The Durban July Handicap is a South African Thoroughbred horse race held annually on the first Saturday of July since 1897 at Greyville Racecourse in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. Raced on turf, the Durban July Handicap is open to horses of all ages. It is South Africa's premier horse racing event and currently offers a purse of R4.25 million (app. US$288,000).
This is event is known as much for the avant garde fashion, and its infamous 13th race, as it is for horse racing. Attendees go all out, dressed to the nines, and dripping with the latest fashion from major, and minor, designers. Much later, a few brave souls go all out to wear as little as possible, but that's a story for another day...
First held in July 1897 at a distance of 1 mile (approx 1600m), the distance was modified several times until 1970 when it was changed to its current 2200 meters (11 furlongs).
The Remarkable Tale of Sea Cottage
The 1967 edition ranks among the most memorable, with multiple champion Sea Cottage dead heating with South African Guineas winner Jollify, with the latter carrying 27 less pounds.
Even more remarkable was the fact that Sea Cottage was carrying a bullet lodged in his hindquarters after a shooting incident the previous year. A nightclub bouncer allegedly was paid by his boss to target the popular horse in order to eliminate his chance of winning and causing a big loss to a bookmaker, to whom the club owner owed money; the unthinkable act was undertaken as a way to repay the debt.
Incredibly, Sea Cottage ran in The July in 1966 only three weeks after being shot and he was unlucky while finishing fourth in one of his few career losses. He returned for the dead-heat victory a year later.
“Sea Cottage was the darling of the country and he had been shot the year before, so that race must be among the pinnacles in July history,” Tweddell said.
“Sea Cottage ended his career with 20 wins from 24 starts and was widely regarded as the greatest horse to ever grace the South African turf until (Triple Crown winner) Horse Chestnut arrived,” Gold Circle related on its website for last year’s 50th anniversary of his July victory.
Jack Bradford, the handicapper who set the weights for Sea Cottage, Jollify and the rest of the field, was given a gold watch by the Durban Turf Club for what proved to be such a dramatic conclusion to the race.
Historic Wins
Only four horses have ever won the Durban July Handicap back-to-back.
Campanajo (1897, 1898)
Corriecrian (1907, 1908)
Milesia Pride (1949, 1950)
El Picha (1999, 2000)
Another horse named Pamphlet won twice in 1918 and 1920
Most wins by a trainer:
Sydney C. Laird - 7 : (1961, 1963, 1966, 1967, 1971, 1973, 1978)
Terence M. Millard - 6 : (1983, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990)
Trainer F. Murray won the race four years in a row from 1910 through 1913.
Most wins by a jockey:
4 : Harold "Tiger" Wright - (1942, 1947, 1949, 1955),
Anton Marcus (1993, 2000, 2005, 2007)Anthony Delpech (1998, 2004, 2010, 2011)
Piere Strydom (2016,2012, 2001, 1996)
3 : Bertie Hayden (1971, 1973, 1978),
Felix Coetzee (1984, 1988, 1990)
Of note to North American racing fans, the 1963 race was won by Colorado King who subsequently raced in California and won the 1964 Hollywood Gold Cup plus set a World Record for nine furlongs in winning the American Handicap at Hollywood Park Racetrack. As well, the 2002 winner, Ipi Tombe, became the first horse bred in Zimbabwe to ever win a race at historic Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.