Jack Milner
The biggest race right now the one that is on for places in the final field of the R5-million Hollywoodbets Durban July on Saturday 5 July.
That all begins at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Saturday with the running of the Grade 3 World Sports Betting 1900.
This race is one the key qualifying events for the main showdown and Justin Snaith has a strong hand in the field with four runners in the 14-horse field.
The Western Cape-based champion trainer has started Champions Season off with a bang having run first and second in last week’s Grade 2 World Sports Betting Guineas with Sail The Seas and Eight On Eighteen respectively.
Snaith won this race in 2024 with Future Swing, a four-year-old the yard thought would have a big chance in the Durban July. But in that race the horse suffered a lot of interference and ended up near the rear of the field.
The Futura gelding will be back again this year and perhaps with a bit of luck he will get a fair-run race this year.
Future Swing beat Brett Crawford’s Oriental Charm (who would go on to capture the July) but he carried just 54kg then and now, carrying 60kg, is set to give most of his field weight. He will come on for the run, but it is worth noting that Richard Fourie has stuck with him.
Four-year-old Underworld is one of the most improved horses around, he won a tough 1900m Pinnacle Stakes on the Polytrack with ease before showing he can win at Greyville on the turf in what was a competitive 1600m event in his last outing.
He has done little wrong and must be in with a chance carrying just 56kg. Gavin Lerena gets the ride on Underworld, so he must come into the reckoning.
However, perhaps both Fourie and Lerena would prefer to ride Okavango, one of two three-year-olds Snaith has in the field. However, with just 52kg on his back that opened the door for Muzi Yeni who wasted no time jumping off Underworld on whom he won last time, to ride the Master Of My Fate gelding.
He is a half-brother to Master Sabina who won the Grade 1 Summer Cup twice at Turffontein. He could be the stable’s dark horse for the July as he has sidestepped the Classics and could go into the July with a handy weight.
Okavango is on the up, having won three of his last four starts and didn’t raise a sweat to win his track debut. Carrying 61.5kg, he was sent off an 11-20 favourite to win a Class 4 Handicap over 1800m, and the outcome was never in doubt.
He will need to qualify for the Durban July as his current merit rating of 96 is well short of what is needed for the big race, which is why he could be very well weighted for this event.
Despite coming into the race with just 52kg on his back, Okavango is out at the weights based on his merit rating. However, he looks to be much better than his rating indicates. He has a solid finish and could be hard to fend off with that light weight.
Yeni, of course, has been delivering winners for the Snaith yard, including the WSB Guineas on sail The Sea last Saturday.
Snaith’s other youngster, Native Ruler, ran fourth in the Cape Derby, which is proving to be an excellent form line, so he has shown he can mix it with the best. But he is back from a break, but it is quite possible he can end up running into the Quartet and should give a good account of himself and in doing so, give a boost to his merit rating. JP van der Merwe in the irons.
A horse to include in Swingers, Exactas and Trifectas is Glen Kotzen’s strong frontrunner Holding Thumbs who has been hard to catch down the long straight at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth. He is also vying for a place in the July and even carrying 56kg could make things tough for all.
But Snaith’s best on the day must be Regulation who has also been held in very high regard. He in fact had the look of a horse for the big races and as such he could be quite under-rated in Race 8, a Class 4 Handicap over 1900m.
Jack Milner’s selections
Race 1: 4 Are You Sure, 7 Clickbait, 6 Champagne Problems, 8 Life On The Tides
Race 2: 1 Priory Terrace, 6 Gorgeous Bomb, 8 Emoyeni, 2 Queen Fenn
Race 3: 7 K M V Retrofit, 5 Alex Miller, 8 Splash Of Love, 4 Promise Of Fire
Race 4: 7 Lemon Thyme, 9 Another Dream, 4 Greenlight Skye, 3 World Chorus
Race 5: 6 Sohot Sowhat, 8 Captain Peg, 1 Two G's, 3 Khethiwe's Destiny
Race 6: 1 The Abdicator, 2 Luhamba Phambili, 4 Bourbon Warrior, 7 Ziyasha
Race 7: 8 Okavango, 6 Future Swing, 5 Underworld, 9 Native Ruler
Race 8: 4 Regulation, 9 Harun Al Rashid, 3 Vila Vicosa, 2 El Rey Viene
Race 9: 2 Princess Palace, 11 Ubukhwebezana, 6 Ethereal View, 1 Rugger Lover
BEST BET
Race 8: 4 Regulation
VALUE BET
Race 4: 7 Lemon Thyme
BEST SWINGER
Race 2 1x6
BIPOT
R324
Leg 1: 1, 6
Leg 2: 5, 7, 8
Leg 3: 4, 7, 9
Leg 4: 1, 6, 8
Leg 5: 1, 2
Leg 6: 5, 6, 8
PLACE ACCUMULATOR
R324
Leg 1: 5, 7, 8
Leg 2: 4, 7, 9
Leg 3: 1, 6, 8
Leg 4: 1, 2
Leg 5: 6, 8
Leg 6: 4
Leg 7: 2, 6, 11
PICK 6
R1620
Leg 1: 3, 4, 5 7, 9
Leg 2: 1, 6, 8
Leg 3: 1, 2, 4, 7, 9, 10
Leg 4: 5, 6, 8
Leg 5: 4
Leg 6: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 11
JACKPOT 1
R54
Leg 1: 1, 6, 8
Leg 2: 1, 2, 4, 7, 9, 10
Leg 3: 5, 6, 8
Leg 4: 4
JACKPOT 2
R108
Leg 3: 1, 2, 4, 7, 9, 10
Leg 4: 5, 6, 8
Leg 5: 4
Leg 6: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 11