The Cape Town jockeys are unhappy about the way their awards are calculated for the Cape Racing & Breeders’ Awards ceremony and intend to make representations to have this changed, writes Michael Clower.
Karl Neisius said: “For the last two years it has been done on a national statistics basis instead of on winners ridden in the Western Cape as in the past. A similar change has been made to the way the trainers’ award has been calculated.
“So far as I know neither the jockeys nor the trainers were approached to give their opinions and it makes a mockery of the honours boards in the Kenilworth grandstand. We intend writing a letter to request a return to the old system.”
Greg Cheyne won the award this time with 156 winners on the national log but 83 of these were in Port Elizabeth where he topped the log. The jockey who rode the most winners in the Western Cape was Grant van Niekerk with 80.
It was a similar story with the trainers.
Justin Snaith took the Cape trainer of the year award as he was the highest-placed Western Cape trainer on the national log but Mike Bass won the most stakes in the Western Cape.
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