Soccer10 Friday 25 July 2025. ADD-IN R150 000. Estimated Pool: R1.8 Million. Pool Closes at 20h30.Sport 12 and Pool 1.

Soccer13 Saturday 26 July 2025. R18 Million (If only One 13 of 13 Winner). Pool Closes at 15h30. Sport 10 Pool 1.

Soccer Any13X on Saturday 26 July 2025. ADD-IN R50 000. Estimated Pool: R 200 000. Pool Closes at 16h00. Sport 13 and Pool 1

Please Note: South African Quartet Pools with fractional betting offered at Catterick and Doncaster (UK) – 23 July 2025

David Thiselton

Piere “Striker” Strydom is generally regarded as one of the two best jockeys in South African history together with Michael “Muis” Roberts and it was a sad moment when racing fans heard this week that he had not renewed his license for the forthcoming season, especially considering his two wins on Saturday at Turffontein Standside were vintage Piere Strydom.

“My last ride on Gold Cup day is Royal Victory and if he wins, I will call it a day then,” he chuckled.

It would be perfect to go out with a Gr 1 winner (HKJC Champions Cup), but otherwise his last meeting will be at the Vaal on July 31.

There are a number of reasons Striker will be hanging up his boots.

He said, “I just came to the point where I didn’t feel like getting on a horse. It’s always nice to ride these winners, it still gives you a thrill, and knowing that you’re doing the job right and to see other people happy. I’ve always been a competitive person, but how do I compete when I don’t want to ride. I still do the job I need to do, but when you start thinking about the possibility of getting injured again and stuff like that you know it is time to call it.”

Piere’s weight was also a problem. Sometimes he was not able to ride the top horses he was associated with because he could not make the weight. For example when three-year-old Fatal Flaw, whom he rode to Gr 1 WSB Cape Fillies Guineas glory, ran next in the Gr 1 Maine Chance Farms Majorca Stakes she was set to carry 55kg so he was unable to ride her.

He has also recently lost a trio of top rides with Quid Pro Quo departing overseas, Dyce injured and he was fired from See It Again.

Piere was looking forward to having a go at equalling the Hollywoodbets Durban July record of five wins in the big race, but after losing the See It Again ride his weight scuppered his chances of another ride as all the topweights were already booked.

His age also made insurance and medical aid costs so expensive that it was hardly worthwhile riding.

When he had a meeting with his insurance company recently the deal he got in the event he stopped race-riding was much improved and made his decision to retire as a “no brainer.”

Piere felt he had come back too soon from his fall at the Vaal on New Year’s Eve in order to make it for the WSB Met and said that had also affected him.

He added, “I felt I was way better when coming back from my two-and-a-half week holiday in the USA. I could move my neck and all that, so that break does help you. Working through something is not always good.”

Striker recounted he was never supposed to be a jockey.

He recalled, “From the age of about 12 I went to the track in the school holidays and my Dad would put me on his horses and they would bolt and I would think who in their right mind would want to do this? This is crazy. My cousins and friends would come and couldn’t wait to ride horses in the morning and those horses would bolt. I would think these guys are stupid. I used to hide away in the toilets, because I didn’t know how to ride horses. My Dad used to call me Bangbroek (scaredy pants)!”

He added, “I went on a holiday with my Granny and the next minute I was told ‘you are going to Greyville in Durban to apply for the Academy’. I wasn’t even sure they were going to accept me as the criteria was more hectic then and there were about 32 people who applied. I didn’t know what to expect going to the Academy and I was scared to ride horses and I was on my own.”

He continued, “I overcame my fear because they put you on really quiet old horses. As you start managing these quiet horses, they put you on something a bit stronger and a bit more feisty, so you progress. You learn to ride a horse properly and then you go to track, which is another story and that’s when you trusted the trainer to put you on a horse that’s quiet.”

Striker became one of the great horsemen jockeys and soon became particularly good at handing difficult horses due to the instinct he developed about what horses like and don’t like and how they like to be handled.

Nevertheless, it took him 56 rides to have his first winner, the Johnny Nicholson-trained Saadabad at Scottsville.

