Looking skyward for answers on which horse to place their winning hopes on, renowned astrologist Nikhil Gulati combined spirit and science to predict the top five horses for the premier sporting event.
For the past 20 years Gulati has been practicing the ancient Indian science of foreseeing the future based on planets and stars at each specific date of birth.
Guided by the plotting of planetary movements Gulati used both the horses’ and jockeys’ date of births to examine the past so that he could peer into the future.
“The moon will be in the horoscope of Taurus on July 2 so the horses with that particular moon sign will do well. Mars is the planet of strength, victory and winning competitions so the horses with a strong Mars influence will have favour to win.”
Through divining, Gulati predicts that Marinaresco will gallop into first place with Black Arthur, St Tropez, Abashiri and Solid Speed crossing the finish line in that order behind him.
Well known Durban psychic counsellor and fortune teller MG has a solid track record with predicting Durban July outcomes, though she is far removed from racing and gambling.
Using her psychic ability and then turning to tarot cards, MG is adamant that a grey filly will win the Durban July, underscored by a recurring dream about a former champion thoroughbred Jan Starr winning at Kenilworth Racecourse.
"She will have the same dappled grey coat," said MG confidently. As she drew her tarot cards, Bela Bela came up with the star card.
She predicted that the closing stages of the race will be dominated by a brave charge from a horse whose jockey will be wearing blue striped silks, referring to either Mac De Lago or Dynamic, but said that they would run out of steam in the home straight.
She saw Samurai Blade and French Navy finishing strongly and also saw a strong place finish for Trophy Wife, the reserve escalated to the starting line-up by the scratching of Rabada on Wednesday.
Meanwhile on the balcony outside the Gold Circle Marketing offices at Greyville Racecourse, a deeply rooted annual tradition is playing itself out once again, much to the amusement of the steady flow of passers by on the first floor walkway.
Soon after the final field is announced, Gold Circle staffers plant 20 beans in identical pots, and then use their performance over the 10 days leading up to the race as an indicator of chances of winning the R4.25 million crown.
From the get-go the tallest bean has belonged to Saratoga Dancer, with Abashiri and Bela-Bela shooting just off his highest leaf buds, while the portents from the beans do not look mood for It's My Turn and Rocket Ball.
SUMMARY OF PREDICTIONS
Numerologist Nikhil Gulati
1. Marinaresco
2. Black Arthur
3. St Tropez
4. Abashiri
5. Solid Speed
Fortune Teller MG
1. Bela Bela
2. Samurai Blade
3. French Navy
4. Dynamic/Mac de Lago
5. Trophy Wife
The Gold Circle Beans
1. Saratoga Dancer
2. Abashiri
3. Bela Bela
4. French Navy
5. Black Arthur
The 2016 Durban July takes place at Greyville Racecourse on Saturday, July 2.
More information can be found at www.vodacomdurbanjuly.co.za