The Cape Racing Season’s Horse Of The Year was WSB Met winner Eight On Eighteen (Picture: Wayne Marks)
From record-breaking victories to emerging stars, the Cape season delivered champions across every division.
Cape Town – 19 August 2025: The racing season runs from 1 August to 31 July, a full 12 months of competition culminating in the announcement of the region’s champions. Within that calendar, the Cape Summer Festival of Racing – staged from November to March – remains the showpiece stretch, drawing the biggest crowds, producing the richest purses, and delivering many of the season’s defining moments.
The 2024/25 campaign was no exception, with champions emerging across all divisions and history being rewritten in the process. Leading the roll of honour was Eight on Eighteen, whose achievements, along with those of trainer Justin Snaith, jockey Richard Fourie, and Owners of the Year Nick Jonsson and Johann Rupert, defined a season to remember.
Two three-year-old colts dominated the feature races – Vaughan Marshall’s One Stripe and Snaith’s Eight on Eighteen – each winning two Grade 1s. One Stripe captured the Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas and L’Ormarins King’s Plate (both over 1600 m) before heading overseas to continue his career. Eight on Eighteen finished second to One Stripe in the HWB Cape Guineas but proved unstoppable over more ground, taking both the World Sports Betting Cape Town Met and the SplashOut Cape Derby over 2000 m.
That WSB CPT Met victory marked a milestone: Eight on Eighteen became the first horse in 79 years to complete the WSB CPT Met–Cape Derby double in the same season. It was also Snaith Racing’s third consecutive Met and a remarkable hat-trick for owners Nick Jonsson, following Jet Dark (2023) and Double Superlative (2024). On Met day alone, Snaith sent out six winners – just shy of his record eight on the corresponding day in 2016.
The season was also a personal triumph for Richard Fourie, crowned Western Cape Jockey of the Year for an unprecedented eighth consecutive time – a remarkable run of dominance in the saddle. Snaith’s 135 Western Cape winners left him 54 clear of his nearest rival, Candice Bass-Robinson, along with a R13 million stakes advantage.
Beyond the headline acts, other stars shone brightly. Gimme A Prince dazzled in the HKJC World Pool Cape Flying Championship and the Khaya Stables Diadem Stakes, earning a merit rating of 134 – the highest in South Africa. Multiple graded and listed successes also went to Asiye Phambile, Rainbow Lorikeet, and Holding Thumbs.
From Black Cheetah’s juvenile debut win in November to Saint Brigid’s season-closing victory in July, the year delivered stories of resilience, skill, and racing excellence – capped by the first race meeting under the new Race Coast Turf Club banner on 1 June.
2024/25 Cape Racing Season Award Winners:
Juvenile Male: Good For You
Juvenile Female: Ukuduma
Three-Year-Old Male: Eight On Eighteen
Three-Year-Old Female: Mon Petit Cherie
Older Male: Gimme A Prince
Older Female: Double Grand Slam
Champion Sprinter: Gimme A Prince
Champion Miler: One Stripe
Champion Middle Distance: Eight On Eighteen
Champion Stayer: Holding Thumbs
Champion Work Rider: Louis Burke
Champion Jockey: Richard Fourie
Champion Trainer: Justin Snaith
Owners of the Year: N Jonsson & J P Rupert
Horse of the Year: Eight On Eighteen
The winners across all categories will be honoured at Hollywoodbets Durbanville on Wednesday, 27 August. Each race on the day will be named after an award recipient, with presentations taking place after every race and broadcast live on air. Racegoers are invited to join the celebration and share in recognising the season’s champions.
