The sun is setting on another eventful year for horse racing, which makes this a good time to look back at some of the highlights.
The country’s premier races lacked nothing in excitement.
The Gr1 Cape Town Met was claimed by Kommetdieding, who became the first Durban July winner in a decade to complete the sought-after double.
Victory proved sweet revenge, for after chasing home Jet Dark in the Gr1 L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate, he turned the tables on his adversary.
Gavin Lerena steers Kommetdieding to an historic win as Jet Dark (Smanga Khumalo) and Linebacker (Grant van Niekerk) chase in vain (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)
The pair again locked horns in the Gr1 Hollywoodbets Durban July, however both had to bow to a member of the fairer sex when Mary Slack-owned Sparkling Water ran out a facile three-length winner from Jet Dark.
Jet Dark and Kommetdieding then had the Gr1 Champions Cup to themselves, with the former prevailing by a neck, a fitting end to a season which saw him garner a further three Equus awards as the country’s Champion Older horse, Champion Miler, and Champion Middle Distance Horse.
However, the most coveted award, that of Horse of the Year, was scooped by Suzette Viljoen’s outstanding filly Captain’s Ransom.
SA Horse Of The Year Captain’s Ransom (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)
She had enjoyed a near flawless season, winning four Gr1 races, three off which against her own sex. The most important, and one which arguably clinched the odds in her favour, was her defeat of the country’s leading sprinters in the Gr1 Mercury Sprint at Hollywoodbets Greyville.
While there was no Triple Crown winner, we did celebrate yet another Triple Tiara winner in Drakenstein homebred Rain In Holland, the daughter of Duke Of Marmalade proving herself the country’s best sophomore filly.
SA Triple Tiara star Rain In Holland (Pic – JC Photos)
Either our breeders are producing exceptional fillies, or the format should be tweaked, perhaps drop the Gr2 Gauteng Fillies Guineas, and make the Gr1 Woolavington 2200 the final leg?
It would be remiss not to make mention of Drakenstein’s phenomenal achievement as breeders of a record 18 individual stakes winners over the 2021/22 season, a tally which obliterated the previous benchmark of 12 jointly held by Wilgerbosdrift/Mauritzfontein and Summerhill Stud.
Charles Dickens – emerging star (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
As the year drew to a close, we witnessed the emergence of arguably one of the most exciting three-year-olds in recent times and yes, it was yet another Drakenstein homebred, the unbeaten Trippi colt Charles Dickens.
Trained by Candice Bass-Robinson, the colt enters the new year with a perfect six-win streak in tow, the most recent of which a dominant victory in the Gr1 Cape Guineas.
Inevitably, there are those who left us and this past year, the most notable of whom was without a doubt HM Queen Elizabeth II, whose passing arguably robbed racing of its greatest ambassador.
Locally, we lost two stalwarts of the game in Mike Rattray and Henry Devine. The former wore many distinguished hats: a past Chairman of the Durban Turf Club, previous owner of Lammerskraal Stud, breeder of Horse of the Year recipients Yard-Arm and Celtic Grove, a Springbok polo player in his youth and a captain of industry who put the world-renowned Mala Mala game reserve on the map.
The late Mike Rattray and his wife Norma
Centenarian Henry Devine also left his mark on the South African racing industry and will forever be remembered as the co-owner with wife Pat of champion racehorse and seven-time champion sire Jet Master.
In September, the racing community was hit by the proverbial bombshell when newly crowned champion trainer Paul Peter announced he was calling it a day. The trainer of seven Gr1 winners, including Triple Tiara winner Summer Pudding, cited personal health reasons for his decision to relinquish his licence.
Paul Peter – stepped down after being crowned champion (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
With Phumelela now a faded memory, we witnessed the first steps of new racing administrator 4Racing, as well as the birth of Cape Racing.
Off the racetrack, the industry continues to grapple with the existing export rules and notwithstanding an EU audit held in October, the issue remains in limbo.
As has been suggested from some quarters, perhaps it is time to draw a line under this never-ending saga regarded by many as a lost cause and one which has come at a tremendous cost to the industry.
Without wishing to sound cynical, the current export protocol has ruined many good horses, the majority of which never regained top form overseas after enduring a tortuous journey to reach their destination.
On a brighter note, the past year has seen a remarkable upswing in thoroughbred sales. Buyers’ appetites for young horses knew no bounds and across the board, sales returned impressive gains in turnover.
Whilst being accustomed to the National and Cape Premier Yearling Sales hogging the limelight, it came as somewhat of a surprise that the year’s most expensive youngster was sold at Bloodstock SA’s August Two-year-old sale, this a R3 800 000 son of former champion stallion Gimmethegreenlight purchased by Form Bloodstock.
The year also saw the demise of Cape Thoroughbred Sales and the birth of Cape Racing, whose sales division will run the flagship Cape Premier Yearling Sale in early January with the backing of the renowned Tattersalls Group.
With the country bedevilled by loadshedding and a tough economic climate, there is no doubt that racing in South Africa faces an uncertain future.
So, what can we look forward to in 2023?
From a racing perspective, the new year looks set to start on an absolute high with the running of the Gr1 L’Ormarins King’s Plate on 7 January.
In what promises to be a contest fit to stir the blood, new racing sensation Charles Dickens takes on champion Jet Dark and Kommetdieding. Bring it on!
