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Why Schofield has unfinished business in South Africa this weekend
Ethan Clark • June 30th, 2026 5:36 pm
Gun jockey Chad Schofield will find himself riding on a day that holds significant meaning to his family this weekend in South Africa.
The Durban July is the feature race day on the South African calendar and is worth roughly $900,000 AUD at Grade 1 level.
Speaking on SENTrack’s Giddy Up with Miles Pfitzner, Schofield explained how the opportunity came about to race in this iconic race day.
“I've been in contact with a trainer about going (to South Africa) and then word must have got out that I was coming and all of a sudden, I started getting offers. So, it's been exciting. I can't wait to go,” he said.
“It's different over there. The race card’s already been out for nearly a week, even though the race is on Saturday, so I've got six (rides) for the day.
“This is a feature over there. It's the richest race in Africa and obviously the biggest. It's the most famous race there. It's a 2200m handicap at Greyville in Durban, so it's a pretty cool race.”
Mark Du Plessis and Zac Lloyd will accompany Schofield on the trip to South Africa as Australian-based jockeys in the hopes of taking out the famous race.
“Mark rode at Eagle Farm with me on the weekend, and I think he's already over there and Zac's already there, but he's gone from Europe to South Africa. They’ve been locked in for about a month,” said Schofield.
Rather specially, Schofield and Lloyd’s fathers, Glyn and Jeffrey, had both attempted to take out The July during their careers but were unable to.
For Chad, this provides even more motivation to make the trip to Durban and attempt to claim something that was such a strong part of his childhood.
“I was born in and grew up in Durban, and as a boy I can remember going to Greyville Racecourse to watch Dad. I remember going to this July meeting and it's probably like their Melbourne Cup. It's cool to now go back and take part in it.
Schofield takes the ride aboard King Pelles, trained by Gareth van Zyl and winner of the 2024/25 Equus Champion Stayer, but concedes the handicapper may have a say in how his mount will perform.
“It’s a handicap and he's got 59kgs which isn't ideal, but he's probably the best stayer in the country,” he said.
“He's cleaned up all the staying races, mainly two-mile races, but this prep they've really kept him shorter and sharper and obviously running in a 2200m race on the weekend. I know the stable are happy with him but he's not one of the favourites.
“I think he's probably around a 15-20/1 chance, but he's a very good horse and if he can sort of sprint while fresh, he's got the quality.”
It won’t be a long trip away for the 32-year-old, intending on returning to ride in Sydney the following weekend.
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