Durban July ducking and diving under way

The usual “duck and dive” strategies ahead of the Hollywoodbets Durban July have begun.

Master trainer Mike de Kock predicted such “shenanigans” recently, with trainers trying to game the race’s handicapping system to get horses into the final line-up with handy galloping weights.

None of this involves shady practice, one hastens to say. It’s all a matter of tactics: when and where to run horses in preparatory races to avoid incurring weighty penalties – while at the same time exposing their ability sufficiently to actually make the cut.

A few July entries stepped out in the past week, but the KwaZulu-Natal winter season gets fully underway this coming weekend and this is traditionally when the tactical picture starts taking shape.

Interestingly, this year’s Guineas Day race meeting at Greyville is notable for the July entries that are NOT taking part – a situation that, nonetheless, still looks a key part of part of ducking and diving.

Weights system changes

Durban July operator Race Coast has made major changes to the weights system, aimed at returning the country’s biggest horse race to its “true handicap” roots.

The 2026 renewal will feature a 10kg spread in weights, creating a more open handicap. The top weight rises from 60kg to 62kg, the bottom weight drops from 53kg to 52kg and maximum and minimum weight pegs for specific categories, like age and gender, fall away.

The changes are designed to boost competitiveness and spectacle, fitting with a massive stake boost to R10-million.

On Saturday, the WSB Guineas and Fillies Guineas are backed up by the Independent Drill Hall Stakes and the East Coast Cup.

The KZN Guineas has often been where rising three-year-olds battle it out for July slots, but this year there are relatively few July hopefuls in the mix.

Also, early Guineas favourite Tin Pan Alley was a surprise omission from the July’s 63 first nominations unveiled last week.

It is modern Durban July lore that the winner is always a young improver that the handicapper hasn’t yet put in his or her place.

The new regime may have prompted trainers to tweak their route to this coveted but elusive status.

Second and third on the Guineas betting board are Happy Verse and Star Major, who’ll have to catch the eye among the placings if their connections hope to squeeze onto the July invitation list.

Missing from top 20 entries

By contrast, notable three-year-old July entries who aren’t in either of the two Guineas contests include the likes of Grand Empire, Trust, Splittheeights and Curious Girl. Currently, these young stars fall outside the top 20 entries on merit rating and will be seeking an alternative passage into the big race – or relying on fortuitous scratchings between now and 4 July.

Of the handful of July entries who competed in Turffontein’s postponed Championships Finale meeting this week, it was four-year-old colt Fire Attack who most impressed July ante-post backers when he landed the 2000m TAB Colorado King Stakes.

Bookmakers immediately trimmed the five-time winner from 66-1 to 40-1.

He might still offer value at that price as he showed plenty of courage in a tight finish. Trainer Alec Laird called him a “wonderful horse” and indicated he’d recovered well from ailments that saw him disappoint in his defence of the Grade 1 Premier’s Champions Challenge a few weeks ago.

Apart from that long-odds action, July ante-post betting has been fairly quiet but might liven up considerably after the big weekend in Durban.