The champions in various racing categories have been decided, and Richard Fourie emerged as the standout jockey of the season. He shattered what was considered an unbreakable record, surpassing Anthony Delpech’s 334 wins from the 1998/1999 season with an impressive 377 victories. Fourie also set a new East Cape record with 119 wins, far exceeding the previous mark of 116 held by Greg Cheyne. S’Manga Khumalo and Luyolo Mxothwa followed with 62 and 53 wins, respectively. Fourie was crowned the champion jockey in both KZN and the Western Cape, while Kobeli Lihaba claimed the national champion apprentice title with 49 wins.
Justin Snaith secured the national champion trainer title, with his stable amassing stakes earnings of R20,981,288. Sean Tarry, despite expectations for a strong performance on World Pool Gold Cup day, faced a challenging period with a current streak of 49 runs without a winner. Nonetheless, Tarry finished as the runner-up to Snaith for the second consecutive year. In the Central Provinces, Mike de Kock led with R12,396,843.75 in earnings from 66 wins, followed closely by Tony Peter with R11,983,937.50 from 98 wins. Sean Tarry rounded out the top three with R11,484,250.00 from 70 wins.
In a thrilling finish to the KZN Championship, Gareth van Zyl clinched the title with two trebles in the final meetings, narrowly surpassing Alyson Wright by just one win. Van Zyl ended the season with 54 wins, while Wright, whose stable faced a dry spell in July, finished with 53 wins. Wendy Whitehead was next with 46 wins.
In the East Cape, Alan Greeff claimed the title with 139 wins, edging out Gavin Smith, who finished with 134 wins. Kelly Mitchley followed with 78 wins.
