Mike de Kock has two horses in contention for the Equus Horse Of The Year Award, Gimme A Nother and Dave The King (Candiese Lenferna Photography)
The World Pool Gold Cup meeting decided a number of Equus awards, whilst it made others even more contentious.
The Andre Nel-trained Redoute’s Choice wrapped up the Equus Stayers award. He won Cape Town’s most prestigious stayer’s race, the Gr 3 New Turf Carriers Western Cape Stayers over 2800m, and on Sunday won the country’s most prestigious stayers’ race, the Gr 3 World Pool Gold Cup over 3200m.
The Mike de Kock-trained Dave The King’s victory in the Gr 1 wfa HKJC Champions Cup gave him a fine chance of landing the Equus Horse Of The Year award as he became the only horse in the country this season to land two open Gr 1 weight for age races. On the other hand he did lose by 4,25 lengths to Royal Victory when fourth in the Gr 1 wfa Premier’s Champion Stakes and Royal Victory also won Jo’Burg’s biggest race, the Gr 1 Betway Summer Cup, albeit with bottom weight, and also finished third in the Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Durban July. Dave The King also finished second in the Gr 1 wfa Wilgerbosdrift HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes. The other big contender is the unbeaten De Kock-trained Gimme A Nother, whose seven wins include two Gr 1s, two Gr 2s and a Gr 3. She has only raced against her own gender, but has beaten them with ease and the lack of a stand out among the rest of the population makes her a strong contender. The Dean Kannemeyer-ttrained Green With Envy won two three-year-old Gr 1 classics, the Splashout Cape Derby and the Daily News 2000, as well as a Gr 2 and a Gr 3, so he also has a chance.
Dave The King might claim the Equus Champion Miler award with his easy Gr 1 wfa Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge win in June coupled with his open Gr 1 wfa second. He exacted revenge on Main Defender in the Gold Challenge and the latter was only seventh in that race. The other contender is the now retired Candice Bass-Robinson-trained Charles Dickens, who won the country’s likely most prestigious open Gr 1 wfa mile, the L’Ormarins King’s Plate, beating See It Again by 2,75 lengths with the latter later being beaten 2,45 lengths by Dave The King in the Gold Challenge. Charles Dickens was also third in the Gr 2 WSSB Green Point Stakes. Gimme A Nother is also a contender as winner of the Gr 1 Empress Club Stakes over a mile as well as winner of two Gr 2s and a Gr 3 over a mile, all against her own gender though.
The Nathan Kotzen-trained Royal Victory looks to be in pole position to land the Equus Middle Distance Champion award as the only one to win two open Gr 1s over middle distances and one of them was a weight for age event. However, Green With Envy won two three-year-old Gr 1 classics, the Splashout Cape Derby and the Daily News 2000. He also won the Gr 3 Politician Stakes over 1800m. Royal Victory won the Non-Black Type Michaelmas Handicap and finished third in the Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Durban July, but ran on 1kg better terms than Green With Envy in the July and only beat him by 1,20 lengths, so they put in equal performances over the 2200m trip.
The Equus Champion Two-year-old filly will be the Barend Botes-trained Quid Pro Quo, who made history on Sunday by becoming the first to land all of the Gr 1 Allan Robertson, the Gr 2 Zulu Kingdom Explorer Golden Slipper and the Gr 1 Douglas Whye Stakes.
The Equus Champion Two-year-old colt will likely go to the Sean Tarry-trained Proceed as the winner of both the Gr 1 Gold Medallion and a Gr 3 event as well as a second and a fourth in two Gr 2s. On Sunday the Gr 1 World Pool Moment Of The Day Champion Stakes was won by the filly VJ’s Angel which left Proceed in the pound seats.
The Equus Champion Three-year-old colt looks set to be fought out by the Dean Kannemeyer-trained Green With Envy and the Tony Peter-trained Main Defender. Green With Envy won the Gr 1 Splashout Cape Derby and the Gr 1 Daily News 2000 as well as the Gr 2 WSB Guineas and the Gr 3 Politician Stakes. Main Defender was the only three-year-old of the season to win an open Gr 1 wfa event. He also won the Gr 2 Betway Spring Challenge, the Gr 3 Betway Graham Beck Stakes and the Gr 3 Betway Got The Greenlight Stakes.
The Equus Champion Three-year-old filly will be Gimme A Nother.
The Equus Champion Sprinter will likely go to the Sean Tarry-trained Thunderstruck as he won the Gr 1 wfa Jonsson Workwear Computaform Sprint, was second in the Gr 1 wfa World Pool Cape Flying Championship and he won the Gr 2 Khaya Stables Diadem Stakes. His stablemate Lucky Lad also won a Gr 1 and a Gr 2 and was second in the Gr 1 wfa Mercury Sprint on Saturday, but his Gr 1 win came with a low weight in a handicap event. Mercury Sprint winner Surjay was well beaten by Thunderstruck in the Cape Flying.
The Equus Older Male award will go to either Dave The King or Royal Victory.
The Equus Older Female award will likely go to the Tarry-trained Princess Calla as an easy winner of the Gr 1 Majorca Stakes coupled with a close second in the Gr 1 Cartier Paddock Stakes and third in the Horse Chestnut Stakes. This can be compared to Humdinger’s narrow win in the Gr 1 Ridgemont Garden Province Stakes, her second in the Gr 1 Empress Club Stakes and her second in the Gr 2 East Coast Radio Tibouchina Stakes, all against her own gender.
Justin Snaith clinched the national trainers championship on Sunday as Sean Tarry’s challenge failed to materialise and Richard Fourie’s record-breaking season ended on 377 wins, with his Gr 1 win on Dave The King on Sunday fittingly being his last win of the season. .
Drakenstein Stud are the champion owners and Wilgerbosdrift and Mauritzfontein are champion breeders.
Kobeli Lihaba is the champion apprentice.
The Equus Champion Broodmare could go to Beach Beauty as dam of the dual Gr 1 winner Beach Bomb as well as Narina Trogon, who won three Listed races this season.
Gimmethegreenlight is the champion stallion and the champion freshman sire is the record-breaking One World.
