Seven Days To Africa’s Greatest Race
The countdown clock at Greyville is down to single digits. On Saturday, 4 July, the Hollywoodbets Durban July runs for the 130th time over its famous 2200m around the pear-shaped turf — and this year it carries a storyline as old as the race itself: a jockey still chasing the one prize that has somehow eluded him.
A Career That’s Done Everything Except Win A July
Andrew Fortune has packed more into one riding career than most. By the time of his remarkable comeback in 2008 — after an indefinite ban handed down in 2002 — he already carried close to twenty Group and feature-race wins on his CV, and that comeback season ended with him crowned South Africa’s national jockeys’ champion for 2008/09, one of the sport’s great redemption stories. He hung up his boots in 2017, then made an even more unlikely return in 2025, shedding more than 30kg to win his licence back. Now 59, and partnering Wish List in this year’s Durban July, he’s bidding for a first win in Africa’s greatest race — what would, by some counts, also make him the oldest jockey ever to win it.
The Filly Carrying His Hopes
Wish List, the three-year-old daughter of Legislate and Wind Chill, has been the find of the Justin Snaith stable all season. She landed the Group 1 Cartier Paddock Stakes, then became the first filly in well over two decades to win the Group 1 Cape Derby — beating the colts outright in the process. Stepped up for the Durban July, she’s kept winning at Greyville, and on our records she’s now strung together four straight victories, with six wins and four places from eleven career starts — a 54.5% win rate and just a single unplaced run to her name.
- 3yo filly, Legislate – Wind Chill, trained by Justin Snaith
- Group 1 Cartier Paddock Stakes and Group 1 Cape Derby winner this season
- Four straight wins on the bounce — six wins, four places from eleven career starts
- Draws stall seven for Saturday’s Durban July
Winning Post’s model currently rates Wish List the standout in the Hollywoodbets Durban July field, carrying a Moderate confidence tag — with no firm market odds posted this far out, she sits as the model’s top-rated runner for Race 7 on the day. Fortune isn’t short of support elsewhere on the card either: he also partners Double Grand Slam and Mohave Prince, both inside Winning Post’s overall top five for the meeting.
What’s At Stake On July 4
The Durban July is South Africa’s answer to Royal Ascot — a multi-million-Rand showpiece, a sea of high fashion, and the single biggest day on the racing calendar, all set against Greyville’s coastal backdrop. For Fortune, it’s a shot at the one box still unticked in a career that has already swung from championship heights to an indefinite ban and back again. For Wish List, it’s a leap from beating her own generation to taking on open-class older rivals over a trip she’s never raced at Greyville.
Winning Post’s full rankings for Greyville on 4 July 2026 — including every runner’s verdict and confidence rating — are live now at cfox.co.za/predictions.
Betting involves risk — never stake more than you can afford to lose. 18+. National Responsible Gambling Programme: 0800 006 008.
