Andrew Harrison

Tristan Godden answered a call from Justin Snaith on Saturday where he had six rides at Hollywoodbets Durbanville for the Champion Trainer, two of which were winners. Back on home turf in KZN, Mike Miller’s first call rider rode a measured race on the stable’s one-eyed gelding Winter Games to win the B Stakes at Hollywoodbets Greyville yesterday and followed up with another well-judged front-running ride on Magma Magic for Tony Rivalland.

There was obviously confidence in the Miller yard as Winter Games came in for a ton of late support and it was money on the mark. Godden had his mount out quickly to take up the rail on the gelding’s ‘right’ side. In the straight Winter Games lugged in a little off a wide false rail to find the rail and kept up a relentless gallop chased hard by Kitchakal who was always in the hunt with Johnny The Thief finishing late to snatch third.

Continentalexpress came into his own late last season as a five-year-old and he now appears to be maturing into a decent stayer. He did not meet anything special in the Class 4 over 2000m but he did shoulder top weight and won with authority, pulling away to win by nearly three lengths from pacemaker High Queue who held on for second ahead of Hollywood Racing companions and favourite Tobacconist and Syx Hotfix.

Dean Kannemeyer’s ‘armada’ arrived at Summerveld this past week but Continentalexpress could well be one of the stable’s flagbearers going into Champions Season with staying races on the menu.

Western Cape form is proving deadly when their runners make their KZN debuts be it maidens or some average runners with milage on the clock and the list is a long one. Red Taffety added to that list with a solid performance in the opening leg of the Place Accumulator. Having her first outing for Adam Azzie, JP van der Merwe, first call rider for owners Greg and Gina Bortz, sat in off the pace as Princess Trippi set the early fractions.

He then allowed the big-striding daughter of Erik The Red to build momentum and it was soon obvious that Princess Trippi was under pressure from both sides as Lilting Song, another recent Cape maiden arrival, also put up her hand. However, Red Taffety was in full cry and won going away and given the manner of her win, ten furlongs could be a more suitable trip.

Beyond All Doubt backed up the form of Son Of Rafeef, Yogas Govender’s promising gelding, with a fluent win in the second. Chad Little had no hesitation in making an early move on MJ Odendaal’s colt and he made short work of Place Of Practice and Pressure Point to win as he liked.

Saint Brigid was the ham in the sandwich at her last start, a race she should probably have won after the rider of winner Peggy Sue Shake lost his compass and earning a suspension for his troubles.

Sean Veale and Stuart Ferrie go back a long way, to the days of Dennis Drier when Ferrie was assistant and Veale the stable rider. Veale has stayed loyal when he is not riding for Hollywood Racing and he won a smart tactical race aboard Hodge Podge for Ferrie in the fifth. Visiting rider Mickaelle Michel had the field stacked up for most of the race as she set a pedestrian gallop aboard Psyche but when it came to the business end, Psyche did not have much to give as Veale swept past on Hodge Podge chased by Fine Wine with Psyche staying on for third.

Godden rode another confident front-running race aboard Magma Magic to win the eighth, the gelding also finding some solid market support. Not an easy ride, the gelding fly-jumped the start with his head in the air but once settled in front he was not for the catching. Gardener’s Pride tried to keep pace but faded quickly in the straight with Next Of Kin staying on for second but never a threat.

For those that follow the published horse weights, most would be more confident if their fancy had shed a few kilos come race-day. If the published weights were correct for the ninth on the card, winner Meercat Moon was plus 17kg and stable companion The Gliding Fish plus 14 kg.

Mark Dixon admitted that the win came as a surprise, as it did for most punters as it paid R23 a win, especially as The Gliding Fish was the more fancied of the two stable runners. But three wide for most of the race, Meercat Moon galloped on relentlessly to narrowly hold off Kimball O’Hara. Dixon intimated post-race that keeping Meercat Moon sound was not the easiest but whatever the treatment it worked a treat yesterday and rounded off a fine afternoon treble for Veale.

Please Note: South African Quartet Pools with fractional betting offered at Carlisle (UK) – 22 March 2026.

Soccer4 Sunday 22 March 2026. ADD-IN R25 000. Estimated Pool: R 100 000. Pool Closes at 14h00. Sport 20 Pool 1.

Soccer6 Sunday 22 March 2026. ADD-IN R75 000. Estimated Pool: R 400 000. Pool Closes at 16h15. Sport 5 Pool 2.

Soccer13 Sunday 22 March 2026. Carryover R1 357 264. R6.5 Million (All-13-Correct Pool). Pool Closes at 15h30. Sport 11 Pool 1.

• SPLITTHEEIGHTS: 109 to 116
• ONE EYE ON VEGAS: 106 to 115
• RADIO STAR: 95 to 107

• SCARLETT HEART (third): 91 to 108
• DAISY JONES (fourth): 106 to 108

David Thiselton

The Hollywoodbets Durban July conditions have been finalised and the final field panellists might be in for an interesting evening before the Final Field And Barrier Draw Ceremony, whilst the three-year-olds look to be on the back foot at present.

There will be a longer handicap this year with a 10kg spread in the weights from a topweight of 62kg down to a bottom weight of 52kg.

