Summer Cup woos younger crowds to watch galloping horses

The Summer Cup, one of Joburg’s foremost horse racing events, is back.  In 2021 it was held under Covid-19-regulations but this year's instalment will be the full-blown affair.  

This time about it has rebranded itself with a new sponsor, Betway, and it intends to attract different demographics when the event kicks off on November 26 at Turffontein Racecourse in Johannesburg. 

The theme for this year’s event was revealed as “Golden Summer” during a press conference at Turffontein racecourse on Thursday.  

“What we do feel, what we do seek ... is [that] we need to bring in younger, different ages, different demographics; we need to bring a lot more black people into the sport. I always share the story that the only horse I experienced growing up in Soweto was Ntate Francis’ horse that used to bring wood.

“That’s the only time I experienced a horse, and when you do go to these big events it’s about the fashion which is great, it’s about the entertainment, but it’s a sport,” said 4 Racing CEO Fundi Sithebe. 

“The jockeys are athletes, the horses are athletes and the trainers are like the coaches, world renowned trainers. Our stud farms are globally renowned and when people understand the power of horse racing in SA it starts to bring it into a different light,” she added.

Sithebe has been at the helm of 4 Racing for just over a year now and has openly spoken about making racing accessible to all, and not only when it comes to betting.  

World-class jockey S’manga Khumalo, who won the July handicap on a horse called Sparkling Water, was one of the panellist at the media launch.

“We are all looking forward to this event. It’s very nice to have Betway behind it and 4 Racing. There have been a lot of changes in racing and we, as riders, we can see it. Even in the crowd, the crowd has been amazing, it just gives the rider that little boost to try to keep going. We’re very thankful for what they’ve done and I think there’s lots more to come,” said Khumalo.

Fashion and horse racing events have become synonymous. For this year’s race, Sithebe has partnered with fashion label Excelsior Lusso, which will be providing outfits on the day of the race. The company  dressed Sithebe in a scintillating fuchsia ensemble for the media launch.

We caught up with the creative director of Excelsior Lusso —  Amkelo Jiyane — and he gave us this advice when asked what to wear to the event: “First things first, you need to understand yourself and when you understand yourself you need to get to the point where you are comfortable enough to experiment. Experimenting comes when you understand yourself and you understand the kind of product you want to wear.

“And once you understand that experiment you take it to a brand-new level... Even if it means you take the most common piece but make it your own. It always starts with the self, once you understand yourself you can portray that externally.”   

Sithebe was joined on the panel by Betway SA country manager Phillip Superamonien; nine-time Summer Cup-winning trainer Mike de Kock; Southern African Association for the Conference Industry CEO Glenton de Kock; Destination marketing and communication manager at Gauteng Tourism Authority Anele Mdzikwa; and fashion label Excelsior Lusso MD Sarah Maeli. 

dlomol@sowetan.co.za