A dream come true

BORTZ: HANKERED FOR OWNERSHIP OF RACEHORSE FROM YOUNG AGE

- Mike Moon

40 years later he's proud owner of Durban July race winner.

Greg Bortz was searching for the right word to describe his feelings on Saturday after noon. He ventured "speechless", but later said: "Overwhelmed; yes, that's probably the right word, overwhelmed. Ja..."

He told his story of growing up in Durban's Berea in the 1970s and '80s, with a view of Greyville racecourse from his bedroom window and within earshot of race-day commentaries. Now, more than 40 years later, owning the winner of the Hollywoodbets Durban July, Oriental Charm, his listeners also searched for a right word.

Serendipity? Fate? Written in the stars?

The scene in the aftermath of the 2024 July, the 128th running of South Africa's greatest race, seemed uncanny - swirling in time and space, with a hint of quantum entanglement.