Cape Town Met: How Eight On Eighteen got his name

Personal bets between mates – like those on a golf course – usually involve a few rands or a round of drinks. In the world of the wealthy it’s a different ball game, so to speak.

South Africa’s richest man Johan Rupert was enjoying a round of golf at his exclusive Leopard Creek course adjoining Kruger Park when he struck an interesting bet with a playing partner. That chap was Nick Jonsson, the successful businessman behind the chain of workwear stores and a horse racing devotee.

The two had bought a thoroughbred yearling together, which was unusual as Rupert is not wildly keen on the sport of kings – even though his wife Gaynor is nuts about the game, with her Drakenstein Stud being the country’s champion owner and its champion breeder.

Rupert and Jonsson agreed: the loser of the golf match would pay the R700,000 they had bid for the unnamed horse at the 2023 National Yearling Sale – a colt by stallion Lancaster Bomber, consigned by none other than Mrs Rupert.

Approaching the 18th

Approaching the green of the final hole, Jonsson held a slender lead in the match. Pulling a fairway metal from his bag, he was confident he’d reach the putting surface of the par five hole with a booming second shot.

Many a good golfer has had a similar moment of hubris at Leopard Creek’s 18th. The island green, floating in a pond, looks an easy target to big hitters – and Jonsson is a big hitter in most senses of the phrase. Hit a perfect shot, you’re home and dry. Get it wrong, you’re in the bundu and wet.

Like many a good golfer – including the great Ernie Els on one memorable occasion – Jonsson got it wrong, took eight shots to complete the hole and was landed with the bill for the horse.

That’s how up-and-coming colt Eight On Eighteen got his name.

This story was told by trainer Justin Snaith when the juvenile won the Grade 3 Langerman at Kenilworth in June last year – his second victory in his fifth start.

Eight On Eighteen hasn’t won again since then, only registering a third place and a second in a comeback campaign late last year.

Ruling favourite

Yet the greenhorn is suddenly the ruling favourite for Saturday’s WSB Cape Town Met at Kenilworth – one of the three “majors” on the South African racing calendar. The opposition outranks him by miles in terms of record, experience and age. He is the sole three three-year-old in a race that horses of that age very seldom win.

Prominent rivals include ruling Durban July champ Oriental Charm and fierce competitor See It Again.

In his favour is that his most recent runs were fairly close behind the phenomenon that is One Stripe – the latest boom horse on the scene who was recently partially sold for a lot of money, with export to America in mind.

Also on the plus side for Eight On Eighteen is champion jockey Richard Fourie electing to ride him. And there is champion trainer Snaith saddling him up in a bid to land a consecutive hat-trick in the race and a fourth victory overall.

Over the past week, Met sponsor World Sports Betting has whittled away at Eight On Eighteen’s odds – down from 5-1 to 28-10 – and demoted Oriental Charm from top dog. See It Again has also drifted, from 5-1 to sevens.

The scratching of well-fancied Green With Envy has also affected the odds, with Red Palace, Future Swing and Montien all shortening as the R5-million showdown draws nearer.

Is excited market support for a callow youngster akin to Jonsson going for that death-or-glory fairway shot at Leopard Creek?

MET BETTING

28-10 Eight On Eighteen
4-1 Oriental Charm
7-1 See It Again
10-1 Red Palace
14-1 Future Swing, Montien, Rascallion
20-1 Atticus Finch
25-1 Magic Verse
35-1 Litigation
40-1 and upwards the others