Winchester Mansion, pictured fending off the three-year-old star See It Again by 0,25 lengths, would have had to carry 54kg and not 53kg last year had the weight conditions of the Hollywoodbets Durban July been the same as this year (Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images)
An important change has been made to the weight structure of the Hollywoodbets Durban July.
Furthermore, the Hollywoodbets Durban July conditions no longer contain automatic qualifying criteria.
The weight conditions used to be such that the minimum weight for any male runner was 53kg and the minimum weight for any female runner was 52kg.
However, the new conditions make the minimum weight for three-year-old males 53kg and the mnimum weight for males of four years and older 54kg.
The minimum weight for three-year-old fillies is still 52kg, but the minimum weight for females of four years and older is now 53kg.
Had this condition been in place last year the 0,25 length runner up See It Again would have had to give only 2,5kg to the winner Winchester mansion instead of 3,5kg, so on paper there would have been a different result.
It has long been been observed by both pundits and trainers that progressive four-year-olds often come into the July well weighted, so this looks to be a good conditions change.
The maximum weights remain the same i.e. 60kg for males of four years and older, 59kg for females of four years and older, 57kg for three-year-old males and 56kg for three-year-old females.
There used to be a number of races in which the winner automatically qualified for the July.
They included the Gr 1 events the L’Ormarins King’s Plate, the WSB Cape Town Met, the Splashout Cape Derby, the SA Classic, the Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Classic, the SA Derby, the Premier’s Champions Challenge, the Daily News 2000, the Woolavington 2000 and the Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge.
There were three races where the winner was given preferential consideration for inclusion in the final field, they being the Grade 1 Betway Summer Cup, the Grade 2 WSB 1900 and the Grade 3 Cup Trial.
That condition has also been removed.
The changes will put the ball in the court of the final field panelists.
Most of the winners of those races would usually be automatic qualifiers anyway.
However, last year the lowest rated horse in the race was actually a winner of one of the automatic qualifying races i.e. Bless My Stars, who won the Gr 1 Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Classic.
When she lined up off her 109 merit rating carrying the minimum weight for a three-year-old filly i.e. 52kg, she was 3kg under sufferance.
However, she vindicated her position in the final field by finishing third.
The July log is still a part of the conditions.
Read the conditions of the Hollywoodbets Durban July below:
