Durban July double for Crawford

Oriental Charm led from gun to tape to give trainer Brett Crawford his second successive victory in the Hollywoodbets Durban July on Saturday.

Under a clever ride from by JP van der Merwe, Oriental Charm kept going up the straight to fight off the attention of a number of challengers to eventually hold off Sean Tarry-trained Cousin Casey by 0.30 lengths.

The colt is owned by Greg Bortz, Leon Ellman and Gina Goldsmith.

Third place went to Royal Victory with Flag Man in fourth.

Top weight See It Again was a touch unlucky after being involved in some scrimmaging around the 1400m mark and Piere Strydom was then forced to check off the heels of the winner who cut across his bows shortly before that line.

Van der Merwe was subsequently recommended for a 16-day suspension by the stipendiary stewards.

Favourite Green With Envy had every chance and although running on stoutly he did not make up the ground fast enough and finish some two lengths off the winner.

Oriental Charm enjoyed the exact same preparation for the race as stable companion Winchester Mansion last year, running second in the Grade 2 WSB 1900 and following up with by winning the Grade 3 Hollywoodbets Dolphins Cup Trial as Crawford plotted a meticulous passage into the big race.

Strydom may have taken some rough medicine in the Hollywoodbets Durban July but made up for it with a brilliant front-running ride aboard Humdinger in the Grade 1 Ridgemont Garden Province Stakes as he kept just enough in reserve to hold off Happy Chance to deny Crawford a Grade 1 double.

Third was heavily supported Double Grand Slam who unfortunately took a blow across the nose as Richard Fourie tried for a closing gap, but she did stay on stoutly for third.

Trained by Mike de Kock, Humdinger has performed well at the highest level without managing a Grade 1 win but does have an affinity with Hollywoodbets Greyville.

Earlier, Quid Pro Quo built on her win in the Grade 1 Allan Robertson Championship with an emphatic victory in the Grade 2 Zulu Kingdom Explorer and confirmed herself as the best juvenile filly racing at present.

Trained by Barend Botes and ridden by S’manga Khumalo, Quid Pro Quo came from well off the pace at the top of the straight to scythe through the opposition and put over two lengths over outsiders Fatal Flaw and VJ’s Angel.

Favourite Gimme’s Countess had every chance but failed to fire.

Proceed and Cosmic Speed finished one-two in the Grade 1 Gold Medallion at Hollywoodbets Scottsville for Sean Tarry which they did again in the Grade 2 Durban Golden Horseshoe but this time the positions were reversed.

Cosmic Speed took advantage of jumping from pole position under Craig Zackey and sprinted clear of his field. Proceed, who jumped from the extreme outside draw, looked dangerous for a few strides but had no answers to his stable companion’s finishing burst with the judges unable to separate Cat’s Pajamas and The Specialist in a dead-heat for third.

A crowd of 40,000 packed into Hollywoodbets Greyville where legendary group Mango Groove sang the National Anthem. The Pick 6 pool reached a record R15 million with the Place Accumulator reaching R1.98 million.

HOW THEY FINISHED IN THE HOLLYWOODBETS DURBAN JULY

Res St Sc# Horse              Age Sex Draw  Mass  Length   Time  MR A B T M H-KG O-Bet S-Bet   Trainer            Jockey 
  1    11  ORIENTAL CHARM      3   C   11   53.0   0.00  133.66 121 A         0 7/1    10/1   Brett Crawford     J P v'd Merwe
  2    15  COUSIN CASEY        4   C   15   56.0   0.30  133.71 123 A         0 20/1   25/1   Sean Tarry         S Khumalo
  3     1  ROYAL VICTORY       4   G    1   57.0   1.40  133.88 125 A         0 10/1   10/1   Nathan Kotzen      M Yeni
  4    17  FLAG MAN            3   G   17   55.5   1.70  133.93 126 A         0 25/2   14/1   Gareth van Zyl     S Moodley
  5    10  SEE IT AGAIN        4   C   10   60.0   1.80  133.95 131 A B       0 9/2    10/1   Michael Roberts    P Strydom
  6    18  FUTURE PEARL        4   G   18   54.0   2.10  133.99 117 A   T     0 16/1   33/1   Sean Tarry         G van Niekerk
  7  F  5  GREEN WITH ENVY     3   C    5   56.0   2.60  134.08 127 A         0 4/1    7/2    Dean Kannemeyer    C Zackey
  8     2  BARBARESCO          3   G    2   53.5   3.50  134.23 122 A     e   0 25/1   8/1    J A Janse van Vuur G Lerena
  9    16  DOUBLE SUPERLATIVE  5   H   16   56.5   4.80  134.44 124 A         0 33/1   50/1   Justin Snaith      D Muscutt
 10    14  MASTER REDOUTE      5   G   14   54.0   4.95  134.46 115 A   T     0 33/1   40/1   Andre Nel          C Orffer
 11    19  HLUHLUWE            3   G    3   53.0   5.35  134.54 116 A         0 25/1   40/1   Justin Snaith      R A Venniker
 12     9  WINCHESTER MANSION  5   G    9   56.5   6.15  134.67 124 A C       0 16/1   7/1    Brett Crawford     K Matsunyane
 13     7  ARAGOSTA            5   G    7   54.0   7.15  134.83 116 A         0 40/1   25/1   Mike de Kock       M V'Rensburg
 14     8  PURPLE PITCHER      3   C    8   53.0  10.25  135.34 120 A         0 20/1   33/1   Robyn Klaasen      P Mxoli
 15    13  MERIDIUS            4   G   13   54.0  12.35  135.69 113 A         0 66/1   40/1   Tony Peter         A Mgudlwa
 16     4  FUTURE SWING        4   G    4   54.0  18.05  136.62 110 A         0 6/1    25/2   Justin Snaith      R Fourie
 17    12  SON OF RAJ          4   G   12   54.0  19.55  136.87 119 A B       0 25/1   40/1   Tony Peter         C Habib
 18     6  SHOEMAKER           4   G    6   54.0  99.99    0.00 111 A         0 40/1   33/1   Mike de Kock       D De Gouveia
Scr     3  WITHOUT QUESTION    4   G    3   54.5  99.99    0.00 120 A         0 25/1   25/1   Justin Snaith      
Scr    20  HOTARUBI            3   G    0   53.0  99.99    0.00 116 A C T     0               Sean Tarry         

More Later/