The running of the 151st Queen’s Plate, sponsored by L’Ormarins Wine Estate since 2005, will take place at Kenilworth Race Course, Cape Town, on Saturday, 7th January 2012.
The winner of the inaugural Queen’s Plate in 1861 received a silver plate and 500 sovereigns donated by Queen Victoria. Since then the race has continued every year with style and grace matched by the gathering of the finest thoroughbreds in South Africa racing for this highly esteemed trophy and, this year, winning prize money of R1,000,000.00
The 2012 L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate will usher in a new era in the illustrious history of this event as the retirement of one of its greatest champions paves the way for a new breed of young stars to impress.
Following a remarkable four consecutive victories in this race, Pocket Power has been retired from racing. He will lead out the pretenders to his throne on race day as they compete in this Grade 1 weight-for-age race over a mile for a purse of R1 million.
The prestige associated with victory in this race has been heightened by a joint venture with the USA Breeders Cup. The winner of the 2012 L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate will be invited to run in a $2 million Breeders Cup race in 2012.
Pocket Power’s absence leaves the 2012 race wide open, with a host of potential champions.
Ebony Flyer is one of those expected to feature strongly. This impressive filly finished third behind Mother Russia in the 2011 L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate at the tender age of three.
There has also been a challenge from Ebony Flyer’s trainer Justin Snaith to Igugu’s trainer Mike de Kock to reconsider his decision to run Igugu in the Paddock Stakes on the day, and not in the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate.
Should De Kock change his mind, it would make for an incredible contest between these two horses, with Igugu being the 2011 Durban July winner and 2010/2011 Equus Horse of the Year. Ebony Flyer also has a historical advantage, having beaten Igugu in their only other meeting in the 2010 Grade 1 Fillies Guineas.
It will be a fitting contest in a race that, since 1861 when it was first run in honour of Queen Victoria, has distinguished itself as a sophisticated meeting of thoroughbred excellence combined with the style and grace associated with this event.
This new generation of South African horseracing will compete on an august stage that has witnessed the nobility of South African thoroughbreds compete.
The elegance of the occasion will once again be reflected in the royal blue and white of the fashions on race day, the world-class entertainment and the variety of culinary delights that makes the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate South Africa’s most prestigious weight-for-age race.
Visit the website http://www.lqp.co.za for more information.
