ANOTHER accolade has been awarded to champion horse of the season, Abashiri, when it was announced that he won the 2016 Racing Association Highveld Feature Awards, Horse of the Year.
The awards evening was held at Turffontein Racecourse on Saturday, May 21 where the efforts of the trainers/owners and horses throughout the season were recognised.
Abashiri was only one of three horses to have won the Triple Crown in the history of horse racing. The Mike Azzie trained champion won the SA Derby on Saturday, April 30 it was only fitting that the judges selected him as the Horse of the Year.
He was crowned as the champion stayer and champion three-year-old colt/gelding. His owners were over the moon as they had put in great effort to make sure that Abashiri takes home all the glory over the season.
“We are delighted to have such a horse in our stable and thanks to everyone who contributed to make sure he is in good shape the whole season,” said Adriaan van Vuuren with his wife, Rika, by his side.
S’manga “Bling’ Khumalo, who is based at Turffontein, was once again named as champion jockey of the season. He won the title in the 2013/2014 season. The 30-year-old Khumalo achieved the highlight of his career, securing 200 season wins victory at the World Sports Betting (WSB) Poly Challenge 1600 in Port Elizabeth. In the 2013/2014 season he won the title with 185 wins out of 1 381 races, and this season he only needed 1 087 races to achieve a personal best of 200 wins. Khumalo is also the front-runner to win Champion Jockey of the Year come end July, with Anthony Delpeche over 20 wins behind.
Sean Tarry, also a winner in the previous seasons, was named the Champion Trainer of the season.
The Racing Association Highveld Feature Awards are based on performances from the Gauteng racing season with the judges this year including Vee Moodley as panel chairman, Clyde Basel, Germaine Maharaj, Jay Harriellel, Jason Dedekind and Alistair Cohen.
The 2016 Racing Association Feature Season awards winners are:
Champion two-year-old filly: Cloth of Cloud
Champion two-year-old colt/gelding: Rivarine
Champion three-year-old filly: Juxtapose
Champion three-year-old colt/gelding: Abashiri
Champion older horse: Legal Eagle
Champion sprinter: Carry On Alice
Champion middle distance horse: Legal Eagle
Champion stayer: Abashiri
Champion sand specialist: Deputy Jud
Horse of the season: Abashiri
Champion apprentice: Callan Murray
Champion owner: Chris van Niekerk
Champion jockey: S’Manga Khumalo
Champion trainer: Sean Tarry
Champion breeder: Summerhill Stud
2016 Champion work rider: Sam Mosia
