Piere Strydom kept See It Again up to his work throughout at last Thursday’s official Hollywoodbets Durban July Gallops (Candiese Lenferna Photography)

Trainer Michael Roberts said he had asked Piere Strydom what draw he would like before last week’s draw ceremony and the reply was “ten”, so he said he was going to be able to sleep soundly at night after duly drawing exactly ten.

See It Again is now joint favourite with the sponsor at 9/2 as Green With Envy has drifted out to those odds.

See It Again only just failed last year from draw seven carrying 56,5kg off a 124 merit rating, but this year he has to carry top weight of 60kg off a 131 rating.

However, the older horses have had their bottom weight increased to 54kg, which makes it easier for the topweight.

See It Again is 2kg worse off than weight for age with the best three-year-old Green With Envy, which won’t make it easy.

However, Michael said he would have come on from his last run, an excellent third in the weight for age Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge over 1600m and Strydom rode him all the way to the line in last Thursday’s official  Hollywoodbets Durban July gallop, which should put him spot on.

Roberts will be out to become the fourth man in history to win the July as both a jockey and a trainer, while Piere Strydom will be out to equal Anton Marcus’s record of five July-winning rides.

Owner Nick Jonsson is out to score a third July victory, having won it twice with his part-owned Do It Again.

However, if See It Again (or Double Superlative or Without Question) wins he will have his familiar cyclamen and spectrum green colours hanging on the Classic Room’s wall of honour for the first time.

The four-times July-winnning jockey Anthony Delpech tipped See It Again to wn at the Hollywoodbets Durban July Gallops panel discussion.

Gary Player leads in the appropriately named Double Grand Slam (Candiese Lenferna Photography)

Some will be looking to banker the smart Justin Snaith-trained Double Grand Slam in the Gr 1 Ridgemont Garden Province Stakes over 1600m on Hollywoodbets Durban July day, where she jumps from a plum draw of three under Richard Fourie.

Jonathan Snaith said about the filly’s stamina capacity and her well-being in the build up to this weight for age event for fillies and mares, “Double Grand Slam’s mother, Princess Peach (Captain Al), won her races over five and six furlongs, but we hope Vercingetorix would have given the mare more stamina and Double Grand Slam’s brother Star Coin (Gold Standard) won over 2000m, so one would believe a mile should be within her range.

She is built like a sprinter-miler and I’d say 7 furlongs would be her best trip, but a mile is achievable.

She’s improved and Justin has amended her work by including more stamina work in her program.

Her last four runs have been outstanding and she’s on the up.

There is going to be loads of pace in the Garden Province and one can expect Double Grand Slam and Silver Sanctury to be going their best work over the last furlong.”

Double Grand Slam already has a place in history as the horse who gave Fourie his record-breaking 335th win this season, when landing the Gr 2 East Coast Radio Tibouchina Stakes over 1400m.

The Varsfontein Stud-bred three-year-old filly is out to land her first Gr 1 win here for the ownership partnership of Gary Player, Dave McLean and Suzette Viljoen and she is currently a 2/1 shot with Hollywoodbets to do it.

As the expression goes, “For one to fly, one needs only to take the reins”. This was the case for the industrious duo of Francesca Snaith and Gina Goldsmith, the founders of equine insurance specialist Winx Brokers.

One seldom gets to talk about exciting news in the insurance world, writes The Sporting Post.

Finding the words ‘excitement’ and ‘insurance’ in the same sentence is as rare as breeding a Triple Crown winner! That said, the entrance of Winx Brokers into the equine insurance sector is newsworthy for numerous reasons.

Francesca and Gina’s business is named after Winx, possibly the world’s greatest-ever mare, with 37 wins, including 25 Group One races to her credit.

Both Gina and Francesca have a longstanding association with the horseracing industry.

Francesca, a seasoned insurance executive focused on short-term insurance, collaborated with Gina to commence the equine division of Goodsure Brokers.

The rapid growth in this division led to Francesca and Gina’s decision to separate this business from Goodsure through a management buyout so that it could function as a dedicated, standalone operation under their exclusive ownership and leadership.

And so Winx Brokers was born.

No doubt, it has been a busy period for the Winx team, with the launch of a new business, the opening of new offices, multiple yearlings and ready-to-run sales,  the launch of a new Sports Horse insurance division, and the impending launch of the Owner Administration division.