He felt his breakthrough towards becoming a great jockey happened when he went to the East Cape in his fourth year at the Academy and became East Cape champion apprentice and the following year he became the South African champion apprentice while still in the Eastern Cape. In his first year out of the Academy he became East Cape champion jockey usurping Gavin Venter, which was a fine achievement as the latter rode for the powerful Stanley Greeff yard.

The tough love of his father Hekkie Strydom paid off in getting Piere into the Academy and Hekkie then honed Piere’s race-riding skills.

“My Dad used to say to me you don’t win a race at the 200m mark, you win at the winning post and he would make me sit on horses for as long as possible. The conditions suited this style as the pace in the East Cape was always too fast.”

This was all a learning curve as Piere soon recognised you could not win on all horses in that way as some could not quicken well enough, but as the style suited the conditions and the wins were actually often late flying ones, the local journalist know as “Rob Roy” nicknamed him “Striker”.

Piere’s relocation to the Highveld was at the suggestion of Louis Goosen, who became the shy young man’s agent.

Striker became almost an instant sensation up there and it set him on the path to his status today as a living legend.

David Thiselton

Equus Horse Of The Year Dave The King, The Hollywoodbets Durban July winner The Real Prince, the Highveld Horse Of The Season Fire Attack, Gr 2 IOS Drill Hall Stakes winner Gladatorian, dual Gr 1-winning stalwart See It Again and the consistent dual Gr 1-winning Royal Victory will ensure that this year’s renewal of the Gr 1 HKJC Champions Cup is going to be one of the races of the season.

Of the trio that make up the field of nine Montien proved when second in the prestigious Gr 1 weight for age L’Ormarins King’s Plate over 1600m that he can mix it successfully with the best and he then confirmed that with a cracking 0,90 length third in the Gr 1 WSB Met over 2000m, while Son Of Raj and Litigation look a bit outgunned here but are no slouches.

The Champions Cup is viewed as a race which favours the horses who did not run in the Hollywoodbets Durban July i.e. the “fresh” horses.

However, the list of the last ten winners makes that theory refutable.

The below shows the last ten winners of this race and whether they were fresh or ran in the July:

2015: Futura (ran in the July), 2016: Marinaresco (ran in the July), 2017: Sail South (fresh), 2018: Captain America (fresh), 2019: Rainbow Bridge (ran in the July). 2020: Golden Ducat (ran in the July), 2021: Jet Dark (fresh), 2022: Jet Dark (ran in the July), 2023: Princess Calla (fresh, although ran on July day in the Garden Province), 2024: Dave The King (fresh).

So the tally is 5-5 in the last ten renewals.

Dave The King once again did not run in the Hollywoodbets Durban July, because he does not say the trip, and he will be going for a double-double i.e. winning both the Gr 1 wfa Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge and Gr 1 wfa HKJC Champions Cup for two seasons in succession. The Global View five-year-old gelding is a horse with a giant stride who is capable of unwinding a finish from 800m out, which makes him hard to beat at this tight track as he has proved when winning the Gold Challenge for the last two years and when winning this race last year. Callan Murray has ridden him in his last two starts, both wins, so knows him well and can get the best out of him from draw four.

The Real Prince proved his class when winning the Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Durban July over 2200m and will be a big runner if at his best from pole position. He had a weight advantage in the July and at weight for age level this is tougher, but in his penultimate start he was flying in effortless style from off the pace for fourth place in the Gr 2 IOS Drill Hall Stakes over 1400m, so he looks capable of making the step up and he will enjoy this trip. He is not as fresh as Dave The King, but the fact his connections are taking a chance shows that he has pulled up well from the July and from pole position he is a big runner.

Fire Attack had some minor issues that saw him missing the Gr 1 Daily News 2000 and trainer Alec Laird had his doubts he would have run in the July anyway. However, he made a fine comeback from a three month layoff on July 6, only just failing to catch the progressive Choisaanada in the Gr 3 4Racing Sea Cottage Stakes over 1800m, despite giving the latter 3kg. He possesses a strong finish and as a relatively fresh horse has a fine chance under champion jockey Richard , Fourie, although draw seven is tricky.

Gladatorian possesses a fine turn of foot as he proved when winning the Gr 2 IOS Drill Hall Stakes over 1400m and arriving only just too late when having some traffic problems and being beaten just 0,35 lengths by Dave The King in the Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge over 1600m. At last he has drawn well, so will be a massive runner if at his best, with the question mark being how much the July took out of him.

