Horse racing season ends on a high note amid excitement
The Day of Champions, the Grand Finale of the 2022/23 horse racing season, was an exciting and entertaining festival of winners and merriment, in a scene that now defines the modern racing era.
The rejuvenated sport had its champions entertain a fashionable crowd of over 2500 with a thrilling day of racing attended by among others former President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Lesley Sercombe, who won the leading jockey prize ahead of James Muhindi, said: “I honestly feel overwhelmed and blessed to get what I didn’t think was possible and it’s mainly because of my mum, who is also my trainer. As a woman, it feels amazing to win in a sport where we compete equally with the men.” Sercombe’s mother, Patsy Sercombe, won the leading trainer accolade.
Sercombe attributed her success to a number of factors. “I am the voice of the horse and we have to be on the same page otherwise nothing works. And without the work of everyone in the stables, you can’t win. The owners have a lot of faith in me and I’m grateful to them. The crowds have been phenomenal and really made a difference.”
Former jockey turned trainer Ollie Gray, who finished fourth in the overall prizes for trainers, is so enamoured with racing and has seen it grow and didn’t want the season to end.
“I think we have a lot of happy people, crowds, jockeys, trainers, and the owners. It’s totally changed, and we want more racing. We haven’t had these sorts of crowds in years. The general vibe is the best that it’s ever been since I got here in 1985.”
Victrix Ludorum won multiple accolades, Lady Sarah Spencer won the leading owner prize and two of her horses took top accolades with the mighty Saint Moritz winning Horse of the Year and Kenya Derby winner Honeybell Orange, winning best 3-year-old.
Lady Spencer said: “It’s more exhilarating than we could have imagined! We are excited to be part of Ngong Racecourse moving forward with the sport in Kenya, and we hope the people of Kenya will be able to enjoy horse racing for years to come.”
The eight-card race had some thrilling encounters which left the crowd roaring amid a number of closely fought contests. As predicted, the 1800m K.A.R. Limuru Cup had Cindy— ridden by P Kiarie, open the day’s proceedings with a relatively simple win. The second race of the day—the 1200m JCK Rose Bowl was a more closely contested encounter with M Fundi leading Ripon to take honours by a ¾ length from the South African import, Coffee Break.
The third race of the day and the main spectacle for the purists was the 2400m Jockey Club Stakes, which produced the upset of the day with the legendary General Lee ridden by title contender J. Muhindi defeating the mighty Saint Moritz by a ¾ length.
The fourth race of the day—the 1200m Tote Kenya Cup—saw the recent South African import, Vuvuzela Umililo ridden by H Muya, canter to an elementary 6-length win. The fifth race, the 1200m Pommery Limuru Cup, was an uncomplicated win for champion jockey Lesley Sercombe on Eton Star by 2 1/4 lengths.
The sixth race of the day—the 1800m Sir Alan Bin Salim Stakes—saw Maria ridden by P Mungai surprise the punters and pundits with a comfortable victory by a length against a strong field. The seventh race of the afternoon, the 2060m Nairobi Town Plate, for amateur jockeys only, was, as expected, won by Assured, ridden by N Karanja, by 3 1/4 lengths.
The final race was a 1200m sprint at 4:30 pm, the Nairac Gold Circle Trophy, where the magic between trainer T Kuria and jockey M Fundi continued with Rahal by 4 lengths. The new season starts again on 01 October 2023.
