Champions stroll to 2025/26 titles: All the big winners

An exciting climax to the 2025/26 racing season has lacked just one thing: any sort of close battle for national championship titles. That meant no bookmakers dared to frame betting markets for the likes of top jockey, trainer and owner.

The season officially ends on Friday 31 July and the only race that came anywhere close to a photo-finish was for South Africa’s top breeder. But, with three meetings still to go – at Scottsville on Wednesday, the Vaal on Thursday and Fairview on Friday – even that has clearly been settled.

Wilgerbosdrift and Mauritzfontein successfully defended the champion breeder title – crowning the achievement at Greyville at the weekend as Holding Thumbs galloped steadfastly to victory in the marathon World Pool Gold Cup and Mocha Blend beat her filly peers in the Bet With The World Gold Bracelet.

The two stud farms in league saw mother and daughter combo of Mary Slack and Jessica Jell total stake earnings of R34.3-million to edge out Varsfontein Stud on R31.9-million.

The studs’ third title in the last six seasons rewards their investment in imported stallions such as Fire Away, Flower Alley, Danon Platina and Ideal World and their confidence in local bloodlines with the likes of Hawaam and Buffalo Bill Cody.

Drakenstein Stud, Maine Chance Farms and Ridgemont Highlands finished third, fourth and fifth on the breeders’ log.

Champion jockey, determined by the highest number of winners ridden, is often the most closely contested gong. This term, however, Craig Zackey had it sewn up weeks ago.

Having given cheek to Gavin Lerena and Richard Fourie in 2024/25, 31-year-old Zackey started the new term on the front foot and finished it full of running. On Wednesday morning he had 280 wins chalked up – 55 more than Fourie in second place.

Zackey, who has aspirations to ride in Hong Kong someday, had set himself a target of 275 for the season.

Former champion Keagan de Melo, who returned to SA after an indifferent spell in Hong Kong, was third among the local riders, on 155 wins, with Muzi Yeni in fourth, Calvin Habib in fifth, Callan Murray in sixth, Serino Moodley in seventh, Sean Veale in eighth, Lerena in ninth and Rachel Venniker in 10th.

The champion apprentice is Blaine Marx-Jacobson, some 10-plus wins ahead of Mxolisi Mbuto and Damyan Pillay.

Hefty domination of most of the biggest races in the land saw Cape Town’s Justin Snaith secure his fourth consecutive trainer championship, collecting a cool R39.5-million in prize money for his owners – with a 1,2 in the R10-million Hollywoodbets Durban July helping that stat along somewhat.

That total is R21.7-million more than runner-up Sean Tarry, whose Highveld colleague Tony Peter managed third place with the country’s top winners-to-runners rate of 17.6%. Mike & Mathew de Kock, Alan Greeff, James Crawford and Candice Bass followed.

The Hollywood Syndicate cantered to a second champion owner title in a row, amassing more than R22-million in stakes from its hundreds of horses campaigning around the country from a myriad of yards.

KwaZulu-Natal owner Nick Jonsson landed a popular 1,2 in Sunday’s Grade 1 HKJC Champions Cup – with Eight On Eighteen and See It Again – which saw him edge Cape-based Sabine Plattner out of second place on the owner table.

The champion stallion is once again record-breaking Vercingetorix, who stands at Maine Chance Farms in Western Cape. His offspring returned more than R40-million to their owners.

Next was former champion Gimmethegreenlight, Querari, Master Of My Fate and Rafeef.

Encouraging for local breeders is the fact that local thoroughbred stallions are continuing to perform well, with six of the top 10 sires being born in SA.

The horse that won the most money over the season was, unsurprisingly, Hollywoodbets Durban July victor Note To Self. Next were Met champ See It Again, Summer Cup champ Mocha Blend and four-time winner and July runner-up Wish List.