Activity for the Winx crew will not be letting up anytime soon, with the BSA 2024 KZN Yearling Sale just days away.

When asked about the new Sporting Horse division, Francesca explained: “Gina and I have been in and around horse racing for a long time. The Sporting Horse world was a logical next step for us. We convinced Tamara to join Team Winx, and we are now out the gates with our Sporting Horse offering at a rapid pace!”

The ‘Tamara’ that Francesca is referring to is Tamara Rueda, one of this country’s leading show jumpers.

When asked about her new role, Tamara added, “The energy and passion that Francesca and Gina have for Winx is infectious – I could not pass up on the opportunity to be a part of its growth and evolution.”

Tamara is the granddaughter of renowned racehorse owner Shirley Pfeiffer, who owned Flaming Rock and many others – a venerable racing dynasty. Interestingly, Flaming Rock won the 1991 Rothman’s Durban July and was trained by Francesca’s father-in-law, Chris Snaith.

As for the Owner Administration division, Gina explained that this is a critical next step in providing a full-service platform for Winx’s clients.

“We could not offer this service without experienced, knowledgeable and well-regarded professionals at the helm. We are exceptionally fortunate that Jo Knowles is coming on board to spearhead this effort. Dealing with owners, trainers and horse sales is second nature to Jo, and we cannot think of anyone more suited to run this business unit.”

We asked Francesca and Gina about their plans and goals for the future.

Gina explained that Winx’s mantra is to always put the client first and be available 24/7/365 to provide the best customer service possible.

Francesca added that based on the depth of Winx’s client relationships and her background in short-term insurance, it is a logical next step for Winx to provide all short-term insurance (and not just equine) to their clients.

South Africa has very few exclusively female-owned (and staffed) insurance firms. But we doubt too many people will be betting against Winx’s success.

First as Goodsure Equine and now as Winx, Gina and Francesca have rapidly built a sizable presence in the equine insurance market from a standing start. In speaking with the Winx team, the excitement is palpable.

Gina, no doubt, is doubly excited as her horse Oriental Charm – owned in partnership with Leon Ellman and Greg Bortz – will be contesting arguably South Africa’s greatest race, the 2024 Hollywoodbets Durban July. Oriental Charm is currently priced up at 7/1 with Hollywoodbets.

If Oriental Charm can run with the same determination and focus as Gina and Francesca, who knows…he might just be a serious runner! We hope he is insured!

Details of the Winx offering, together with all contact information, can be obtained at  www.winxbrokers.co.za or by contacting Francesca Snaith (francesca@winxbrokers.co.za) or Gina Goldsmith (gina@winxbrokers.co.za) directly.

City Of Troy, ridden by Ryan Moore, on their way to winning the Derby. Photograph: John Walton/PA

Hollywoodbets Durban July day always coincides with the prestigious Gr 1 Coral-Eclipse Stakes and this year’s renewal is being eagerly anticipated.

RTE.ie reported on the latest developments below:

City Of Troy and White Birch look to be on course for a mouthwatering clash of the generations at Sandown on Saturday after the pair featured among 11 confirmations for the Coral-Eclipse.

Having put 2000 Guineas disappointment behind him with an imperious display in the Derby, City Of Troy will be a warm order to provide Aidan O’Brien with an eighth Eclipse success. The Ballydoyle handler has also left in Continuous, Hans Anderson and last month’s Coronation Cup hero Luxembourg.

City Of Troy will be meeting his elders for the first time and his biggest threat appears to be the four-year-old White Birch, who is three from three this season for John Joseph Murphy.

The grey was last seen claiming the notable scalp of City Of Troy’s esteemed stablemate and subsequent Prince of Wales’s Stakes winner Auguste Rodin in the Tattersalls Gold Cup. White Birch was also under consideration for Royal Ascot before an unsatisfactory blood test scuppered his participation.

Roget Teal’s Dancing Gemini could renew rivalry with City Of Troy after finishing sixth in the Derby, while the Clive Cox-trained Ghostwriter has also proven himself a high-class three-year-old by finishing fourth in both the 2000 Guineas and the French Derby.

Brian Meehan’s Hampton Court victor Jayarebe and Andrew Balding’s filly See The Fire are the other two potential runners from the Classic generation, with Joseph O’Brien’s Al Riffa and Stay Alert from Hughie Morrison’s yard completing the acceptors.