Brett Crawford secured his second consecutive win in the R5 Million Hollywoodbets Durban July as his three-year-old colt, Oriental Charm, claimed victory in the 128th edition of the prestigious race on Saturday.

Oriental Charm, owned by Greg Bortz, Leon Ellman, and Gina Goldsmith, with JP van der Merwe in the saddle, took an early lead and maintained it, fending off challenges from outsider Cousin Casey, Royal Victory, and Flag Man.

Top weight See It Again faced some bad luck, getting tangled in a jostling pack around the 1400m mark, and jockey Piere Strydom had to pull back as Future Swing moved into him from the rail causing a triple effect with Shoemaker getting the worst of it along with Master Redoute who was pushiledbright out. Shoemaker was pulled up shortly thereafter. There was further interference near the finish line as Oriental Charm ran across and impeded See It Again but no objection was laid by the stipendiary stewards. Favorite Green With Envy had a fair chance, but despite a strong run, he couldn’t close the gap and finished 2.6 lengths behind the winner. Flag Man was a mere 1.7 lengths behind and with the Oriental Charm weight swing, he ran a better overall race at the weights. There is no doubt that Oriental Charm was exceptionally well weighted and his race planning was on point from Brett Crawford. He did state to SAHorseracing.COM that he had to miss a few of the seasons big three year old events to keep the horse well weighted coming into this race. 

Crawford employed the same strategic preparation for Oriental Charm as he did with last year's winner, Winchester Mansion. Oriental Charm placed second in the Gr2 a Greyville 1900 and won the Gr3 Cup Trial, following a carefully planned path to the main event.

Cousin Casey ran an outstanding second whilst Royal Victory was in no way disgraced in third. The highly rated Flag Man 4th and See It Again in 5th. All five were separated by less than 2 lengths.

Over 40,000 spectators enjoyed the race, with entertainment from South African supergroup Mango Groove, who also performed the national anthem.

The Pick 6 pool hit a record R15 million, while the Place Accumulator reached R1.98 million. 

Oriental Charm

Sire: VERCINGETORIX
Dam: SOUK
Dam Sire: GREYS INN (USA)
Breeder: Cheveley Stud
Owner: Messrs Greg Bortz & Leon Ellman & Ms Gina Goldsmith