NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 25 – On the same day that India will celebrate 75 years of Independence and that Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical The Phantom of the Opera opened in New York (1988), the theatre of The Sport of Kings returns to the lush green and hallowed turf of Ngong Racecourse with its familiar and fashionable style and panache, for the first of the big classics, The Kenya Guineas, on Sunday 26 January 2025.
The “classics”, are time-honoured battles which have historically pitted the best horses in Kenya against each other, and the Kenya Guineas is the first in a series of these feature spectacles.
The fervour for the sport has grown week-on-week over the past two seasons, coercing a seemingly unstoppable amplification that has levelled the playing fields across all quarters and spared no favourites, lending crowds to some of the most fascinating and competitive racing seen in years.
The packed fields for this prestigious day of racing is a testament to the healthy state of racing in Kenya, with any number of nags having a respectable chance of earning honours.
The entries for The Kenya Guineas are amongst the biggest in recent times, promising electrifying rivalries to match the festival around racing in an event that is now the second largest in Africa behind South Africa.
Such is the newfound blooming stature of racing in Kenya that it has attracted a supremely talented and decorated international jockeys from South Africa in the way of the Rachel Venniker, and the very accomplished and multiple classic winner Salman Khan from India, who will be riding on his country’s Independence Day.
Both jockeys have won significant races in their home countries and will find themselves tested in the thick of the fray of a new crop of talented and pertinacious local jockeys.
The sublime weather that has ensconced the City in the Sun over the past few months means that track conditions are likely to be good to firm, which, combined with the international competition, translates to the big race of the day, The Kenya Guineas, likely to run at a thrilling pace.
Those familiar with the intricacies and rituals of racing consider this middle-distance sprint as the theatric audition for the exalted Kenya Derby, the biggest race in the calendar, so there is a great deal at stake to understand where horses are where they need to be.
It’s almost impossible to pick a favourite for the 1600m Kenya Guineas, given that the runners are largely fresh and inexperienced with no more than a handful of starts, but Treasure Cove, ridden by the judicious multiple Champion Jockey, James Muhindi, has the numbers and form with 5 wins from 5 starts.
Sheriff John Stone and Act of Genius have the two international jockeys at their helm, under the guidance of J Karari, and will both be contenders.
For those who believe that good things must eventually come good, Hindi Queen ridden by H Muya and Trumpet call ridden by L Sercombe are the fairytale stories waiting for their moment.
The action-packed six card meeting is entirely made up of middle-distance running and sprints, none with any irrefutable favourites, which will make for compelling viewing and betting for patrons and punters alike.
The race day gets underway at 1:35PM with the 1400m Risky Business Handicap, a race populated with three-year olds who haven’t quite figured out winning ways, making for interesting betting.
The 1800m Turn of Speed Maiden at 2:10PM is similarly set up, with no runners having registered a win, so it’s hard to pick from the pack.
The Limuru Gymkhana Cup at 2:45PM is a middle-distance examination for a more experienced field with Carlisle, Darling Me, Camberley, and Chipping almost all guaranteed to place, so someone must find a way to win.
The 1200m Chilli Cup is almost the opposite of most other races and is stacked with winners, so hard to pick and will come down to the strategy and jockeys courage under pressure.
The 4:30PM Duke of Manchester is again stacked with winners, and not easy to pick, but will make for a finish line exhibition.
The end of the racing is the beginning of the sundowners and afterparty with music from Nairobi’s finest DJ’s playing mellifluous tunes long into the evening.
There’s also a star gazing extravaganza with The Travelling Telescope to see 6 planets aligned across the Milky Way, in a not to be missed spectacle.
–By Kabir Dhanji-
