De Kock and Khumalo win again, as Sparkling Water shines at Durban July

It was a fifth victory at the annual race for trainer Mike de Kock, a second for jockey S’Manga “Bling” Khumalo and a first for owner Mary Slack, as filly Sparkling Water streaked away from her male rivals to win the R5-million Hollywoodbets Durban July at Greyville on Saturday – at odds of 16-1.

The daughter of Silvano, bred at Slack’s Wilgerbosdrift Stud, Sparkling Water was the only female to make the final field for South Africa’s biggest horse race, and the four-year-old won comfortably by about four lengths with an electrifying turn of speed in the final stretch.

Jet Dark (also 16-1), from the Justin Snaith stable, ran on strongly to grab second place, just ahead of De Kock’s long-time ante-post favourite Safe Passage (11-2 second favourite), with another Snaith horse and two-time July champ Do It Again (8-1) in fourth.

De Kock had four runners in the race and Snaith five.

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Last year’s winner Kommetdieding (12-1) finished fifth and last-minute substitute runner Airways Law (40-1) sixth.

By the time the 18-strong field jumped away from the 2200m start, Snaith’s Pomp And Power had been backed into 5-1 favourite, but the notoriously temperamental three-year-old travelled midway in the field for much of the race and failed to quicken in the straight.

Out the gate

Sparkling Water was smartly away from her No 12 gate, along with Do It Again, Puerto Manzano, Hoedspruit and Aragosta. Astrix tracked across from a wide draw to take up the lead near the Drill Hall, but the pace, as widely predicted, was pedestrian, with the runners bunching up and seeking a platform for the final dash.

Puerto Manzano edged to the front as they rounded the final bend, with Do It Again on his heels. Jockey Aldo Domeyer gave Do It Again the signal some way out and the big horse shot clear and briefly looked the most likely winner.

But Khumalo and his golden hands got busy up the inside channel and quickly got on terms. Then Sparkling Water, who was always handy in the lead group, really opened up, rocketing away to a very impressive win.

Slack is the daughter of Harry and Bridget Oppenheimer, who owned six July winners. She recently led in a winner at the 2022 Royal Ascot meeting, having beaten Queen’s Elizabeth’s hot favourite.

Slack and her daughters’ company Mary Oppenheimer Daughters (MOD) came to the rescue of South African horse racing in 2021 when leading operator Phumelela went bust. MOD injected major funding into the business rescue process and helped set up new operator 4Racing.

Two of De Kock’s previous winners were also fillies – Ipi Tombe and Igugu.

Khumalo’s first July was on Heavy Metal in 2013.