Strydom wins the Summer cup

JOHANNESBURG, 29th November 2014: The R2-million Gauteng SANSUI Summer Cup day-night meeting at Turffontein Racecourse had every ingredient horseracing fans and Joburg’s socialites could wish for in a perfect day out; 12 staggering thoroughbred races, 11 car giveaways, 2 hugely exciting specialty races, a plethora of celebrities, thousands of glamourous hat wearing racegoers and one overall perfect day of enjoyment for all.
After a thrilling finish to what was a memorable race, the Geoff Woodruff-trained Louis The King, ridden by Piere “Striker” Strydom, crossed the line first in this year’s Gauteng SANSUI Summer Cup feature race. The victors make a formidable trio; Louis the King became the first horse to win the Triple Crown this century earlier this year; Strydom is a six-times champion jockey who became the first rider in South African history to record 5000 career winners last weekend; Woodruff is a five-times champion trainer, who had the first three past the line in last year’s Summer Cup and the first two this year. Louis The King showed the courage that is a hallmark of all great champions, finding extra when it counted and pipping his stablemate Killua Castle, who had hit the front at the 300m mark. The Tyrone Zackey-trained Judicial ran on well for third place.
Turffontein Racecourse, with its picturesque Jozi skyline backdrop, was a buzz of exhilaration on Saturday 29th of November as thousands of stylish guests from Gauteng, and afar, flocked to the iconic venue donning hats in the spirit of the theme ‘Hats Off’. The track was gloriously transformed into a celebratory outdoor occasion with multiple hospitality sites, masses of entertainment and enough racing activity to satisfy all race goers’ desires. The elegant Dineo Moeketsi, the face of the Gauteng SANSUI Summer Cup 2014, welcomed guests to the racecourse in all her glamour and style.

“With 127 years of rich heritage The Summer Cup has an iconic history of horse racing indulgence. The event and the venue have become the heart of racing for the Golden Region,” explains Mike Varney, National Marketing Manager from Phumelela Gaming and Racing. It’s a Rush. “This year’s Gauteng SANSUI Summer Cup took this legacy into a new era with an outstanding event, which will no doubt mark the course in years to come and raise the bar in racing circles,” completes Varney.
With a keen desire to reinvigorate the sport of horse racing in Gauteng the partners of the event - JD Group’s electronic brand SANSUI, Gauteng Tourism together with Phumelela Gaming and racing brand Racing. It’s a Rush have hosted a successful all-rounder event; full of vibrancy and excitement, all managed by the team at sponsorship agency Megapro Holdings (Pty) Limited.
Racing enthusiasts, owners, breeders and jockeys were kept on the edge of their seats, or saddles, with 12 fields of thundering thoroughbreds including the rush of the feature race, the Gauteng SANSUI Summer Cup and its winning purse of R2 million. All 12 races encouraged masses of betting flurries adding to the pressure and passion of the day.

Over and above the 12 horse races there were two speciality racing highlights. 20 of SA’s hottest celebrities took to the race track in their sporty kit with charitable competitiveness for the Racing. It’s a Rush Celebrity Charity Dash. The winning celebrity, Stacey Holland, had the credit of not only being the quickest celeb on the track but also the honour to handover a whopping R475 000 to this year’s charity partner SOS Children’s Villages. “On behalf of SOS Children’s Villages, I cannot begin to explain how grateful we are to have been selected as the charity partner this year, to be a part of a respected occasion such as the Gauteng SANSUI Summer Cup and for the incredible donation from Phumelela Gaming,” said Yvonne Stiglingh Head of Fund Development and Communications at SOS Children Village, “Watching the beautiful, and some very handsome celebrity dashers fight it out on the track was the highlight of my entire day,” Stiglingh completes. SOS Children‘s Villages is an independent, non-governmental, social development organisation that provides family-based care to children in 133 countries and territories and that advocates the concerns, rights and needs of children, especially of those without parental care. For more information visit www.sos.org.za

