He has been described as the champion racehorse who has it all-looks, temperament and talent.
Newlys crowned SA Horse Of The Year, Do It Again (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)
Twice Over’s son Do It Again, who crowned a terrific season when becoming the first horse in nineteen years since El Picha to achieve back-to-back victories in the Vodacom Durban July, received the cherry on top when awarded the honour of SA Horse Of The Year and three other awards at Emperors Palace in Johannesburg on Tuesday evening.
While they relinquished the SA Champion trainer title to arch-rival Sean Tarry, the Snaith Racing Team saw horses racing under their flag winning seven individual titles on the evening.
It was also their second consecutive Horse Of The Year accolade after Oh Susanna in 2017/18. The daughter of Street Cry was crowned Champion Older Filly / Mare.
Another stable to celebrate on the evening was the Joey Soma team (pictured below, courtesy of Candiese Marnewick) after Gr1 Premiers Champion Stakes winner Got The Greenlight received the nod over fellow Gr1 winner Eden Roc in the hotly disputed Champion 2yo Colt category.
Mike de Kock’s boom Silvano colt Hawwaam unsurprisingly galloped away with the Champion 3yo Colt silverware. The exciting prospect ended his term with three consecutive Gr1 wins, but dented his popularity when a dramatic late withdrawal in the Vodacom Durban July.
Gaynor Rupert – delighted
Speaking to the Sporting Post after an outstanding evening of accolades, Mrs Gaynor Rupert said that the Outstanding Breeder trophy meant a lot to her and the team at the magnificent farm as they didn’t compete with the bigger operations in terms of pure numbers.
Their Equus Awards, which included Champion 2yo filly for Gabor, Champion older filly / mare for last term’s SA Horse Of The Year Oh Susanna, and Champion Sprinter for Kasimir, followed just under a week after the champion breeders celebrated in similar fashion at the Vineyard Hotel in Cape Town where the Cape Racing and Breeding Awards were held.
The evening proved a social success with the recent problems and pressures forgotten momentarily as industry stakeholders celebrated the champions.
SA Champion trainer Sean Tarry urged all present to forget the blame game and rather focus on the end game!
On the red carpet! Nigel and Kat Riley, Sheila Halibate, Charl Pretorius and Carol and Fred Brons were part of the capacity audience
The 2018/19 Equus winners:
HORSE OF THE YEAR
Do It Again
CHAMPION 2YO FILLY
Gabor
CHAMPION 2YO COLT
Got The Greenlight
CHAMPION 3YO FILLY
Celtic Sea
CHAMPION 3YO COLT
Hawwaam
CHAMPION OLDER FILLY/MARE
Oh Susanna (AUS)
CHAMPION OLDER MALE
Do It Again
CHAMPION SPRINTER
Kasimir
CHAMPION MILER
Do It Again
CHAMPION MIDDLE DISTANCE (1800-2200m)
Do It Again
CHAMPION STAYER (2400m & up)
Magnificent Seven
CHAMPION BROODMARE
Halfway To Heaven
OUTSTANDING BREEDER
Drakenstein Stud (Nom: Mrs GA Rupert)
CHAMPION STALLION
Silvano
CHAMPION BREEDERS
Wilgerbosdrift & Mauritzfontein
APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR
Luke Ferraris
CHAMPION JOCKEY
Lyle Hewitson
CHAMPION TRAINER
Sean Tarry
OWNER OF THE YEAR
Chris van Niekerk