Furthermore, it will just be a straight handicap, unlike recent July conditions in which there was a maximum and minimum weight for certain age groups and genders.

If the final field happens to have a spread that is less than 10kg, the topweight will still be 62kg. If, for example, there is a weight spread of 7kg among the entries, then the bottom weight will be 55kg.

If the topweights are scratched after the setting of the weights, then the new topweight will be dragged up to 62kg. For example if the topweight after scratchings is 60,5kg, it will be dragged up to 62kg and after the rest of the field have been dragged up the bottom weight will become 53,5kg.

The final field will not necessarily be chosen by merit rating order.

Justin Vermaak, Executive Racing and Bloodstock of Race Coast, said, “There will be a final field selection panel like before and merit rating will be a leading aspect, but the panel will also take current form and distance suitability into account etc.”

In recent years the final field panellists have not had it too tough as the field was cut up before the final field announcement, with a lot of horses being scratched due to the recognition by the connections they do not have much chance, either due to the weights not favouring them or due to them being off form – the final declaration fee could have, in those cases, been considered a waste of money.

However, with the longer handicap, there are going to be more horses who still have form chances on paper.

Looking at last year’s July for example, third-placed Selukwe was rated 111 and had to carry 54kg due to the condition that the minimum weight for an older male was 54kg. He was thus 2kg under sufferance with the 127-rated topweights, both older horses, and he was 4kg under sufferance with the officially best weighted horse, the 129 rated (nett 125-rated) Eight On Eighteen, who was set to carry 57kg despite being the highest merit rated horse in the race due to a condition that three-year-old males could not carry more than 57kg.

In last year’s race Oriental Charm carried 60kg, Eight On Eighteen carried 57kg and Selukwe carried 54kg.

Under this year’s conditions the weights for those three horses would have been: Oriental Charm 62kg, Eight On Eighteen 61kg and Selukwe 54kg. Selukwe would have been 2kg and 4kg better off with Oriental Charm and Eight On Eighteen respectively under today’s conditions.

He would have been 2kg better off with the winner The Real Prince too and, on paper, would have been beaten 0,30 lengths instead of by 2,65 lengths.

There could theoretically have been a horse who would have been even more favoured by today’s conditions than the 111-rated Selukwe example.

Using last year’s race under today’s conditions, an older horse who had been rated 107 would sneak into the handicap under today’s conditions.

A 107-rated older horse last year would have had to carry 54kg, 6kg less than the topweight, but under today’s conditions it would have only had to carry 52kg, which would be 10kg less than the 62kg topweight.

Therefore, there are theoretically going be a lot more horses standing their ground at the time of the final field selection process this year, because a lot more of them will have chances of winning on paper than would have been the case under the old conditions.

Furthermore, with stakes of R10 million up for grabs there will be less cases of horses being scratched due to the  connections deeming them to be off form. They might still want to take their chances.

The difficulty for the panel will come in deciding whether a lower rated horse is deemed to have better recent form or better distance suitability than a higher rated horse.

For argument sakes let’s assume that we go back to last year and there are still many horses standing their ground until the bitter end. After the top 17 are selected, according to the last log and current form, let’s assume the next two horses are the 115-rated Madison Valley and the 120-rated The Real Prince.

The Real Prince is rated five points higher than Madison Valley, but he has never run a race beyond 1600m before.

Madison Valley on the other hand finished a close fourth in the Betway Summer Cup over 2000m and in his final run before the July he won the traditional July pointer, the Hollywoodbets Dolphins Cup Trial over 1800m.

Which one are they going to put in the all important 18th slot?

Such a scenario is going to have much more chance of happening this year.

Although it has been said that weight avoidance tactics are going to be used this year, those who do take that route are probably going to run a bigger risk of not qualifying than ever before.

Now on to the three-year-olds.

Eight On Eighteen was held in high regard last year and came into the race 2kg well-in, according to official merit ratings, and yet he was not able to win the race.

Under today’s conditions he would have had to carry 61kg, effectively 2kg more.

So it was tough last year for a top, top three-year-old who was favoured by the old conditions.

How tough will it be for good-but-not-great three-year-olds under the new conditions, considering there is no maximum weight for them and no minimum weight for older horses?

Likewise it will be tough for females.

Furthermore, this year’s three-year-old crop are arguably overrated off their current merit ratings.

For example, Gauteng Guineas runner up Grand Empire could not win the Wolf Power 1600 against older horses when 2kg under sufferance off a 102 merit rating (effectively a 106 merit rating), yet he is now rated 120. There will be cries of “but the handicapper is clueless” when looking at that, but those who do say that are clueless themselves, because the handicapper rates a race on that race, not on past races, and Tin Pan Alley had earned his 117 rating by beating older horses and Grand Empire had then beaten him. Furthermore, Grand Empire was likely not at his peak for the Wolf Power with the Triple crown series looming.

Nevertheless, the overall impression is the current three-year-old male crop is not shining and it is questionable whether any of them have properly earned a rating of 120 or above.

It could well be an older horse July, but on the other hand there is an impressive unexposed horse like Note To Self among the three-year-olds and more such types might emerge.

The build up to this year’s Hollywoodbets Durban July is going to be more intriguing than ever!