July Day runner comments

Get ready for a weekend of sensational racing in South Africa with 12 races carded for the 2024 Grade 1 HWB Durban July on Saturday, a Pick 6 carryover that could boost the pool to a whopping R20-millon, a Quartet pool on the flagship race expected to reach R12-million, and a carryover of R500,000 to Jackpot three.

The racing action will be hard, fast, exciting and go into the evening and you’ll also be able to bet with TAB into the Hong Kong World Pools for races 7 and 8. Use the Betway portal for your tote bets and get your 6% betting tax refunded at month-end.

In other races sure to get the adrenaline pumping, rising superstar City Of Troy returns to the track in the Group 1 Coral-Eclipse Stakes at Sandown in the UK on Saturday and Hotatrubi looks a shoe-in, in Sunday’s Grade 3 Sea Cottage Stakes at Turffontein. It’s an all-stars weekend with loads of opportunities to win big.

Betway Ambassador Mike de Kock has been training at Summerveld for the last two months and he reported that all his runners on the day have enjoyed excellent preparations and that the stable feels as confident as they can considering the big, competitive fields.

Mike will saddle two runners in the July, and he said: “Shoemaker has always been troubled by niggles and bad draws, but we have him spot-on for the big one and he has drawn well. He’s had a good time in Durban this year and he is in form, but he was beaten by a three-year-old last time and is three or four kg’s under sufferance. I think he has a good Top 6 chance, but he may not be good enough to beat the three-year-old runners.

“Aragosta is a hard-knocking stayer. He’ll be running on when the others get tired, and we got lucky with a good draw because that’s what he needed. He doesn’t have the greatest record at Greyville, things have to go his way. He needs a good pace and we’ll be hoping for that. Like Shoemaker, he has a first-six chance and is worth a Place bet if you like him.”

Here are Mike’s notes on his other Greyville runners:

Race 3, 1400m: “When a two-year-old wins a handicap in open company, one has to sit up and take notice, and the way that Khetwiwe’s Destiny won her last start was very promising. She has a few high-class fillies to beat, but she is very capable, a filly I can see winning a black type race in future. If she can get into the top four here it will be a huge run for her.”

Race 6, 1400m: “Waheed ran a very good third from a wide position in a strong renewal of the Gatecrasher Stakes last time. He is a really useful horse. This is a high-quality field, I think there are five or six runners with Group 1 potential and punters may have to go wide and include a few of them, including ours.”

Race 8: “Silver Sanctuary is very well. She won a strong handicap over a mile last year and finished second in the Guineas. She is probably my best runner on the day. Humdinger is so honest, a pleasure to train. She enjoys Greyville and ran third to Princess Calla in this race last year. A filly you can’t afford to leave out of Trifectas and Quartets.”

Race 10, 1600m: “Mary’s Greenlight is doing well in her work, but she’s in a tough field here. I looked at the form, there are 14 runners with chances. Our filly represents the three-year-old fillies, she’s run against the top ones, but this is very open. She has a Quartet chance.”

Mike has entered Officer in Command for Sunday’s Sea Cottage Stakes at Turffontein and said: “He has a tough task at the weights. Put him into bigger Quartets.”