KZN local heroes all the rage in July betting

Local heroes Royal Victory and Flag Man were stirring up the Hollywoodbets Durban July betting market with just six days to go to Africa’s greatest horse race on 6 July.

Trained in KwaZulu-Natal by Nathan Kotzen and Gareth van Zyl respectively, the two geldings had their odds cut back by the race sponsor – as punters digested the Durban July public gallops at Greyville racecourse last week, listened to the pundits’ latest opinions, and dived into some value prices.

Royal Victory tightened from 14-1 to 10-1, while Flag Man – who learned observers reckoned put up the best public gallop of the 18 contenders – came in from 14-1 to 25-2.

This flow of money saw principal July fancies drift slightly.

Highveld raiders

At the top of the boards, long-time favourite Green With Envy was eased from 7-2 to 9-2, slipping down to join the ever-popular See It Again. Future Swing, whose odds tumbled last week when leading jockey Richard Fourie was booked to ride him, went from 11-2 to 6-1. Likewise, Oriental Charm lost half a point, from 15-2 to 8-1.

Also finding notable betting support over the weekend were Highveld raiders Barbaresco, Son Of Raj, Purple Pitcher and Cousin Casey. This quartet were on offer at 20-1 on Monday morning, having been at 28s and 25s last week.

The totalisator, or TAB, is predicting a R20-million Pick 6 pool for July day – which might be a new record for this bet type – with the operator kicking it off with a R2-million carryover.

There is also a R2-million launchpad for the Quartet on the July itself, with the eventual pool for predicting the first four past the post set to top R12-million.

The Jackpot Three bet is expected to reach R3-million and the day’s Place Accumulator R2.5-million.

The July, Race 7 on the card, and its main supporting feature, the Ridgemont Garden Province Stakes, Race 8, have been designated World Pool races by the Hong Kong Jockey Club – which means local bets will be comingled with those from other major racing countries to make up monster pots for Win, Place, Exacta, Swinger and Quinella wagers.

“These will be the biggest tote pools in the history of South African racing,” asserts TAB.

Full TAB betting on July day opened on Monday morning.

DURBAN JULY BETTING (Monday morning):

9-2 Green With Envy, See It Again
6-1 Future Swing
8-1 Oriental Charm
10-1 Royal Victory
25-2 Flag Man
17-1 Future Pearl, Winchester Mansion
20-1 Purple Pitcher, Cousin Casey, Son Of Raj, Barbaresco
25-1 Without Question
33-1 Master Redoute, Double Superlative
40-1 Shoemaker, Aragosta
50-1 Meridius