Khaya Stables will be continuing their generous three-tiered sponsorship through the Cape Summer Festival of Racing. This commenced with the Gr3 Cape Classic at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth last Saturday.
Khaya Stables’ Star Grooms initiative will acknowledge the unsung heroes of the sport with the top five grooms in all Graded and Listed races to receive cash incentives: 1st place: R5000; 2nd place: R2000; 3rd place: R1500; 4th place: R1000; 5th place: R500.
The winning groom of each major race will also be awarded a trophy.
Grooms play such an integral role in caring for thoroughbreds during their racing careers, so it is apt that their contribution to the sport is properly recognised. Their labours are carried out far away from the limelight, yet their loving care and work is essential to the performance and wellbeing of these athletes.
A groom’s responsibilities include the welfare for three thoroughbred horses by feeding and watering, providing regular grooming of the horse, conducting physical inspections to detect soundness problems, including treating smaller physical problems based on veterinary advice.
Grooms work gruelling hours, a six-day week and additional days during the Season. All their work is done behind the scenes and rarely do they attain the visibility of credit for the important role they play in this Sport of Champions.
All of their work is done behind the scenes and rarely do the grooms attain the visibility of credit for the role they play in this sport. The Khaya Stables Star Grooms campaign was conceived to recognise how integral they are to the sport and the horses. It is a gesture to acknowledge and reward them for their tireless dedication.
Khaya Stables has raised its sponsorship of the Graded Diadem Stakes – a prestigious 1200m sprint event at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth catering for South Africa’s fastest speed merchants. The total stakes for the 2023 Diadem will be raised to R600,000, set to take place at the expansive and scenic Hollywoodbets Kenilworth Racecourse which is the oldest racecourse in South Africa with AAA Grade Heritage status.
The Jockeys and Work Riders Challenge is a pioneering collaboration that has been exceptionally well-received since its inception. It will again be staged on Cape Derby Day 2023 as the final race on the program, though with a slight “tweak.”. This year, Jockeys and Work Riders will pair up in teams drawn to increase the level of competition.
Khaya Stables’ generous support is perfectly opportune as Cape Racing is presently going through an exciting revival with R350 million rand allocated to uplifting the industry, and R35 million to be spent on venue upgrades.
The RaceCape powered by Hollywoodbets programme has pumped in R15 million to reward owners/trainers for running their horses, which will increase fields sizes and boost betting turnovers – key to making the game sustainable. Together with stakes/prize money being significantly ramped up, these incentives have already piqued the interest of visiting trainers and 300 additional horses are expected to swell the local population, adding to the drama and spectacle for this year’s Season.
The sustainable support of Khaya Stables, along with many other supporters, is key in the development of the industry and provincial economic development at large and for contributing to making Cape Town a desirable destination to international and local tourists.
- Media release by Cape Racing
