David Thiselton

Last week’s feature article was about the centenary July and how fitting it was that this season’s milestone R10 million Hollywoodbets Durban July falls on the 30th anniversary of that great victory by the Alec Laird-trained legend London News.

Just as fitting is that it will be the 50th anniversary of the July victory of one of South Africa’s most loved horses, the Ralph Rixon-trained Jamaican Music, a grey of astonishing intelligence.

Jamaican Music is also central to one of the July’s most controversial incidents as he had started second favourite as a three-year-old in 1974, but much to the bitter disappointment of the connections and punters jockey Tom Rattley fell off shortly after the start.

The incident was exacerbated by a shock result.

The 20/1 outsider Riboville romped to the easiest victory in July history, beating 33/1 outsider Sea Patrol, ridden by 15 year-old apprentice Dave Byrnes, by 4,50 lengths.

For Rixon the nightmare was erased when five-year-old Jamaican Music won the 1976 July at odds of 8-1.

“I was very confident that year,” recalled the late Rixon a few years ago.

“Jamaican Music always came from near the back and then flew up but he always got there in time. With Bert Abercrombie up, a jockey who also liked to ride that way, I knew he would win. The owner (Dr CC Crohin) decided to retire him to stud immediately but I think he still had a year’s racing in him and was a certainty for the Gold Cup as he stayed all day.”

The 1976 July was an immensely popular result as the athletic grey had won many new fans after the 1974 running due to his quite astonishing intelligence.

It had not escaped the notice of many, including the press, that after losing Rattley, Jamaican Music had run as if being guided by a top professional jockey.

“He worked his way through the field very cleverly without causing any interference,” confirms Rixon. “Whenever a gap appeared he surged through it and would then sit and wait. Even when they came into the straight he sat behind the leader for a while before  running away in the last furlong.

“He was a horse who knew what to do from the first day he raced. He had a wonderful temperament and never put a foot wrong. He was just a champion.”

However, punters did not take kindly to the 1974 result and it was not long before conspiracy theories surfaced with some claiming Rattley had deliberately jumped off.

These theories snowballed over the years, but have fortunately been thoroughly debunked by men who were close to the action, two of whom are still prominent in South African racing today.

Garth Puller, who was riding Bon Vista, said a few years ago that he would stake his life and reputation it was a genuine fall.

“Shortly after the jump Jamaican Music clipped the heels of a horse in front of him and pecked. This is like a catapult to the rider as the bit pulls the rein like an elastic.

“I was directly behind Jamaican Music and Tom went over the side of his neck. Normally in this circumstance you would just fall off and roll away but if you’re on the July favourite you try and cling on and from my angle he looked to be clinging on to the rein.

“However, it would be like hanging onto the side of a bus and he had no chance of getting back up. Luckily Jamaican Music had not reached the rail yet and Tom fell to the left so the horses behind him were able to avoid him.”

Michael Roberts was on the horse drawn next to Jamaican Music, Kings Palace, and was right alongside when Rattley fell.

He echoed Puller’s sentiments, although he remembered Rattley clinging onto the stirrup leather in his desperate effort to stay aboard.

The late Dave Cave was on Castaway and recalled speaking to Tom Rattley on the way to the start and warning him of the mad rush in the first 400m before the horses start coming across just before the Drill Hall turn.

“It was Tom’s first ride in the big race,” said Cave, “and I think he panicked when he saw the horses coming across as he thought he was going to lose his position and rushed Jamaican Music up onto the heels of the horses in front of him.”

Cave said Jamaican Music had actually pecked twice. Rattley had lost control after the first peck and Jamaican Music had then rushed forward and clipped heels again.

Over the years other mumblings surfaced around the George Azzie stable jockey, the late Martie Schoeman, riding second-string Riboville and winning whilst the late Roy Curling rode the favourite, Elevation, and finished fourth.

However, Curling’s son, Ray, quickly put that rumour to bed.

“Martie Schoeman had been fired by Azzie earlier in the season,” said Ray.

“However the two patched things up about ten days before the July. In the meantime my father had ridden Elevation to win the Gr 2 Johannesburg Champion Stakes and finish second in the Grade I Clairwood Champion Stakes so Martie was only given the spare ride on Riboville.

Ray added, “In the build up to the July Elevation went ‘over the top’ in his training whilst Riboville began working like a bomb and improved by lengths.”

