Cape Town - Widely acknowledged among South Africa’s premier classics, the stakes-boosted R2 million Grade 1 Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas will headline a bumper feature program at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth, on Saturday, 17 December.
Sponsored for the first time by sports betting operator, Hollywoodbets, the prize money for the time-honoured three-year-olds clash has been increased from R750 000 in 2021 to R2 million in 2022 renewal. The mile showdown will thus be contested for a record stake at the height of the Cape Summer Festival.
Run at Milnerton for the first time in 1955 as the Cape of Good Hope Guineas, the Cape Guineas has been a proud platform of champions and a stallion-maker over many decades. Modern-day winners of the classic include champions of the ilk of Horse Chestnut, Jet Master, Captain Al, Variety Club and Capetown Noir, to mention a handful of equine stars.
With a host of visiting trainers from all corners of South Africa expected to follow the glorious Cape summer sun, the substantially increased stakes, and the innovative attractions of the RaceCape incentive, the fairest Cape is set for a bumper season of high-class horseracing.
“We are thrilled that Hollywoodbets have again stepped forward to inject their power brand of magic into one of the great feature events of the Cape Summer Festival," said Head of Cape Racing Operations, Justin Vermaak.
"The substantially increased stakes prize of R2 million makes the Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas the richest classic race on the national calendar and we can be assured that every top three-year-old in South Africa will line up on 17 December.”
The Guineas undercard includes two key supporting races in the R400 000 Gr2 Hollywoodbets Peninsula Handicap, with the prize money increasing 100% from R200 000 in 2021, and the R250 000 Gr3 Hollywoodbets Victress Stakes, which has also been boosted 100% from the R125 000 stake in 2021.
This superb race day will also feature the R200 000 Commonwealth Cup Plate and the R200 000 Summer Coronation Plate, which will be run for the colts/geldings and fillies respectively, at juvenile plate conditions.
Hollywoodbets Brand & Communications Manager, Devin Heffer said:
“As the purple brand expands its horse racing coverage in the Cape, developing a feature day to match the likes of the L’Ormarins King’s Plate and the WSB Cape Town Met is a challenge the Hollywoodbets team is ready to tackle.
“For us, this will be our first Grade 1 feature day in the Cape, and it’s exciting that we get to leave our mark on another prestigious race day. We are privileged to be in a position where we can invest back into a sport that we are so passionate about, and we look forward to making it a day that will be memorable for the punting public, families and racing stakeholders.
“Increasing the stakes to R2 million reaffirms our belief in the quality of this race, and the prestige that comes with winning it. You only get one shot at the Guineas, and it's right that the winning connections get duly rewarded. We will be looking at including other partners to join us in the naming of races, as we did for the Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge, and we will announce these in due course.”
Entries for the R2 million Gr1 Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas open on 6 December 2022.
IOL Sport