NO DURBAN JULY JOY FOR THE AUSSIE BASED RIDERS

By Graham Potter | Sunday, July 5, 2026

There was no Durban July joy for the Australian based trio of jockeys who participated in South Africa’s signature race which was won by the Justin Smaith trained Note To Self, ridden by Richard Fourie.

Wish List, ridden by Andrew Fortune, finished a close-up second to give Snaith the big race quinella. The first two runners past the post were both three-year-olds.

Chad Schofield fared best of the Australian based riders, guiding King Pelles into third place.

Schofield produced the son of Duke Of Marmalade, a $25 chance, at the right time, forging into prominence early in the straight but, while he did keep coming, King Pelles had Wish List, who had hit the front with 250m left to run, kicking on strongly ahead of him along the inside and Note To Self closing quickly along his outside … two finishing efforts that King Pelles and Schofield could not match over the concluding stages.
Both King Pelles and Schofield had given their all though, and there was plenty of merit in the performance of both horse and rider as they finished only 1.25 lengths behind the winner.

Zac Lloyd and Mark Du Plessis had less say in the matter.

Lloyd rode Regulation, another Justin Snaith trained runner, who, at no stage looked like having the same spark as his two stable companions who fought out the finish.

Stuck in midfield along the inside for much of the trip, Regulation was already a spent force halfway up the straight and he fell away to finish with only two runners behind him in the eighteen string field.

One of those runners was I Salute You ($33), the mount of Mark Du Plessis.

Barrier draw number fourteen was always going to complicate I Salute You’s task. He simply could not get in from there …was held wide towards the rear of the field throughout … and failed to improve his position at all in the home straight.

Lloyd and Schofield both picked up consolation prizes however, with Lloyd earning a place in the winner’s enclosure in race 3 on Magic Verse and Schofield taking our race 11 on Warm Reception.

Note To Self provided Snaith with a sixth Durban July winner and Fourie is now a four-time Durban July winning jockey,

The fifty-nine year-old Andrew Fortune, who finished second, 0.25 lengths back on Wish List, came within touching distance of becoming the oldest rider to with the race … while the Rachel Vinneker and Mickaelle Michel ridden runners finished down the field, meaning that the honour of being the first female jockey to win the Durban July remains an achievement that has yet to be claimed.