Durban July punters get the jitters

The ante-post betting market for this year’s Durban July is risk averse, as they say in the financial pages. Jittery might be a better word, or perhaps poepscared.

Only one horse is quoted in single figures on the bookmakers’ boards and remarkable value is for the taking among the 50-plus entries still in the race.

The current favourite, at 8-1, is Cape Derby winner Pomp And Power, from the Justin Snaith stable. The three-year-old was tentatively bumped to the top of the pops after his good showing in the KwaZulu-Natal Guineas at Greyville the weekend, when he finished third, less than a length behind Zapatillas.

Defending July champion Kommetdieding, who was favourite a couple of weeks ago, has drifted out to a hard-to-believe 12-1. This is no doubt due to his disappointing recent performances on the Highveld.

“Kommet” shares the slot with Double Superlative, who Snaith said way back was his “July horse”, and Sparkling Water, whose trainer Mike de Kock has ramped it up for the big race.

After his Guineas triumph, Zapatillas has come in from betting’s outer galaxies to take up station at 20-1.

Another very early favourite for the 2022 July was Snaith’s Jet Dark, but he has since taken a walk to 16-1.