S’Manga Khumalo rides Rain In Holland in the Hollywoodbets Durban July (Sean Tarry Racing).
Khumalo Out To Make History On Rain
Anybody who rides a horse trained by Sean Tarry in the Hollywoodbets Durban July has a chance and S’Manga Khumalo gets the ride on Rain Holland, one of three horses the masterful trainer still has standing.
Khumalo will be out to join C MacDonald (1900/1901), Syd Garrett (1919/1920), Anthony Delpech (2010/2011) and Richard Fourie (2019/2020) as jockeys to have won the July two years in succession.
However, he will be the first to do it with two fillies.
If Rain In Holland wins it will be the first time in history females have won the race two years in succession.
Khumalo was praised last year for one of the great July rides.
He made his winning move from the off on the Mike de Kock-trained Silvano filly Sparkling Water, finding the rail from draw 12, before settling her into a handy position and then kicking for home at the top of the straight culminating in a three length victory.
Sparkling Water was the fifth Silvano to win the July, which makes him the greatest July sire in history.
Khumalo’s first July win was on the Tarry-trained Silvano gelding Heavy Metal in 2013.
He became the first black jockey to win the big race.
He had also won the Summer Cup (Wagner) and Champions Challenge (Heavy Metal) that season and when he completed the big race treble by winning the July his confidence soared.
Two weeks after the July, he rode the first five legs of the Pick 6 at Turffontein, including the Jackpot.
He went on to become the 2013/2014 national champion jockey, booting home 183 winners.
He set a personal best 198 the following season when finishing second in the championship to Gavin Lerena in the 2014/2015 championship.
He then won the championship for a second time in 2015/2016 with 243 wins.
Year’s ending in three have been memorable for Khumalo during his career so far.
His first ever winner was in 2003.
His first July win was in 2013.
Will 2023 bring a third July win for both Khumalo and Tarry?
The Duke Of Marmalade filly Rain In Holland has won eleven of her 21 races and has won a Gr 1 as a two-year-old, as a three-year-old and as a four-year-old.
She also landed the Wilgerbosdrift Triple Tiara.
As far as weight carrying feats go, she can follow in the footseteps of the first filly to ever win the Triple Tiara, Igugu.
No female has ever carried as big a weight to July victory as that which Rain In Holland is being asked to carry, i.e. 56.5kg.
However, Igugu pulled off a bigger weight carrying feat than that, because she was only a three-year-old when carrying 55kg to victory in the 2011 July.
As the weight for age allowance for three-year-olds is 2kg on July day, Igugu’s feat was the equivalent of an older filly carrying 57kg.
The two fillies have one other thing in common: Both of their sires, the immortal Galileo and the five-times Gr 1-winner Duke Of Marmalade, won Britain’s most prestigious open weight for age race, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
Rain In Holland is currently a 25/2 shot with the sponsor.
Hold My Hand (Candiese Lenferna Photography)
Fourie Can Change The Luck For Kotzen Stable
Jockey partners trainer’s filly, Hold My Hand, in the Track & Ball Oaks at Scottsville
Gavin Lerena puts the cherry on top for Buffalo33 as Ballroom Bliss wins the last – the loose horse keeps on a straight line, thankfully! (Pic – JC Photos)
Another Week – Another Big Winner!
Lifetime punter celebrates
Sporting Post
Make time to complete the programmatically generated betslip and wager a minimum of R50 as it doubles your payout!
That’s the message from Gauteng-based Buffalo33, the latest big winner in the Hollywoodbets Punters’ Challenge who scooped the all-or-nothing jackpot prize of R720 000 at the Turffontein standside racemeeting on Thursday.
A lifetime punter, and a regular fan of the Hollywoodbets Punters’ Challenge, the 55 year old Buffalo33 selected all eight winners at the Thursday racemeeting – and told the Sporting Post that they were all horses he had black-booked as ‘to follows’.
But he realises that his R720 000 could so easily have been R1 440 000, had he opted to wager a minimum of R50 on the betslip form generated on entry.
