SA Horse Racing Awards Laud Kings Gambit

June 1 - The Rosebank Hyatt Regency Hotel in Johannesburg played host last week Saturday to the glittering Highveld Racing Awards that paid tribute to excellence in the Highveld horse racing community, particularly to overall equine winner, Kings Gambit.

The Highveld Racing Awards are decided by a seven-person panel appointed by the Racing Association Highveld, to celebrate excellence in the local horse racing industry. This year, according to the majority of attendees, this year's awards seemed mostly to be on the money.

Undoubtedly, the evening's biggest and most prestigious honour was the Highveld Horse of the Season award, which went to the talented 3-year-old, Kings Gambit, trained by the widely respected, Lance Wiid. King edged out his close and older rival, Our Giant, for the top honour.

Kings Gambit, who was sired by top-rated thoroughbred Silvano of Germany, was lauded for his impressive and exciting wins in the SA Classic and Derby as well as the fact that with only six runs under his saddle, he still has plenty of time to reach his full potential and become a true champion.

Earlier on in the evening, Kings Gambit also received the top award in the champion 3-year-old male category, which seemed to be a fair and expected outcome for those in attendance. His fellow nominees included Lion's Blood, J J The Jet Plane, Seventh Rock, Eddington and Imbongi.

And it didn't stop there as Kings Gambit also picked up the Champion Stayer award, which was also expected after his impressive Derby win. Unfortunately he didn't have much competition in this category, as few horses performed as consistently well during the season.

Other awards included the juvenile awards, which went to Charles Laird's Warm White Night and Merlene De Lago. Most people at the Highveld Racing Awards agreed that these were the superior choices by far, so much so that there were no other nominations in their categories.

In the 3-year-old filly category, two fillies, Urabamba and Glenrossal, cracked the nod after a string of good runs in competitive feature races. The sharing of the award raised an eyebrow or two, however, given that in head-to-head meetings against Urabamba, Glenrossal was 3 to 1 ahead.

Stratos was awarded Champion Older Female while Our Giant won Champion Older Male, who also won the award for Champion Middle Distance Horse, a surprising decision, perhaps, to those in the King Gambits camp. J J The Jet Plane deservedly ran away with the Champion Sprinter award.

The awards for best jockey, trainer and owner, went to Piere Strydom, Charles Laird, and Ingrid and Markus Jooste respectively, each of whom has proved to be at the top of their games at the moment.

All in all the Highveld Racing Awards were a success in showcasing the best South African horse racing talent.

Tell A Friend