Durban July 2014 Archives

July No Lottery!

Our alleged biggest race of the year should not have come down in effect to it being a lottery – not a lottery where people put their hands in a drum and pull out a number – but one which involves an awful lot of the human element, opinion, feelings and dare I say it, financial interest ante-post. Why is it so hard not to have a pre race field of 16 runners and stick with it? If they thought the draw was a big surprise, when it came to the final horse being announced, I did not hear too much surprise in the room!

30th June 2014 2 Comments

Could Pace Wreck July?

The now notorious ‘Cape Crawl’ appears to be a spreading virus. One hopes that the scourge does not spread to next weekend’s Vodacom Durban July but the signs are ominous

27th June 2014 4 Comments

July History In Striker’s Sights

There is a lot of talk about the Daily News and what happened in the running. The bottom line is that everything went wrong for Legislate and he still won. That is a major positive. He is a worthy favourite. But, I have been there before and am not going down without a fight…

26th June 2014 No Comments

Futura: How Did Hatt Know?

While I think Futura certainly deserves a run and is a horse of interest to the public, he never even came close to meeting Gold Circle’s criteria and it does nothing to enhance their reputation as a clandestine, gung-ho, ‘we will do as we please’ type of company, writes Joey Ramsden

25th June 2014 3 Comments

Punta Arenas – Honest As The Day Is Long

Punta Arenas is as honest as the day is long, he absolutely thrives in Durban and we’re confident that he does his best at Greyville.

24th June 2014 No Comments

Top Jock’s July Choice

This horse will be Fourie’s fifth July ride. The closest he has come so far was seventh on Russian Sage in 2008. Grant Van Niekerk, Muzi Yeni and MJ Byeleveld also get their chances

23rd June 2014 1 Comment

Futura Makes The Cut

Gold Circle confirm the final field for the 2014 Vodacom Durban July. Futura is in and Capetown Noir is carded to run with blinkers for the first time.

22nd June 2014 14 Comments

July Freebies And More!

Final field, draws and gallops to look forward to next week. But let’s get the July debate going! Does Futura warrant a place in the final field of 16? Please post a comment and tell us why and who, in your opinion, deserves to get in ahead of him

19th June 2014 12 Comments

Sons Of The Fathers

Both the Vodacom Durban July favourite Legislate and the topweight King Of Pain are sired by former winners of the race

18th June 2014 No Comments

July Weights Furore

If the complainants are correct, the NHRA would not have been entitled to re-handicap the race and the three-year-olds Captain America and Futura would have instead been dragged upwards 2kg to 55kg

17th June 2014 3 Comments

Champion Miler:Definite For July

The four-year-old is likely to wear blinkers for the first time on July 5 when Kannemeyer will be bidding for his third July win. The Milnerton trainer is adamant that not too much should be read into the horse’s defeat in the Rising Sun Gold Challenge

17th June 2014 No Comments

From Chaos To Reform

16th May 2024

Charl Pretorius writes in his Off The Record column on the 4Racing website that owners, trainers and racing fans are gravely concerned about the state of our industry

The Rise And Rise Of Gambling In South Africa

10th May 2024

‘One reason why Phumelela did not succeed in its objectives was the misunderstanding of the business of gambling by its board, and its failure to recognize the major TRENDS in gambling and gaming’ – Robin Bruss

Durban July 2014