Stanley Amos, Cookie Amos, Champion Trainer Syd Garret and Freddie Hayman pictured with the great twice Met winner Moonlit, whom Stanley rode to his second Met victory in which he carried 145 lbs (65kg)
A race that has been run for 164 years is bound to become more than just a list of winners.
The Cape Metropolitan Stakes, now known as the Grade 1 World Sports Betting Cape Town Met, has lived through different eras, adapted as the sport has changed, and along the way has gathered a treasure trove of stories that go far beyond what’s written in the record books.
Some of those stories are well known and often retold. Others survive only in memory – in the recollections of people who were there, or in the kind of anecdotes that get passed around racing circles over time.
Over the years, a few of these have been quietly collected and held onto.
With the 165th renewal of the great race just around the corner, this is a chance to dust them off and revisit some of those moments – stories of Met legends from across the ages.
