You can't rule out S'manga

S'Manga Khumalo is the name that's grabbed all the attention in racing during the past month. In a fast-moving, ephemeral game, that takes some doing.

Victories are celebrated, but not for long. Before you've finished sipping the champers, they've saddled up for the next race, then the one after; and corks are popping for new triumphs and heroes.

Ever since he sensationally won the Durban July on Heavy Metal and became the first black jockey to land the country's premier race, Khumalo has seemed like a force of nature on a horse.

In the past week he's spirited home about a dozen winners, and racing pundits cannot ignore anything he chucks a leg over.

The lad they call Bling has choice engagements at Greyville's Champions' Day meeting tomorrow. His Gold Cup mount, Gold Onyx, is a bit of an outsider but the gelding is likely to attract many wagers simply because the golden boy's in the irons.

Confidence - that's what this top form is all about. Every sportsman strives to find confidence because it's like having a "super power", or the magic potion that helped Asterix and Obelix klap the Romans.

Confidence, though, is mighty elusive. It's an important element in being "in the zone", the mystical state in which sportsmen become uncommonly focused and execute optimally - undistracted by intimidating opponents, morons in the crowd, or which of 25 essential "swing thoughts" should take precedence as you whirl a golf club.

It's every jockey's dream to win a July because winners' names live forever on the most scrutinised honours board in racing. But few July winners have their names underlined for particular noteworthiness.

Khumalo is among the special few; he's grasped that and is powered by pride and confidence.

When he steered his fifth winner for the day into Turffontein's No1 box last Saturday, the cheers had the Bling smile out in full. Next day he flew to Nairobi to boot home another four winners. On Tuesday at the Vaal it was another two.

Form and confidence don't last forever, but Khumalo has gathered enough self-belief from this run for him to start talking of a tilt at the jockey championship.

That's a long haul, but he certainly seems to have the wherewithal to be a champ.

Speaking of long hauls, the Gold Cup is South Africa's blue riband marathon race - 3200m of lung-stretching galloping that is notorious for producing long-odds winners.

Bookmakers are betting the field 7/1, so we're offered a great chance to land a long-odds gamble. Also, a case can be made for every runner.

Gold Onyx sure sounds an appropriate ride for Bling, but he is drawn wide.

I'll be sticking to my well-proven Gold Cup formula of choosing experience, proven stamina and strong jockeys - with a wild card thrown in for the sport.

GOLD CUP (GREYVILLE RACE 7): Box Trifecta - 1 Seal, 3 Gold Onyx, 9 S'il Vous Plait, 11 Kolkata, 18 Scoop The Pool, 20 Knight To Remember (R120)