partnership with leading bloodstock agent Andy Williams. The syndicate currently has two trainers in Darryl Moore and Paul Gadsby with Pieters stating that the syndicate was going to support the smaller trainers who did not always get the recognition that they deserved.

Moore came up trumps in the first race on the New Year as Keagan de Melo made all the running on Captain Venture, a relatively cheap buy that underpins the Pieters/Williams expertise.

Black Frost finally got his act together as he kept up a solid gallop to see off all contenders in the first leg of the PA giving Venniker the first of her four winners and the first of three for Roberts.

Salani Kahle

New Year’s eve on the Hollywoodbets Greyville poly was a low key meeting with mostly maidens and low-class handicaps but it did show up one galloper with potential. Salani Kahle is an imposing son of Master Of My Fate and given his bulk and the fact that he is still a colt will no doubt have contributed to his late start on the race track.

All at sea on debut, he followed up with a convincing maiden win and last Friday franked that form with an equally commanding victory first up in a handicap.

It is way too early to get over excited but given his pedigree, a mile and further may well be his optimum trip, and he is far from the finished article so Gareth van Zyl and Anthony Delpech of Hollywood Racing will be plotting a way forward as Salani Kahle is definitely one for the notebook.

Hollywood Racing rounded off another successful year with a double on the day as the ever game El Rey Viene held off all challengers two races later for Duncan Howells and regular Howells pilot Kabelo Matsunyane.

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.

Alistair Cohen

There was little wrong with the way Gimmie Rules ran in the Grade 1 Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas in mid-December. He took a huge leap in class from impressing in good handicaps to the highest level in quick time, not necessarily the way trainer Dean Kannemeyer generally prepares his top horses. He takes on a good field in race 7 over 1500m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Sunday.

Gimmie Rules hold an entry for the L’Ormarins Kings Plate and for the World Sports Betting Cape Town Met, both Grade 1 showpiece events. This entry suggests that Kannemeyer is going to play the long game with him and either seek out the Lucky Fish Cape Derby or KwaZulu-Natal’s Champions Season. 

His last effort was also against the Kannemeyer blueprint. Untested at feature race level, he went straight from a good level against older horses to Grade 1 level. There is no disgrace beating quality like Handsome Prince in the manner he did in his penultimate run. Behind them was now 120-rated Jet Force. He finished a 3,35-length fourth behind runaway winner, Jan Van Goyen. Craig Zackey reported that he feels “a bit thick in the wind” in the feedback video filed on Race Coast’s YouTube page. Perhaps everything came a little too soon for him. There is no doubting his class. He should have a bright future. Even this result will not define him but it will give a short-term plan some clarity.

Captain West is such a frustrating horse. There is limitless ability but he has failed to deliver. From excellent runs at a high level to similar finishes against weaker. His last run was a good effort when he was forced to make the running after an initial slow pace. He stuck around to finish less than a length behind Ardabil over this course and distance. He is 2kg better off for 0,4 lengths. That should turn the form around.

Kinda Wonderful is also worth considering even though winning comes at a premium. Her last effort was a good run behind an underdone superstar in the form of Double Grand Slam in the Summer Bowl. She finished ahead of fine rivals like Rainbow Lorikeet. With 55,5kg on her back, Kinda Wonderful should be in the mix.

Treetops put up a neat debut last month and with likely improvement, he could win race 1 over 1200m. From an in-form yard of Lucinda Woodruff, he finished 6,55 lengths behind Loving Prague over this course and distance. Woodruff is not known to get stuck into them for their debuts. Chad Little is carded to take the ride. Protector Of Peace is hinting that a win is around the corner and he must be the main danger although he seems to be exposed as a maiden.

Whirlwind has a lot of improvement to follow, and with her third career start, she could be ahead of rivals struck at their low levels. She returned from a three-month break in her last run and she never looked out of first gear when beating her stable companion, Panjandrum over 1000m at this course. James Crawford has resisted the temptation of taking on a higher grade and kept her in calm waters. She looks the horse to beat in race 2 over the same track and trip.

Sugar Daddy and Mercenary look set to fight out race 3 over 1600m. Sugar Daddy ran close-up to Give It Laldy who runs later in the card last time out and his progress from his debut to his second start is exactly what a winner would look like at their third runs. While Mercenary has slightly less impressive numbers from three runs but he did run into traffic in his last run over this course and distance behind Chance Encounter. He still finished fifth, 3,9 lengths behind. That form will be under the spotlight in the next two races.

If the race that Chance Encounter won comes up trumps, Frequent Traveller becomes hugely interesting in race 4 over 2000m. He finished second from a poor draw of No 12. That was his career best, and he made good ground over 1600m, suggesting that this extra trip will suit him ideally. He finished marginally ahead of his stable companion Fort Liam last time. They meet again. It is hard to run away from Eric Lidell who had zero luck last time when left with too much to do and flying home to finish second behind Fast And Free. All three have good winning chances.

Fast And Free has his post-maiden run in race 5 over 2500m. He could become a good prospect if all those pieces of the puzzle fit in the two preceding races. He won like a horse who will appreciate all the distance trainer Glen Kotzen can throw at him. Craig Zackey takes the ride. If he is ready straight out of the maidens, he can double the dose.

Blind Date gets the services of German rider, Rene Piecheluk in race 6 over 1600m. He has taken his time to fill out and mature, hence he might have been slightly underwhelming by not winning races since exiting the maidens. He might have found his opening to hit his groove. His last two runs have come against progressive three-year-olds Viva’s Liberte and Ireland Forever. If he does not win, he should be right in the money. Red Dawn is a useful horse but he seems held by Blind Date while Give It Laldy will be tested out of the maidens but he could be up to the task.

Supreme Fate won with a degree of ease in her last run toppling over some three-year-old fillies held in high regard. She had age and an inside draw of No 1 on her side. She finds herself over the same 1400m course and distance as her last run and she must have a chance of going back-to-back. She takes a minor rise in class and as a result, she carries less weight than she did last time. Andrew Fortune is aboard for Justin Snaith.

Anything can win race 9 over 1200m. A chance is taken on True Horizon who gets Muzi Yeni aboard for Adam Marcus. She has gone down narrowly into third and second respectively in her last two starts over this course and distance.

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.