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Durban July 2026 News - Justin Snaith speaks about his five runners

Conrad Castleton

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Last updated: Fri 03 Jul 2026 15:40

Conrad Castleton 2 hours ago

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Justin Snaith enters 5 horses in the 2026 Durban July
Each contender has unique strengths and preparation updates
Snaith aims for a sixth Durban July victory

Justin Snaith (left) after winning his first Durban July in 2014. (Getty)

Justin Snaith has won the Durban July on five occasions, and fields a squad of five runners in his quest to win this famous race for a sixth time on Saturday.

Ahead of the 2026 Durban July, Snaith spoke to Gallop TV and provided exclusive quotes on his quintet of runners.

*All of the following quotes are credited to Gallop TV*

Durban July 2026 Justin Snaith Quotes

Note To Self

What happened to the favourite (Star Major, withdrawn) and the bug that he got, this horse got a very similar thing in the Daily News 2000. That night and the next morning, he didn't look right, he had a temperature. Nothing serious, but he just hit a bit of a wall.

I've changed things and prepped him beautifully into this race. If he's improved from that run, then I could see him running a big race. When he walks in the parade ring, you'll say "that's a July horse", he's got that look, he's just magnificent.

Wish List

She's going very well at home. She's tough, tough, tough. Everything I throw at this filly she's just laughing at it, honestly. I put her with a companion at the gallop, she laughed at that. I've never seen a filly like this.

She needs a little bit of luck in running, but if she gets that, she's a very interesting runner. It wouldn't surprise me to see her fighting out the finish.

Regulation

There are four or five horses in that race that could or not have got in, and I think he's been singled out a little bit. We certainly did work at getting Regulation into the race.

Zac Lloyd is a big help to the horse. He is a horse that needed to come into the race with a low weight and the draw is paramount. That draw is a huge plus for this horse, because he just needs to get into a gallop. He might not be as good as Legal Counsel, but (he's getting) 10 kilos! It helps.

Legal Counsel

He's in a very good space. If this was a normal race then, for sure, he'd have a very big chance. But 62 kilos over this distance is an impossible task. It really is very hard. You've got to give horses at the bottom 10 kilos, it's going to make it tough for him. Bar that, he's absolutely spot on. He's just that hard-knocking, tough, tough horse, but the weight is a concern.

Native Ruler

I think he just needs to be weaving his way through at the last bit and then nailing them on the line. He looks magnificent. He's in a very, very good space. He's primed, he's ready, he's been to the course, won on his last start, he had a great gallop I thought, and he's coming out of everything easy. He'll run the best race that he's ever run in his life - whether that's good enough to win, only time will tell.