Picture: The Real Prince is led in with the master minds behind the win, trainer Dean Kannemeyer and Khaya Stables racing manager Jehan Malherbe, hanging back on the right and left hand side respectively. (Candiese Lenferna Photography).
The Hollywoodbets Durban July has come and gone, but its effect on the racing fan usually lingers and perhaps attracts a few more to take an interest in a sport rooted in history.
The dissection of the big race will last for weeks, but here are a few points to note:
South Africa’s chief handicapper Lennon Maharaj is often the best person to follow in the big race and he got it right again. Eight Of Eighteen was rated 129 and owing to there not being an older horse rated any higher than 127 he ended up 2kg well in when his weight was dropped to 57kg, the minimum weight for a three-year-old. So were there any horses who could then beat him? Yes there was only one horse, i.e the horse whose route into the big race had specifically involved avoiding the handicapper and that was The Real Prince.
In his previous start he had finished a 1,35 length fourth to Gladatorian in the Gr 2 IOS Drill Hall Stakes and had he run in, instead of avoiding, the Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge and finished the same distance behind Gladatorian he would have had to carry 2kg more in the July, and that was not even taking into account that he had to come from a wide draw in the Drill Hall.
The big question of course was whether The Real Prince would stay, considering the close up speed in his pedigree extending from his full brother, Equus Champion Sprinter Gimme A Prince, through his Gr 1 SA Fillies Sprint-winning dam Real Princess, and stamina only being found under his third dam. His second dam Pagan Princess was a sibling to middle distance-to-staying superstar Victory Moon as well as to champion stayer Kelly. But milers have won the July before, with 1991 winner Flaming Rock being the best example and the key appears to be the ability to relax and then fly home, while a slow pace also helps. Intrestingly, Flaming Rock and The Real Prince ran identical times, a relatively slow 134,2 seconds.
Trainer Dean Kannemeyer said The Real Prince had pulled up extremely well from Saurday, but although he would be entered in the Gr 1 Champions Cup, to be run in three weeks time on Gold Cup day over 1800m, he was more than likely done for the season.
Justin Snaith’s disappointment at not adding a sixth Hollywoodbets Durban July to his CV was there for all to see in a video taken of him during the race. It must be gut wrenching to have the best horse in the race and still be denied despite the horse’s courage in the final stages. It is annoying in an equal amount for the purist to see comments on social media saying Eight On Eighteen is overrated. The truth is the Lancaster Bomber colt was easily the best performed horse in the race. He was 2,5kg worse off with weight for age than the winner, so officially performed 2.69 lengths better than him, and the only pair he was better off than weight for age with were topweights Gladatorian and Oriental Charm, with whom he was 1kg better off with weight for age than. He officially performed 3,82 lengths better than Gladatorian and 7,42 lengths better than Oriental Charm. Eight On Eighteen ran on equal weight for age terms with Royal Victory and was worse off than weight for age with the rest of the field, so performance-wise he thrashed the field.
Royal Victory was the third best performed horse in the race, finishing fourth, 2,85 lengths behind Eight On Eighteen on weight for age terms. The Nathan Kotzen-trained five-year-old Pathfork gelding was strangely ignored by pundits and punters, drifting out to 33/1 at one stage, despite his consistency on the big stage. He ran on strongly from off the pace and also proved his Hollywoodbets Durban July Gallop antics had had nothing to do with the blinkers, which he wore for the first time over a 2000m trip or beyond.
Muzi Yeni was aboard Royal Victory and must be wondering whether an elusive win in the big race will ever happen as he has now had one second, three thirds, two fourths and two fifths.
A question that has surfaced is whether Richard Fourie moved too early on Eight On Eighteen? Last year’s race was considered a crawl and was actually 0,56 seconds quicker than this year’s, so Fourie was probably justified in moving early, especially considering the winner is a full brother to the champion sprinter Gimme A Prince and in a crawl-sprint race would have had a good chance of outsprinting the opposition. In any case one of the moments of the day was the sportmanship shown by Fourie in congratulating his good friend and fierce rival Craig Zackey after the finish.
Horses that travelled from Johannesburg had won the last two Hollywoodbets Durban Julys, the Brett Crawford-trained pair Winchester Mansion and Oriental Charm respectively, but in this year’s renewal, amazingly enough, the only eight horses that traveled for the race filled the last eight places.
Apparently most of the horses that traveled from Jo’Burg were loaded in cold and rainy conditions, while Atticus Finch, who arrived at Summerveld six days before the event, suffered epistaxis in the race and the East Cape horse My Best Shot was perhaps not good enough. Interestingly, Highveld trainer Candice Dawson, who won the Gr 2 Omoda Golden Horseshoe with Chronicle King, traveled her runners down on Thursday together with the Mike and Adam Azzie horses and that was the day before the rain and freeze.
Dean Kannemeyer has had four July winners and three of them have names related to royalty, Dynasty, Power King and The Real Prince, so when King Pelles and Chroncle King won the Durban Gold Vase and Omoda Golden Horseshoe respectively, omen watchers might have backed The Real Prince!
Double Grand Slam proved herself the best filly in the land by winning the Gr 1 Ridgemont Garden Province Stakes under Andrew Fortune, who provided the crowd with extra entertainment. It was a second win on the day for the legendary Gary Player, who also part-owns King Pelles, and Double Grand Slam increased the tally over her fierce rival Rascova to 8-5.
There will be many other points of debate in the aftermath of the country’s greatest race, which has been taken to a new level in the first year of the existence of Race Coast, which included many quality renovations to the course facilities and the use of the new state of the art LED floodlights for the night time races and for a spectacular light show.
