Winds of change blow through grand old Turffontein

Racing luminaries Mike de Kock, Mary Slack and the late Richard Maponya have been honoured by having feature races at Turffontein Racecourse named after them. Star horses JJ The Jet Plane, Summer Pudding, Hawaam, Got The Greenlight, Carry On Alice and others are being remembered in the same way by Highveld operator 4Racing as it gives the summer season a major facelift.

Familiar names being ditched include those of historic stalwarts Gerald Rosenberg and Tony Ruffel, yesteryear equine stars Tommy Hotspur, Drum Star and Man O’War, and botanicals no longer in vogue, such as Jacaranda, Magnolia and Syringa.

Also in the revamp, and critical to industry welfare, are a significant shuffling of fixtures – mainly bringing big meetings and races forward in the calendar – and increases to prize money.

Status requirements

4Racing says the changes are to “refresh and add interest to the forthcoming season”.

Head of operations Gabriel Soma explained, “Providing a better flow of the programme was essential. A number of feature races around the country are struggling to maintain their Graded status as per the APC (Asian Pattern Committee) Guidelines and we are confident these changes will allow our features to meet the requirements needed to maintain their status.

“In addition to adding gloss to our marquee race day, scheduling Champions Day a month earlier than normal allows for a better racing surface as well as making a clearer transition from the Highveld to the KwaZulu-Natal season. It also allows us to maximise sponsorship opportunities … importantly, the change avoids clashes with other major international fixtures, priming us for consideration for a World Pool event.

“Lastly, these changes will allow us to create a mini winter season with a three-year-old series comprising The Secretariat Stakes, Egoli Mile and Sea Cottage Stakes,” he concluded.

The 2024 Highveld Championships Series will be held over four race days, with major changes, as follows:

• 3 February 2024 – Guineas Day
• 2 March 2024 – Classic Day (now including the Horse Chestnut Stakes & Tommy Hotspur Stakes (renamed JJ The Jet Plane Stakes)
• 6 April 2024 – Champions Day (now including Premier’s Champions Challenge & Empress Club Stakes)
• 27 April 2024 – Championships Finale

The full list of race name changes:

The Gardenia Stakes becomes the National Colour Stakes
The Syringa Handicap becomes the Summer Pudding Handicap
The Magnolia Handicap becomes the Carry On Alice Stakes
The Ipi Tombe Challenge becomes the Mike de Kock Ipi Tombe Challenge
The Jacaranda Handicap becomes the War Of Athena Handicap
The Tony Ruffel Stakes becomes the Got The Greenlight Stakes
The Three Troikas Stakes becomes the Mother Russia Stakes
The Drum Star Handicap becomes the Dr Richard Maponya Handicap
The Man O’War Sprint becomes the National Currency Sprint
The SA Fillies Classic becomes the Mary Slack SA Fillies Classic
The Tommy Hotspur Stakes becomes the JJ The Jet Plane Stakes
The Derby Trial becomes the Hawwaam Stakes
The Gold Rush Sprint becomes the Mythical Flight Sprint
The Gerald Rosenberg Stakes becomes the Igugu Stakes

With racing striving to attract a new, younger audience, a focus on track stars of recent memory is completely understandable.

Another change announced by 4Racing this week was an upgrade to the parade ring in front of the Turffontein grandstand. Meetings of 7, 14 and 21 October will using the old ring behind the stands for both parades and winner lead-ins. The front ring will be back in use from 28 October.