King Charles III of Great Britain has plenty on his plate without having to worry much about a faraway horse race run in his name but, if he were to be briefed on the L’Ormarins King’s Plate in Cape Town, he might be pleased to learn that the 2026 renewal is of the highest quality.
South African equine royalty will assemble at Kenilworth racecourse on 10 January to battle it out for a silver salver trophy conferred on the race by Queen Victoria, Charles’s great-great-great grandmother. Given the blood ties, perhaps the king should pay more attention to the event – though he does usually send along a senior diplomat to say a few nice words.
When the final field for the Grade 1 LKP was declared this week, many kings of the local turf and one prince were on the list. No queens or princesses, but a regal gathering, nonetheless. With an Equus Horse of the Year called Dave The King top of the pile, it’s hard to argue.
Jan Van Goyen is named after a landscape painter of the Dutch Golden Age of art, but he is very much in line for the throne of champion racehorse of SA. Facile winner of the Cape Guineas, Jan Van Goyen bids to become a rare three-year-old King’s Plate winner and only a second Queen’s/King’s Plate winner for world-famous De Kock Racing.
Mike and Mathew de Kock’s retained jockey Callan Murray has chosen ante-post favourite Jan Van Goyen – and his 5kg age allowance – over stablemate Dave The King, on whom he recently won the Grade 2 Green Point Stakes against powerful opposition.
The Real Prince
Both pretenders have The Real Prince, conquerer of the Hollywoodbets Durban July, to contend with over the Kenilworth 1600m. Dean Kannemeyer’s lightly raced five-year-old needed a comeback run in the Green Point, when he finished hard on the heels of the front bunch, and should be in monarchial shape.
See It Again, a flying third in the Green Point after a poor start, makes his debut for Justin Snaith – after a quiet Christmas eve move from the stable of Michael Roberts – adding a fourth string to the champion trainer’s LKP bow.
Another interesting move on the Snaith front is the booking of British champion jockey Oisin Murphy (probably not sent by Charles) to ride second favourite Eight On Eighteen, who returns to racing after a three-month break following a remarkable and eventful 2025.
Eight On Eighteen’s former regular jockey Richard Fourie moves to partner veteran trainer Vaughan Marshall’s appropriately named Questioning, who will be some punters’ choice of a dark horse.
LKP Day final fields (number [draw], name, weight, MR, trainer, jockey)
GI L’ORMARINS KING’S PLATE (Race 8)
1 Dave The King 60 128 Mike / Mathew de Kock Ryan Munger
2 Jan Van Goyen 55 118 Mike / Mathew de Kock Callan Murray
3 Sugar Mountain 60 123 Candice Bass Aldo Domeyer
4 Questioning 60 123 Vaughan Marshall Richard Fourie
5 Sail The Seas 60 127 Justin Snaith Muzi Yeni
6 The Real Prince 60 126 Dean Kannemeyer Craig Zackey
7 Eight On Eighteen 60 129 Justin Snaith Oisin Murphy
8 Garrix 60 123 Piet / Elbert Steyn S’manga Khumalo
9 Gladatorian 60 127 Stuart Ferrie Sean Veale
10 See It Again 60 125 Justin Snaith Andrew Fortune
11 Legal Counsel 60 113 Justin Snaith Chad Little
12 Jet Force 60 120 Des A McLachlan Grant van Niekerk
13 Fire Attack 60 126 Alec Laird Calvin Habib
14 Cosmic Speed 60 125 Sean Tarry Gavin Lerena
G1 CAPE FLYING CHAMPIONSHIP (Race 7)
1 Tenango 60 126 Candice Bass Aldo Domeyer
2 I Am Giant 60 124 Stuart Ferrie Oisin Murphy
3 Lucky Lad 60 123 Sean Tarry S’manga Khumalo
4 O’Tenikwa 60 118 Andre Nel Corne Orffer
5 Asiye Phambili 57.5 119 Lucinda Woodruff Sean Veale
6 Cafe Culture 60 120 Lucinda Woodruff Chad Little
7 Surjay 60 122 James Crawford Luyolo Mxothwa
8 Truth 60 120 Candice / Tammy Dawson Ryan Munger
9 Direct Hit 54 115 Alan Greeff Richard Fourie
10 Constellation 56.5 113 Mike / Mathew de Kock Callan Murray
11 Quantum Theory 60 113 Sean Tarry Keagan de Melo
12 Outlaw King 60 118 Dean Kannemeyer Craig Zackey
13 Buffalo Storm Cody 60 132 Tony Peter Gavin Lerena
14 Snow Pilot 60 122 Justin Snaith Rene Piechulek
15 Kingdundee 60 118 Dean Smith Calvin Habib
Reserves
16 Dance Variety 60 112 Adam Marcus Reserve 1
17 Meu Capitano 60 113 Piet / Elbert Steyn Reserve 2
18 Arctic Wizard 60 111 Greg Ennion Reserve 3
G1 PADDOCK STAKES (Race 6)
1 Reet Petite 54 113 James Crawford Richard Fourie
2 Keukenhof 54 105 Dean Kannemeyer Callan Murray
3 Give Me Everything 59.5 108 Dean Kannemeyer Juan Paul v’d Merwe
4 Rainbow Lorikeet 60 113 Candice Bass Aldo Domeyer
5 Double Grand Slam 60 122 Justin Snaith Oisin Murphy
6 Minogue 60 112 Candice / Tammy Dawson Muzi Yeni
7 Sukhumvit 60 100 Alec Laird Philasande Mxoli
8 Wish List 54 111 Justin Snaith Andrew Fortune
9 Little Suzie 59.5 111 Justin Snaith Sean Veale
10 Red Palace 60 119 Dean Kannemeyer Craig Zackey
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