Cape Racing and the Cape Breeders Club will honour and acknowledge the region’s equine and human star performers of the 2022/23 season at the traditionally combined awards function held at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth Racecourse on Friday, 1 September.
In what has been a turnaround season of some proportions under the new management team, horseracing in the Cape has made giant strides in a relatively short time with substantially boosted stakes, revised programming, and the introduction of some unique business initiatives, which have collectively lit the flame of stakeholder passion and set the platform for some top-class action on the track.
A glance down the list of Cape Racing and Cape Breeders Club nominees in the various categories for the 2022/23 awards evokes wonderful memories of some of the greatest racing action we have enjoyed in many years.
The influence of Drakenstein’s End Sweep champion Trippi runs like a golden thread through the nominee list.
The handsome chestnut colt Charles Dickens is a dual Gr1 winner and undisputed public favourite. Another product of the champion farm is Hollywoodbets Durban July hero Winchester Mansion, together with the 2023 WSB Cape Town Met winner Jet Dark who is back at his beautiful home and looking to break through as a new generation sire. And yet another son of Trippi in Trip Of Fortune who travelled North to gain his elite level prize at Turffontein in the HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes.
The exciting Drakenstein Stud-bred See It Again looks to be one of the most exciting prospects for the season ahead. His name is on the nominee list, with the Varsfontein-bred Gimme A Prince and Sandringham Summit adding further sparkle. At the same time, who will forget the silence that descended on Hollywoodbets Kenilworth when Al Muthana downed Charles Dickens’ colours in the L’Ormarins King’s Plate!
The Ridgemont-bred dual Gr1 winner Make It Snappy is there in the lights, with other Grade 1 game-changers nominated, including Klawervlei Stud’s Anfields Rocket, Steve Chetty’s SA Derby winner Son of Raj and dual Gr1 winning speed demon Isivunguvungu, who first saw the light of day at Narrow Creek Stud.
The nomination lists boast many bright stars, with the Maine Chance-bred Equus SA Horse of The Year candidate Princess Calla yet another proud product of the Cape.
| CAPE RACING AWARDS – NOMINATIONS FOR 2023 | |
Champion Juvenile Male
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Champion Juvenile Female
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Champion 3yo Colt
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Champion 3yo Filly
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Champion Older Male
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Champion Older Female
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Champion Sprinter
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Champion Miler
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Champion Middle Distance
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Champion Stayer
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