Equuus 2025 - Celebrating our stars

JUSTIN SNAITH was crowned SA Champion trainer for the sixth time and enjoyed the honour of celebrating his seventh SA Horse Of The Year title, courtesy of the outstanding Eight On Eighteen, as South African horseracing and breeding personalities gathered to celebrate the past season's stars at the Equus Awards held at Hollywoodbets Greyville in Durban on Thursday evening.

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The sport is about horses and people and an evening of glitz and glamour in the beautifully appointed The Silver Ring formed the backdrop as opponents on the track, and in the breeding paddocks, mingled and shared the golden thread of a love and passion for the horse, while celebrating the equine stars and human champions of a glorious season.

There was no surprise as polished MC Alistair Cohen announced the Drakenstein Stud-bred Eight On Eighteen as the winner of the prestigious SA Horse Of The Year award.

The treble Grade 1-winner was the standout sophomore last season, and lost no credit when going down narrowly to the year older The Real Prince in the Hollywoodbets Durban July, his final start as a 3yo.

Raced by Nick Jonsson and Johann Rupert, Eight On Eighteen was also crowned Champion 3yo Male and Middle Distance Horse, and he remains an exciting prospect with the 2026 Gr1 L’Ormarins King’s Plate and Gr1 Cape Town Met his targets, with an overseas campaign a possibility thereafter.

A special award was presented to Eight On Eighteen’s Groom Philip Sengeza, who drew rousing applause after a moving speech that demonstrated his passion and love of his champion charge.

After another outstanding season, Drakenstein Stud was named Champion Breeders for the second time, and in addition to Eight On Eighteen’s three trophies, the Rupert’s nursery of champions also drank a celebratory toast to the exported One Stripe’s Champion Miler award. The son of One World is now based at trainer Graham Motion’s Fair Hill Training Centre in Maryland.

Marshall

One Stripe won six races in the care of trainer Vaughan Marshall, with his CV including sensational victories in the Hollywoodbets Gr1 Cape Guineas and the L’Ormarins Gr1 King’s Plate from only nine starts, for career earnings of close on R4,2-million. The $2 million FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile on 1 November at Del Mar will be One Stripe’s main target this year.