“I am a regular daily punter – and have been forever. My account will show that. I have had a hectically busy week at work. Racing was rained out in midweek, so I lost a measure of momentum. I did my Hollywoodbets Punters’ Challenge selections for today on Wednesday evening between my work – I meant to take my doubles and trebles and just dropped the ball. What a pity, but I am thrilled and grateful to Hollywoodbets – it’s been a tough year with the ponies and this changes it in the blink of an eye,” he enthused.
Buffalo33’s win came just under a week after George single Mom Awas111 became the first female winner of SA’s most popular horseracing competition and banked what was a lifechanging R830 000 all-or-nothing jackpot prize at Fairview.
Asked where his alias Buffalo33 originates, the winner explained that he was given the nickname Buffalo years ago in his poker playing days, and 33 just happened to be his lucky number.
Asked what he fancied for the Hollywoodbets Durban July, the happy winner says he has a feeling that the 2013 Heavy Metal winning combination of Sean Tarry and Smanga Khumalo will be back with Rain In Holland. She is currently quoted at 25-2 in the Hollywoodbets ante-post market.
The Fairview first is off at 12h40 on Youth Day and that’s another chance to win in the Hollywoodbets Punters’ Challenge!
Get your free Hollywoodbets Punters Challenge entry in early – it must be in at least five minutes before the off of the first race.
Big Number Of Entries For HWB Durban July Day Supporting Features
Jack Milner (4Racing)
Kyle Strydom Now A Qualified Jockey
Luke Ferraris winning the first race on Wednesday (Hkjc.com)
Ferraris Double Takes Him Within One Of 30 Wins
Luke Ferraris scored a double at Happy Valley on Wednesday and it took him to 29 wins for the season in Hong Kong.
He has ridden at a strike rate of 6.87% and his mounts have earned HK$42,517,750 in stakes.
Ferraris was on the Jimmy Ting-trained 12/1 shot Concerto (Dalakhani) in the first race of the meeting.
From a handy position he kicked for home on the inside in the Class 5 1650m event and Concerto lost his maiden tag by winning easing up by 3,50 lengths.
In the third race, a Class 4 Handicap over 1000m, Ferraris was on the David Hall-trained 5/2 shot first-timer Fast Serve (Swiss Ace).
The three-year-old NZ-bred gelding showed tremendous early pace to reach the turn in front from draw three and he then kept going in the straight to win by a neck.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE REPLAY
Milnerton training track this morning (Shane Humby Racing).
Heavy Rains In Cape Town Flood Milnerton Track
Shane Humby Racing took this picture of one of the training tracks at Milnerton.
Cape Racing have abandoned the race meeting at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth scheduled for Sunday 18 June 2023.
The Perfect Promise Sprint and Somerset 1200, already postponed twice, will move to Saturday 24 June 2023
Silver Sword will be in good shape for Royal Ascot (Dylan Cunha Racing LTD)
Dylan Cunha-trained Silver Sword On Track For Royal Ascot
Dylan Cunha pulled off a fine training feat on Epsom Derby day with Silver Sword, a three-year-old Charm Spirit gelding who had refused to race in his only two starts last year.
He finished second under Greg Cheyne in the Betfred Lester Piggott Handicap over one mile and two furlongs on Derby day and earned a cheque of £18,127.50.
That was his fourth start this season and improved his record to one win and two seconds.
He is now heading for a lucrative handicap called the Golden Gates Stakes at the Royal Ascot meeting next week.
The Golden Gates Stakes is a handicap race run over 1m 1f 212y and is one of the feature races on the final day of Royal Ascot and is open to horses aged three years olds.
The prize money split for the race is: 1st:£51,540.00 2nd:£24,170.00 3rd:£12,090.00 4th:£6,040.00 5th:£3,020.00 6th:£1,510.00.
A clue to the answer is given above (Candiese Lenferna Photography).
Today’s Question
How many trainers have won the Hollywoodbets Durban July three years in succession?
Great four-times July-winning trainer Jim Russell with his twice July winner Pamphlet. (Photo: Form Organisation).
