The 2026 Hollywoodbets Durban July produces a thrilling finish in the first renewal with a new 10kg long handicap weight structure (Picture: Race Coast)
The Holywoodbets Durban July’s new 10kg weight spread has generally been well received, but the topweight having to carry 62kg has opinions divided.
The consequence of the topweight being 62kg was seen in that three of the country’s top weight for age horses, The Real Prince, See It Again and Eight On Eighteen, avoided the race and will line up instead in the Gr 1 wfa Champions Cup, while other highly rated horses Atticus Finch and Fire Attack were also pulled out. This was despite the lure of the R10 million stake.
There are arguments for the 62kg topweight staying intact with one of the chief ones being that it throws the race open to all comers and brings small yards and small owners into it. If some of the top horses are going to stay out it will give some lowly rated horses a chance and with that comes more chance of an inexpensive horse with small-time owners winning the race. It might also lead to a humdinger of a Gr 1 Champions Cup every year with the top horses preferring that race to the July.
Furthermore, the supporters of the current system pointed to Saturday and said it had not detracted from the intrigue and the excitement of the build up and the race itself had been as exciting as usual, even if the quality of the field was not high by usual July standards.
However, there is one real concern if the 62kg topweight benchmark stays intact.
It has to be questioned whether the eventual topweight for this year’s renewal, Legal Counsel, would take his place with hindsight. He ran a shorthead second in the Gr 1 wfa Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge and followed it by being beaten 12,10 lengths into 12th in the July. As he had already proved himself a weight for age horse by finishing second in the WSB Met he would have been better served going straight into the Champions Cup than running in the July with that big weight.
So had he, for argument’s sake, not taken his place in the July, who would the next 62kg incumbent have been and would the connections also have decided to be kind to him or her by pulling the horse out?
Dominoes could happen with each successive 62kg incumbent being scratched until eventually the top three-year-old is set to carry 62kg and is then also pulled out.
So the big question is whether a weight spread of 60kg to 50kg is feasible, thus keeping the 10kg spread but lessening the amount the topweight has to carry?
Some would argue that it is not the big weight of 62kg that is the problem, but the amount of weight that has to be conceded i.e. 10kg.
However, it should be worth giving the 60kg to 50kg spread a chance as it does sound like a much more reasonable weight to carry and might lead to less scratchings in the early stages.
The benefit of this spread would be the quality of the field potentially being better. as most fans would like to see the best horses running and it would also enable the race to keep its Gr 1 status.
Of the 63 initial entries this year the initial topweight was See It Again on 130 and there were 24 horses who had a nett merit rating of 114 or higher, which would have meant a weight spread of 8kg had the horses all stood their ground.
The reason for the above sentence is because under the rules a handicap must have a bottom weight of a minimum of 52kg.
If the bottom weight is made 50kg it would likely have to be called a handicap with conditions to get around the rules.
The other danger of making bottom weight 50kg is the question of whether there would be enough riders who can ride to 50kg in the case of there being a number of bottom weights, which could happen if a very highly rated horse stands his ground.
A quick survey done shows there should be enough jockeys, although the quality of jockey might be compromised.
Looking at this year’s race it would have only needed three jockeys to carry 50kg and six to carry less than 52kg if the weight spread had been 60kg to 50kg and that was despite the plethora of scratchings as well as two reserves coming in.
With a 60kg topweight there are likely to be less scratchings and the weight spread could feasibly be smaller than 10kg.
The first year of the 10kg spread saw an exciting build up and race alongside the many on course improvements Hollywoodbets have brought in.
However, the 62kg question was the one most spoken about by the racing purists on the day, some of whom wanted the old system brought back with its weight restrictions per age group and gender.
There were some who recommended a straight handicap with a 60kg to 52kg spread, while others were happy with the 62kg to 52kg spread.
However, considering the popularity if the 10kg spread, there were plenty who thought the 60kg to 50kg spread would be a good option and would lead to a higher quality race than this year’s.
One idea brought up which should also be mentioned before ending this article was to make the consolation race, known this year as the Magical Zulu Kingdom Campanajo 2200, a very lucrative handicap race in order to ostensibly have a very lucrative and very long handicap. i.e. two lucrative handicaps, each with a 60kg to 52kg spread.
The weight structure of the Hollywoodbets Durban July is an intriguing subject and there is sure to be plenty of further discussion on it.
