If time machines existed, we’d be able to roll back the years to 1886 for a fascinating experience of Johannesburg as a sprawling, untamed mining camp with layers of dust on every tent, and dreams of gold painting the air thick with ambition.
With the 135th Summer Cup staged at Turffontein last Saturday, let’s take some time to remember the incredible historic foundations of the horse race to which headline sponsor, Betway, has assigned R6-million, the richest racing purse ever for an established Grade 1 race on the African continent.
Elevation with Martin Schoeman (Pic – 4Racing)
Imagine being in ‘Jozi’ at the time of the Gold Rush, witnessing rugged prospectors from every corner of the world converged on this chaotic frontier, armed with pickaxes, pans and big dreams.
Nights were loud with chatter in dimly lit pubs and heated arguments erupting into brawls. By day, the lure of easy riches bred an insatiable hunger for competition – whether in the deep-level shafts of the gold reefs or on the open ground above.
Amidst this raw and restless energy, a new pastime began to emerge. Horses brought in to aid mining efforts or simply to accompany their owners, became central to a new kind of contest: races on a makeshift track established near the big miner’s camp.
They named it Turffontein – ‘clay fountain’, translated from Afrikaans. Here, fortunes could be wagered, and pride could be earned. In this bustling arena, the only laws were luck and brute strength – born from the thrill of the chase.
The first Summer Cup was named the ‘Johannesburg Turf Club Handicap’, worth the grand sum of £250 and held over a distance of 3200m on 15 June 1887. It was won by a horse called ‘Second’ (by Black Night), owned by Mr. A. Alison and ridden by jockey B. Gunnett. The trainer is not known.
The name of race was changed to the ‘Johannesburg Summer Handicap’ in December 1890 and held that until 1898, when the second Anglo-Boer war broke out and racing at the track was interrupted for two years.
Java, the original Summer Cup hero (Pic – 4Racing)
Interestingly, during this period, the Turffontein grandstand and the area around the track were used to house prisoners in a concentration camp set up by the British Army. With its rich and diverse history, Turffontein Racecourse was awarded a prestigious Blue Plaque, by the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation, in 2016.
The race re-emerged in December 1901, during the last few months of the war. It was renamed the ‘Johannesburg December Handicap’ for one renewal, before the ‘Johannesburg Summer Handicap’ was established in 1902. It was run over 1800m between 1906 and 1909 and became a 2000m contest in 1910. It was not renamed again until 1972, when the hotel chain, Holiday Inn, took up the sponsorship.
The ‘Holiday Inns’ became the ‘Sun International’ between 1984 and 1987; the Administrator’s Champion Stakes between 1988 and 1991; the ’Administrator’s Cup between 1992 and 1996 and the ‘Premier’s Cup for 1997 and 1998.
In 1999, the race was staged as the ‘Summer Handicap’ which was changed to the ‘Summer Cup’ in 2000. Between 2000 and 2021 a number of major sponsors took care of the stake, including Gomma-Gomma, Steinhoff and Sansui, until the online betting giant, Betway, took the mantle in 2022.
Click on the image below to read the full story online!
