2003 Summer Cup Winner, Wolf Whistle (left)
The Summer Cup is a great race and almost as old as Johannesburg itself. The inaugural event took place in 1887, a year after the dusty mining camp that would become Johannesburg sprang to life on a farm called Turffontein, following the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand.
In its heyday the Summer Cup was the highlight of the Johannesburg feature-race season and one of the city’s social events of the year, but following Cape challenger King’s Guard’s victory in 1971, the name of the race was changed to accommodate a new sponsor.
As the years rolled by further changes were made to the name, conditions and date which diminished the race’s glitter until it eventually became the Champion Stakes, run annually in April. In 1999 Phumelela reintroduced the Summer Cup to the racing calendar in its traditional format.
The De Kock Years:
Trainer Mike De Kock goes for his tenth Summer Cup win on Saturday. His past winners, with breeder and jockey:
2010 Flirtation – Adv. A P Joubert, R Simons
2008 Rudra – Lammerskraal Stud, K Shea
2005 Ilha Da Vitoria (BRZ) – Haras Old Friends (BRZ), W Marwing
2003 Wolf Whistle – F A Shipp, K Shea
2001 Ingleside – C Birch & W Ferguson, K Shea
2000 Delta Form (AUS), L F Williams, G Figueroa
1999 Fort Defiance – H F Oppenheimer, W Marwing
1998 Golden Hoard – Mrs K A P Landon, W Marwing
1997 Record Edge – Birch Bros, K Neisius
Your Summer Cup Need To Knows
Betting
Tab are offering an All To Come bet on any race meeting from Monday 25th November until Friday, 29th November (excluding France, Italy, Macau, Sweden and Turkey) and with the last selection either a Win or Place bet on a horse of your choice in The Sansui Summer Cup. The All To Come bet form should be filled out in the normal way except the FUTURE OPTION 1 section at the bottom must be used to mark the selection in The Sansui Summer Cup and whether a Win or Place bet is being selected.
Customers must note that the FUTURE OPTION 1 for The Sansui Summer Cup is only to be used for All To Come bets into the race from Monday, 25th November to Friday 29th November 2013. On the day of the race, the All To Come betting form must be completed as for a normal race meeting and the FUTURE OPTION 1 must not be used. Tote pre-selling for the Sansui Summer Cup starts on Friday 29th November and six place payouts will be declared on the race.
Social
The day’s fashion theme is ‘Colour To Conquer’. Both Ladies and Gentlemen are required to dress in a manner appropriate to a day at the races. Smart dress is mandatory for this elegant occasion. Gentlemen should wear a suit or jacket and ladies are encouraged to wear a hat. Jeans, t-shirts, shorts, flip-flops and other casual or sports-wear are strictly forbidden.
Best dressed: Titles and prizes for Best Mo Bro of Movember, Best-Dressed Woman, Man, Couple and Best Hat. Open to all stylish race-goers. No Under 18’s are allowed.
VIP parking from the main entrance on Turf Club Street. Field Parking from Turffontein Road. Tickets: Special hospitality options from Megapro Hospitality www.megapro.co.za. Tickets from Computicket at R50 each for normal entrance are now on sale.
