Bling lands his biggest prize

Smanga Khumalo got the nickname "Bling" for his diamond ear-ring, though it might as well have been for his dazzling smile or his dyed blond hair.

Nowadays there's more bling on his living room shelf than on his head - a growing collection of silver trophies from all the big races he wins as a jockey.

On Saturday, Khumalo became the first black jockey to win the Durban July, the biggest prize in South African horse racing.

He showed perfect timing and great power to drive Heavy Metal across the line in front of a field of top thoroughbreds and world-class jockeys.

The rare achievement was crowned by the fact that he did it in his hometown on a day when the 50000-plus crowd at Greyville racecourse honoured former president Nelson Mandela throughout the race meeting.

Khumalo hails from Newlands, adjoining KwaMashu, just outside Durban, and had no background in racing before the SA Jockey Academy recruited him at his school when he was 13.

His small frame caught the eye of the jockey talent scouts but it might also have been his "cockiness" - very necessary for a top jockey.

Khumalo has now won the country's three richest races: the R2-million Sansui Summer Cup (on Wagner), the R2-million President's Champions Challenge (on Heavy Metal) and the R3.5-million July.

Capping a great day on Saturday, Khumalo won another Grade 1 race, the Golden Slipper, on For the Lads, owned by Chris van Niekerk and trained by Sean Tarry - the team behind Heavy Metal.

After winning the July, Khumalo was, unusually, a bit lost for words.

"I'm so happy!" he said before thanking his mother, his wife, his agent, the trainer and the owner.

He said trainer Tarry put no pressure on him before the race.

"We knew Heavy Metal. We knew that, even if he was far back, he'd come through."

Tarry said of Khumalo: "He's different class. He was a lot cooler today than I expected. What more can I say?"

Tarry and Van Niekerk have now registered back-to-back July wins. They won the event in last year with Pomodoro.

On Saturday, the defending champion was unplaced after having a tough passage in the running.