Kenilworth racecourse hosts the 155th running of South Africa’s oldest racing event, the Gr1 L’Omarins Queen’s Plate on Saturday.
2005 / 6 Gr1 Queen’s Plate winner Winter Solstice
The race was first run in honour of Queen Victoria after she gifted a silver plate and 500 sovereigns to the South African Turf Club.
The inaugural contest was staged as a heats event in April 1861, with the honours going to Cape Town owner Mr Chiappini’s horse, Dispatch.
The Queen’s Plate has kept its royal ties meticulously. After the death of Queen Victoria, it was run as the King’s Plate during the reigns of Edward VII and George VI and then reverted to being named the Queen’s Plate when Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was crowned in 1952.
1994 Gr1 Queen’s Plate
The monarch maintains strong ties with the event, and is represented every year by the British High Commissioner.
A lot has changed since 1861 and the race has grown in stature to become South Africa’s premier weight-for-age contest over 1600m.
These conditions ensure that the race is won by a true champion and the laurels have been claimed by some of the greatest horses ever to grace South African soil, including the mighty Sea Cottage, William Penn, In Full Flight, Yataghan, Sledgehammer, Politician, Wolf Power, galloping goldmine Empress Club, international superstar London News, champion sire Jet Master, Winter Solstice and Variety Club.
Of course, the undisputed King of the Queen’s Plate, with 4 successive trophies, is the unforgettable Pocket Power.
The King Of Queens – Pocket Power
Those are very large shoes to fill, but Justin Snaith’s champion son of Dynasty, Futura, takes his next step as he bids to join the modern stars like Jet Master and Winter Solstice, who have won the race in successive years.
Last year the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate was voted one of the top 5 race days in the world by the British Telegraph.
It is a day of royal racing which celebrates the sport of kings. Be there and play your own part in a proud moment of history.