Movember SA was also a charity partner this year, supported by the “Mo-Kini Sprint,” which for some ladies was the highlight of the evening as it saw a handful of SA’s hottest men swap their kit for ‘mankinis’ to complete a cheeky 200m dash to raise awareness for testicular cancer.
The Charity partners were not the only fortunate few this year to walk away with something from race day. 11 extremely lucky race goers might have arrived in their own cars but certainly drove home more elated in a brand new car thanks to simply attending the event. 11 cars were given away during race day to add a spike of delight in between the rush of the races and the glam of the fashion shows and live entertainment.
Fashion took to the stage in two colourful shows, the Gauteng Township Based Designers Showcase and The Young Designer Fashion Show in association with DSSA & Steele Models Studio, led by fashion partner JJ Schoeman and judged by Dineo Moeketsi’s stylist team Quiteria and George amongst others. Young fashion designer, Zandile Nkosi took top fashion spot with her flaming flowing red dress. Style was also celebrated in the Sunday Sun Best Dressed competition which honoured ‘Most Elegant Lady’, ‘Most Stylish Lad’, ‘Most Striking Couple’, ‘Best Hat’ and ‘Best Mo-Bro’ of Movember. For an event of this stature it was only fitting to have an equally epic line up of only the top SA DJs and music performers on main stage to keep the crowds celebrating from the day into the night. The official entertainment line-up this year included Toya Delazy, Nick Essential, AKA, DJ Cleo and Ralf Gum
With all these live activities, naming sponsors SANSUI felt the event was a perfect fit for them once again, now in their 6th year of sponsorship. Marc Joubert, Group Marketing Executive at SANSUI in South Africa was fervent about the events success in its entirety. “SANSUI is once again immensely proud to be partners with Gauteng’s premier equestrian and fashion affair. Over the past year we have been working tirelessly to provide racegoers with a memorable and festive day at the races,” explains Joubert, “An event of such stature truly reflects the qualities of SANSUI, which stands by the motto of ‘Live Entertained’. As a globally recognised consumer electronics brand SANSUI is known for quality, aspiration and credibility, which the Summer Cup epitomises. It has been a pleasure to be involved, once again,” Joubert concludes.

Barba Gaoganediwe, spokesperson for Gauteng Tourism was also amongst the proud event partners on race day. Gauteng, now in its third year with the Summer Cup, is elated to host one of the country’s greatest and most prestigious horse racing events. “Gauteng is the birthplace of humanity, its Africa’s fashion capital and an inspirational destination befitting to host such a prestigious event. The hope for Gauteng partnering with this glamourous event, is together, to become associated with some of the top horse races around the world,” says Gaoganediwe, “I believe from all the positive feedback from the day that due to the efforts of Gauteng, together with that of our partners, that we are certainly elevating the event and the province’s stature through this partnership. The Gauteng SANSUI Summer Cup is now certainly a well-established flagship event in the Gauteng City Region sporting and social calendar”.
Clyde Basel Marketing & Sales Executive, Phumelela Gaming and also known as the Golden Voice in horse racing is satisfied to see the racing pillar of the event building in popularity at the same time. “The rush and thrill of a day at the races is complimented by having a new team to support every 40 minutes,” explains Basel, “It's exhilarating, the thoroughbred is an amazing creature, the love for the horse is infectious and once you’ve been to a race, there's no turning back” he continues. “We are watching racing grow year-on-year and it is events like the Gauteng SANSUI Summer Cup that will propel the sport’s popularity further in the future. Thank you to all our sponsors and partners, who without, this successful day would not have been possible. I’m also happy to announce that we achieved oncourse tote budget exceeding last year’s figure comfortably” Basel concludes.
With all that the Gauteng SANSUI Summer Cup had to offer, the premium occasion proved once again, as it has year after year, that it is a unique union of the entertainment, sport and fashion industries in one powerful and exuberant event, making is a must for racing industry familiars, newbies, fashionistas and socialites.
View an overview 30” YouTube ad for the 2014 Gauteng SANSUI Summer Cup