Kennedy hoping to ride in the Hollywoodbets Durban July

TWICE South African champion jockey and New Zealand reigning champion jockey Warren Kennedy is arriving in South Africa this weekend three weeks before the Hollywoodbets Durban July and is seeking a ride in the big race.

- DAVID THISELTON

He has apparently received offers already and will be choosing his best option.

Kennedy

Kennedy has never won the July before but regards his third place finish on the notoriously difficult Mike de Kock-trained 100/1 shot Forest Path in the 2009 July as one of his career best rides.

His first ride in the July was in 2004 on the unplaced 100/1 shot Cousin John.

His best finish other than his third place in 2009 was fourth on the Glen Kotzen-trained Eyes Wide Open in 2019.

Kennedy was SA champion jockey in the 2019/2020 season and the 2021/2022 season with 209 and 263 wins respectively.

Winning a championship in your home country is one thing, but to do it in a foreign country in your first full season there is an extraordinary feat and that is what Warren managed in New Zealand in a gruelling but memorable 2023/2024 season, in which he had 140 wins in 849 rides for a strike rate of one every 6.06 rides or in South Africa terminology 16.9%.

His season included a memorable seven-timer, which is a New Zealand record.