The result came as no surprise to the yard and gave Dennis and Peggy Mosenthal, who also owned Elevation, a much deserved July victory 22 years after the heartbreak of their horse Radlington’s narrow and controversial loss to Mowgli in 1952, a result the judges took ten minutes to decide.

There is actually a permament reminder of the 1974 July result in Gauteng. Riboville’s unexpected victory provided a significant financial windfall for the Sinovich family, who later established the Riboville Boutique Hotel and Restaurant, a five-star attraction which is still thriving in Midrand.

But to underline the popularity of Jamaican Music, the recently retired four-time July-winning jockey legend Piere Strydom had this to say about his earliest July memory,  “I heard about the July as a little kid, because my dad was a jockey and I used to look at the race card and was getting involved without really knowing it. I remember the first horse that caught my attention was Jamaican Music, this lovely grey horse, and when he won it in 1976 that was my first fond memory of the July.”

Please note: South African Quartet Pools with fractional betting offered at Taunton and Wolverhampton (UK) – 30 December 2025.

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.

This marks a major step forward for the sport, combining the thrill of racing with modern, flexible features.

Introducing Unprecedented Control

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:

• Cash Out: Don’t wait until the last race! You will now receive leg-by-leg offers to Cash Out all or part of your ticket as the pool progresses. Secure a profit early or reduce your risk, giving you unprecedented control over your potential winnings.
• Syndicate Betting: Join forces with other punters to crowdfund a single, high stakes ticket. Share the cost, increase your chances of hitting the jackpot, and share the rewards with the betting community. You can become a Syndicate Captain or contribute to a ticket led by an expert.

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.

Massive UK Jackpots, More Control, and Shared Success—get ready to elevate your racing experience!

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.

What is Colossus Bets?

Imagine betting into massive, guaranteed prize pools, often reaching life-changing sums, with the added power of controlling your bet as the action unfolds. That’s the essence of Colossus Bets! It’s a revolutionary way to play, combining the thrill of traditional tote betting with unparalleled flexibility.

Understanding the Bet Types & Functionality:

Colossus Bets specialises in pool betting, where you bet against other players. The total money wagered is placed into a “pool”, and the prize money is shared among all winning tickets. The more people who play, the larger the potential jackpot! 

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• Correct Score: This is a more challenging but potentially more lucrative pool, where you must predict the exact final result of each match

 

• Both Teams to Score: This is for fans of goals and fast paced action. Your task is to simply predict whether or not both teams will score at least one goal in a selected series of matches

 

Innovative Functionality

• Cash Out: This feature allows you to lock in a profit before all matches (legs) in your ticket are completed. After each leg, Colossus bets will make you an offer to buy your ticket based on its current value. You can choose to accept the guaranteed payout or stay in the game for a chance at the full jackpot.

 

• Syndicate Betting: Colossus Bets offers a unique way to play through Syndicate Tickets, allowing Players to team up and increase their chances of winning. Creating a Syndicate – If you have a betting strategy or consider yourself a “Pro”, you can create a Syndicate Ticket and invite other Players to contribute towards the payment of the ticket. Joining a Syndicate – Alternatively, you can join a Syndicate Ticket that another Player has already created. When you contribute to a Syndicate Ticket, you will own a share of that ticket. This share is directly proportional to the amount of money you contributed. If the Syndicate Ticket wins, you will receive a proportionate share of any returns (such as dividends or cash-out proceeds) based on your contribution. In essence, Syndicate Tickets allows Players to pool their resources, share the risk, and share the rewards!

 

• Guaranteed Huge Sports Pools: Colossus Bets offers guaranteed prize pools often reaching life-changing proportions. This means greater potential payouts for a winning ticket!

 

• Consolation Prizes: For many pools, if you narrowly miss the jackpot by getting a number of the selections correct, you can still win a share of a consolation prize. This means that you can still get a payout even if your ticket isn’t a perfect winner.

How to find the Colossus Product

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

• Log in to your TOTE account on www.tote.co.za
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Why is this a game changer for South Africa?

Colossus Bets is renowned for pioneering the Cash Out feature in multi-leg pool betting, Syndicate Betting, and for offering some of the largest sports jackpots globally. This partnership brings that innovation and scale directly to you, providing a fresh and exciting way to engage with your favourite sports.

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Ready to get in on the action? The Colossus button on www.tote.co.za is your portal to this revolutionary product. Don’t miss out!

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