Deemed by many as unlucky to have missed out on a single Equus Award last year, Legal Eagle received South African racing’s top accolade when voted Equus Horse of the Year at a plush function hosted by the Racing Association at Emperors Palace in Johannesburg on Tuesday, August 16.

Legal Eagle raced five times during the season and won three Grade 1 races in imperious fashion – the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate, the HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes and the Premier’s Champions Challenge. His other two starts yielded seconds to Smart Call in the J&B Met in January and an Allowance Plate in his first run of the season.

Trainer Sean Tarry’s charge also clinched the Champion Older Male and Champion Miler awards for his owners Markus and Ingrid Jooste. Anton Marcus, the Joostes’ retained jockey, rode Legal Eagle in all of his five starts.

Equus owner, trainer, jockey, apprentice, stallion and breeder awards go automatically to the table-toppers in each category for the season.

The Joostes won the Champion Owners award for the ninth year running by virtue of their runners earning R26.3 million during the season – R17 million more than any other owner.

Tarry won the Trainers’ Championship and the Equus Champion Trainer award for the second consecutive season. His first call rider S’manga Khumalo won the jockeys’ championship and the Equus rider’s trophy for the second time after also leading the pack home in the 2013-14 racing season.

Legal Eagle was a contender for the Champion Middle-Distance trophy (1800m to 2200m), but the award went to top female Smart Call, who beat him in the Met before being exported to compete at the famed Breeders’ Cup later this year.

Smart Call won four of five starts in South Africa during the season with her other victories including the Grade 1 Maine Chance Farms Paddock Stakes and the Grade 2 Ipi Tombe Stakes.

The recently turned five-year-old, who runs for Jessica Slack’s Mauritzfontein Stud and is trained by Alec Laird, was also named Champion Older Filly-Mare ahead of Carry On Alice and Inara.

The Tarry stable won another award when Cloth Of Cloud, unbeaten in three career starts including defeating the boys in the Grade 1 SA Nursery, was named Champion Two-Year-Old Filly.

The corresponding award for colts and geldings went to Vaughan Marshall-trained Always In Charge, who trounced his opposition in the Grade 1 Gold Medallion at Scottsville.

SA Triple Crown hero Abashiri was a strong contender for the Champion Three-Year-Old Colt-Gelding award ahead of other Grade 1-winning nominees in Cape Derby victor It’s My Turn, Cape Guineas and Dingaans (Grade 2) winner Noah From Goa, Daily News 2000 hero Rabada and rising star Marinaresco.

But the award went to Cape-based Marinaresco, who got better and better as the season progressed. Trainer Mike Bass’ charge was only third behind It’s My Turn in the Cape Derby, but went on to win two legs of the Cape winter series before closing fast late from way back to finish second to The Conglomerate in the Vodacom Durban July.

He wrapped up the season and Mike Bass’ training career with an impressive and emotional victory in the Champions Cup on the last day of the season.

Abashiri’s connections did not go home empty handed though. Adriaan and Rika van Vuuren’s gelding was given a Special Achievement award in recognition of his accomplishment in becoming only the third winner of the SA Triple Crown.

Drakenstein Stud’s Inara, winner of 1600m Grade 1 races in all three major racing centres, inaugural Million Dollar winner Illuminator and trainer Ormond Ferraris were also honoured with Special Achievement awards. Ferraris has had a long and illustrious career and reached the 2,500-winner milestone during the season.

Champion Sprinter went to owner-trainer Coenie de Beer’s Talktothestars.

This was a tough category because the four nominees each won one Grade 1 race during the season with Talktothestars’ claim resting on a grand victory in the 1200m Tsogo Sun Sprint at Scottsville in May carrying top weight in the only Group 1 handicap.

The Champion Stayer award went to eLan Gold Cup hero Enaad, trained by Mike de Kock for Al Adiyaat South Africa. The Gold Cup is South Africa’s greatest test of stamina, in spite of its Grade 2 status, and Enaad had earlier won the 3000m Gold Vase on Durban July Day.

The battle for the Champion Three-Year-Old Filly award was between Silver Mountain, who won the Grade 1 Cape Fillies Guineas and placed in the Cape Guineas and Million Dollar, Varsfontein Stud’s Bela-Bela and Juxtapose, winner of the Grade 1 SA Fillies Classic and Grade 2 SA Oaks.

The panel of judges ruled in favour of Bela-Bela based on her successes in the in the Grade 2 KRA Fillies Guineas and the Grade 1 Woolavington 2000, as well as her third behind Smart Call in the Paddock Stakes and close sixth in the Durban July.

Apprentice Lyle Hewitson’s career has been explosive since he was first licensed to ride in races in March, but Callan Murray held on to win the Champion Apprentice title and the corresponding Equus Award by just five wins.

CHAMPION TWO-YEAR-OLD MALE (DISTANCE IMMATERIAL)
ALWAYS IN CHARGE

CHAMPION TWO-YEAR-FILLY (DISTANCE IMMATERIAL)
CLOTH OF CLOUD

CHAMPION THREE-YEAR-OLD COLT (DISTANCE IMMATERIAL)
MARINARESCO

CHAMPION THREE-YEAR-OLD FILLY (DISTANCE IMMATERIAL)
BELA-BELA

CHAMPION OLDER MALE (DISTANCE IMMATERIAL)
LEGAL EAGE

CHAMPION OLDER FILLY/MARE (DISTANCE IMMATERIAL)
SMART CALL

CHAMPION SPRINTER (1000-1200 METRES; AGE/GENDER IMMATERIAL)
TALKTOTHESTARS

CHAMPION MILER (1400-1600; AGE/GENDER IMMATERIAL)
LEGAL EAGLE

CHAMPION MIDDLE DISTANCE HORSE (1800-2200 METRES; AGE/GENDER IMMATERIAL)
SMART CALL

CHAMPION STAYER (2400 METRES UPWARDS; AGE/GENDER IMMATERIAL)
ENAAD

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
ORMOND FERRARIS
ILLUMINATOR – Glen Puller, Frances Carruthers and Ian Robinson
INARA – Mike Bass, Gaynor Rupert, Ross Fuller and Kevin Sommerville
ABASHIRI – Mike Azzie & Adriaan and Rika Van Vuuren

CHAMPION STALLION
TRIPPI

CHAMPION BROODMARE
YOUNG SENSATION

EXCEPTIONAL BROODMARE ACHIEVEMENT
MYSTIC SPRING

CHAMPION BREEDER
SUMMERHILL STUD

OUTSTANDING BREEDER AWARD
LAMMERSKRAAL STUD

MEDIA AWARD – Print
CHARLES FAULL

CHAMPION APPRENTICE
CALLAN MURRAY

CHAMPION JOCKEY
S’MANGA KHUMALO

CHAMPION TRAINER
SEAN TARRY

CHAMPION OWNER
MARKUS AND INGRID JOOSTE

HORSE OF THE YEAR
LEGAL EAGLE