Equus Awards logs after July day

Most people love awards and award ceremonies – even in horse racing where much of the magic of the sport resides in vivid momentary intensity and not necessarily in raking embers for a flicker of remembered glory.

But recognising and celebrating big achievements over a whole season clearly has a place in the racing community’s heart – as shown by the long-running popularity of South Africa’s Equus Awards.

The glamour of the awards show, with spotlights, red carpets and smart outfits, plays a role for privileged attendees but, for a broader public, the naming of annual champions provides a historic and cultural touchstone in the game. Aficionados get a curated list of top performers to conjure further with – and even start arguments over.

This week, logs of leading horse candidates for the 2025/26 Equus Awards were announced. These logs reflect points accumulated in races contested to date in the season.

This was timed to mark the conclusion of 2026 Hollywoodbets Durban July day on 4 July. The final Equus nominees will be announced at the end of the term after World Pool Gold Cup day on 26 July.

The press release said:

Despite bypassing the 2026 Hollywoodbets Durban July, 2025/26 dual Grade 1-winning See It Again (trained by Justin Snaith) maintains his position at the top of the Horse Of The Year log with 138 points, while Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge winner Questioning (Vaughan Marshall) now occupies joint second spot alongside Durban July runner-up Wish List (Justin Snaith) with 124 points each.

In the Two-Year-Old categories, Sean Tarry-trained Get Up still tops the boards for Champion Two-Year-Old Filly honours with 28 points, while victory in the Grade 2 Amusnet Golden Slipper earned Palace Of Arvernia (Dean Kannemeyer) 16 points to join Good Day Sunshine (Mike/Mathew de Kock) in the second spot on the log.

Haute Couture (Mike/Mathew de Kock) and Rich Man’s World (Vaughan Marshall) stay on their ratings of 32 and 24 respectively and maintain their first and second slots on the Champion Two-Year-Old Male log, while fellow Marshall charge Vibe Check earned 16 points for his Grade 2 Omoda Golden Horseshoe victory to occupy joint third spot with Better Never Ends (Siboniso Ngcobo).

Wish List (Justin Snaith) enjoys a 26-point lead in the Champion Three Year Old Filly category, topping the board on 124 points after her runner-up effort in the July. Victory in the Grade 1 Ridgemont Garden Province Stakes sees Tienie Prinsloo charge Quickstepgal in second place on 98 points. Hazy Dazy (Corne Spies) rounds off the table with 64 points.

There has been plenty of movement in the Champion Three-Year-Old Colt/Gelding category. While Tin Pan Alley (Sean Tarry) maintains his position at the top of the log with 84 points, victory in the Hollywoodbets Durban July earned Note To Self (Justin Snaith) 64 points and second spot on the log with Star Major (James Crawford) and Trust (Candice/Tammy Dawson) filling 3rd and 4th spots with 60 and 44 points respectively.

In the Champion Older Female category, Double Grand Slam (Justin Snaith) has increased her lead to 92 points, 39 points ahead of nearest rival Asiye Phambili (Duncan Howells) who remains on 53; and 40 points ahead of Callmegetrix (Sean Tarry) on 52. Minogue takes up 4th spot with 40 points.

The standings for Champion Older Male remain static with See It Again (Justin Snaith) maintaining a 14-point lead over nearest rival Questioning (Vaughan Marshall), with The Real Prince (Dean Kannemeyer) and Legal Counsel (Justin Snaith) filling 3rd and 4th positions with 66 and 56 points respectively. Buffalo Storm Cody (Tony Peter) has edged out stablemate Taxi To The Moon for 5th spot with 52 points.

Asiye Phambili (Duncan Howells) has stormed to the top of the Champion Sprinter ranks, courtesy of her win in the SA Fillies Sprint. With 53 points, she holds a narrow lead over Buffalo Storm Cody (Tony Peter) on 52 points and fellow Peter charge Taxi To The Moon in 3rd with 48 points. Eastern Cape’s Kingdundee (Dean Smith) moves into 4th place with 40 points.

In the Champion Miler standings, Vaughan Marshall’s Questioning holds a strong lead with 104 points, 32 ahead of Double Grand Slam (Justin Snaith) on 72. Tin Pan Alley (Sean Tarry) is next best on 68 points, followed by The Real Prince (Dean Kannemeyer) and Quickstepgal (Tienie Prinsloo) with 54 and 48 points respectively.

See It Again (Justin Snaith) retains his position at the top of the Champion Middle Distance category log with 96 points. Wish List (Justin Snaith) moves into second spot with 68 points and Hollywoodbets Durban July winner Note To Self (Justin Snaith) occupies 3rd spot with 40 points.

Ahead Of The Facts (Justin Snaith) has increased his lead in the Champion Stayer category to 26, giving him a 12-point lead on Holding Thumbs (Glen Kotzen), currently on 14 points and 13 points ahead of the Candice/Tammy Dawson-trained Enflame on 13 points.

A judging panel has the deciding vote on the winners in each category, though the nominees are based on the points tables.

The 2026 Equus judging panel comprises Graeme Hawkins (chairman), Robert Bloomberg, Karel Miedema, Aveen Sewpersad and Darryl Maree.