Six in the running for Equus Horse of the Year

It won’t be an easy choice for the judges, who have yet to be appointed in a coronavirus twilight world. All prominent candidates have pros and cons in their 12-month records. One of these candidates can be scratched from the line-up already. As much as Katak has his ardent Cape Town supporters after a Kenilworth Winter Series clean sweep, he hasn’t won at the top level yet.

Got the Greenlight was the Equus Two-Year-Old Champion in 2018-19 and looks a shoo-in for the Three-Year-Old gong this time, having annexed both the SA Classic at Turffontein and the Daily News 2000 at Greyville.

Trainer Joey Soma’s colt probably came within a length of the ultimate Equus accolade when he ran second to Belgarion in the Vodacom Durban July, which would have given him three Grade 1s for the season, including the country’s top race. Hawwaam, currently in quarantine ahead of an eagerly anticipated overseas campaign, also managed two Grade 1 wins.

However, these were against opposition not as strong as what he faced in the Sun Met, in which he finished third. The winner of that race, One World, topped the season’s stakes-earning count on R2.3 million from three wins in five starts.

His Met performance was arguably against the best of the best in the country at the time, so the Vaughan Marshall-trained colt – retired to stud immediately after that victory – must be in the Equus reckoning. Horse owners’ body the Racing Association says the when and where of the Equus Awards will be confirmed in the coming week.

There won’t be a black-tie banquet this time, but racing fans will still watch the adjudication with keen interest. No bookmakers have opened betting on the awards.

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