See It Again missed the July due to an abnormal blood count, but this dual Gr 1 winner over 2000m has shown this winter that he has at last settled down from his gelding at the beginning of the season and looks to be back to his best. He was touched off in the Drill Hall and was badly hampered in the Gold Challenge before running on, so a line can be drawn through the latter race. He has a middle draw of five and will be attempting to do better than his third place finish in this race last year and his second place in 2023.

Royal Victory never runs a bad race, but it has to be said that both of his Gr 1 wins were on the Highveld and in his only test in this class of field at weight for age level he was beaten was beaten 3,10 lengths in this race last year. He might have been tired from the July last year, whereas this year he has been supplemented into this race so is obviously in fine fettle. He was also only just touched off by Fire Attack in the Gr 1 wfa Premier’s Champions Challenge over 2000m on the Highveld in late March, so on paper he should finish on top of that one.

Montien is a highly effective handy to front-running sort when at his best. He has been most disappointing in the Champions Season this winter, but had wide draws to overcome in both races, the Drill Hall and Gold Challenge. From a good draw in this race he has the chance to show the class that carried him to second place in the Prestigious Gr 1 weight for age L’Ormarins King’s Plate over 1600m and to a 0,90 length third in the Gr 1 weight for age WSB Met over 2000m.

Son Of Raj is a former Gr 1 SA Derby winner and he has earned his merit rating of 119. However, the first seven mentioned above are all rated 125 or above, so he has a tough task here at the weights.

Litigation is rated only 113, so has it even tougher.

Dave The King is selected to beat The Real Prince with Fire Attack next best and Gladatorian, See It Again and Montien could follow them home in  that order.

Durban, South Africa – The countdown has begun! The 129th edition of Africa’s premier horse racing and social spectacular, the Hollywoodbets Durban July (HDJ), is set to take place on Saturday, 5th July 2025, at the iconic Hollywoodbets Greyville Racecourse. As the most anticipated fixture on South Africa’s racing calendar, the event seamlessly blends world-class horse racing with high fashion, entertainment, and a memorable social experience.

Staying true to the theme of “Marvels of Mzansi,” this year’s racing extravaganza promises an iconic line-up of South African talent, featuring a diverse array of artists set to captivate all attendees throughout the day. The national anthem will be beautifully performed by one of the country’s leading songstresses – look out for the reveal in May. With these performances, the thousands of attendees expected at Hollywoodbets Greyville will have a memorable experience. Stay tuned for the full artist line-up. All ticket holders can look forward to a day filled with live entertainment that will be talked about for years to come, as this year’s HDJ celebrates Mzansi’s vibrant spirit. 

Tickets for this outstanding event are now officially on sale via Ticketpro (www.ticketpro.co.za). Priced at R230 for general admission, your ticket grants access to a day of thrilling racing action, live entertainment, fashion showcases, gourmet food experiences, and an array of engaging activations from event partners. For added convenience, onsite parking is available for R170 per vehicle.

For those seeking an elevated experience, the VIP hospitality packages provide exclusive access to luxurious enclosures, premium viewing areas, and top-tier catering. These options can be explored on the official event website (www.hollywoodbetsdurbanjuly.co.za). Please note that VIP hospitality packages do not include general admission tickets, which must be purchased separately via Ticketpro.

This year’s theme, “Marvels Of Mzansi”, was unveiled in late February, marking the official commencement of the Hollywoodbets Durban July Fashion Experience, presented by Durban Fashion Fair. The fashion programme includes the much-anticipated HDJ Young Designer Award, showcasing the best up-and-coming talents from KwaZulu-Natal. The winners will share the spotlight with the HDJ Invited Designers and DFF Rising Stars at the HDJ Fashion Preview Gala, set to take place at Gateway Theatre of Shopping in late June.

Racing enthusiasts can also look forward to the announcement of the first official entrants on Wednesday, 23 April 2025. With last year’s champion, Oriental Charm, emerging as the early ante-post favourite, excitement is already building. 

Secure your tickets today and experience Africa’s greatest horse racing and social event, the Hollywoodbets Durban July!