On the last Saturday in January the place to be is the Kenilworth racetrack in Cape Town for the running of the country’s richest race.
Last year the 2,000m race took place behind closed doors, but this year the organisers of the Cape Town Met have decided to let punters back in — although they needed to have had the jab.
So, with my digital vaccination certificate on my smartphone, bottle of sanitiser in my suit pocket and a mask covering half my face, I was ready to do the social gallop yesterday.
With Sun International no longer involved, online bookmaker World Sports Betting has taken over sponsorship duties for the 160th running of the historic event.
Glam Garden was the theme for the day, with hospitality areas interpreting this in different ways.
While décor in the Kenilworth Room, for instance, took a beach angle (think wicker furnishings, nautical lines and seashells in clear glass vessels), florals featured strongly in the 1881 Lounge, which is frequented by the horsey set who own the thoroughbreds.
The first person I meet is someone who, through her Drakenstein stud farm, owns or breeds many thoroughbreds. That’s Gaynor Rupert, who was heading to her private box, chuffed that her horse Peut-être moi won the first race.
“Nice suit,” says the wife of Johann “white monopoly capital” Rupert about my floral brocade two piece. Gaynor gladly posed for a pic with Fundi Sithebe, head of course manager 4Racing, and Gaynor’s good friend Lindy White, wife of former Springbok coach Jake.
Another early bird is radio gal Liezel van der Westhuizen who, along with fiancé Mike Fannin, is in the midst of training for a 7.5km swim to Robben Island at the end of April to raise funds for the NSRI.
On to saying hello to Afternoon Express presenter Palesa Tembe, wearing a long turquoise dress by Lauren R Couture, who will commemorate a sad milestone in April — the death of her sister Anele, who was engaged to Kiernan “AKA” Forbes.
“I think about her every day,” said the presenter. “Only yesterday I was thinking that it’s almost a year [since Nelli died].”
Someone who had a spot of wardrobe drama was 947 DJ Thando Thabethe. “I didn’t have a dress until 10am this morning. My amazing stylist Kgosi [Lesego Kgosimolao] flew down from Jo’burg to deliver it,” she confided.
Thando arrived with Lunga Shabalala. As they made their way to the Heineken marquee I had to ask the Legacy actor if rumours were true that they were dating. “I did ask her out, and she said yes,” confirmed Lunga.
While Lunga and Thando enjoyed the hospitality at Heineken sadly for me and the rest of the working media that wasn’t the case - when I made a return later on in the day I was told by an event organiser called Candice that “you’re welcome to come in and take pics but you’re not allowed to eat or drink anything.” Hmmmm…
More welcoming were the good folks at the next door Schweppes marquee, where I say hello to Olympian Chad le Clos, who turned up with his girlfriend Jeannie Mulder.
Jeannie, a runner up at the most recent Miss SA beauty pageant, wore a gorgeous coral gown by local design label Lena-Lisa.
While thin on the usual celebs who love attending the opening of an envelope, eagle-eyed racegoers might have spotted a smattering of the super-rich among them — folk like Wendy Appelbaum, daughter of Liberty founder Sir Donald Gordon and Mary Slack of the Oppenheimer fortune.
What did we tuck into when not watching the track?
Starters included beetroot, orange and aniseed cured salmon slivers with pickled ginger and avocado mousse, while seared beef rubbed in mustard and accompanied by a peppered truffle mushroom sauce was one of the options for mains.
Dessert included New York-style cheesecake and chocolate mousse filled choux pastries.
And, because this is a long day out, much needed late afternoon sustenance came in the form of arancini balls, crispy Asian wontons and beef sliders.
Racegoers in a party mood were also well-served with an impressive line-up of entertainment after the action on the track ended: Cape Town favs GoodLuck, Osama hitmaker Zakes Bantwini and Desiree, an LGTBQ activist and artist who describes herself as an “Intersexy interpreter of Techno” performed late into the evening.
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