Michel gets Durban July chance after late Curious Girl call-up

Curious Girl’s late promotion into the Hollywoodbets Durban July turned Mickaelle Michel from reserve rider to live player in South Africa’s biggest race, and it gave the French jockey a chance to do something no woman has done before. The three-year-old filly entered the 18-runner field only after The Ultimate King was scratched, and she did so from barrier three, a draw that offers Michel a cleaner tactical map in the 130th running at Greyville Racecourse in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.

The opportunity matters because the Durban July is not just another handicap. Run annually since 1897, it carried a R10 million purse in 2026 and still sets the tone for the South African summer. Mike de Kock, now training alongside his son Mathew, kept two runners in the race in Aladdin’s Lamp and Curious Girl, and he arrived with a chance to add a sixth July victory to a record that already places him among the meeting’s defining trainers. Sporting Post had de Kock level on five winners with Justin Snaith before the race, which underlined how much a sixth would mean.

Michel’s route to the gate was as international as they come. The 30-year-old, born in France and a former French champion apprentice, estimated she had raced in 14 countries and won in nine. Her passport already includes Japan, the United States, Australia and Italy, and her profile rose again after she helped the Ladies team win the 2021 Shergar Cup at Ascot. In Japan’s NAR circuit, she posted a record 30 winners for an overseas jockey, a number that says as much about her adaptability as her ambition.

Her Durban July mount arrived as the race’s structure shifted around her. Star Major, the ride she initially expected, was ruled out earlier in the week after an elevated temperature, and Curious Girl became the replacement when the field changed. De Kock Racing said the filly had earned her place, and the stable’s confidence showed in the late switch. In a 18-horse handicap, barrier three and a ground-saving ride can matter a great deal, but the July has a habit of punishing anything less than a sharp trip.

Michel also stepped into a historic frame already widened by Rachel Venniker, who became the first female jockey to ride in the Durban July in 2024. With Venniker in the main field again and Michel on Curious Girl, 2026 became the first edition of the race to feature two female jockeys in the line-up. If Michel turns the reserve call-up into a win, she will leave Greyville with one of the most symbolic victories the race has ever produced.