•Last season’s leading owner, Lady Sarah Spencer, who will be at the races, is excited about the vogue and culture around Ladies' Day.
•For the first time in the 2023/24 season, there are seven races on the card
Image: KABIR DHANJI
The 2024 Kenya Fillies Guineas also known as Ladies Day on Sunday at Ngong Racecourse is the second in a string of classic races and a celebration of women and racing.
The first Fillies Guineas was held in the United Kingdom in 1814. The race was specifically for three-year-old fillies, the equine term for female horses under the age of four, for the prize of a gold guinea, which was worth Sh21 at the time.
Since then, the race has been internationally adopted and run all over the world, married to the idea of a racing day for and about ladies.
In 1823, at Royal Ascot, an anonymous poet wrote that Ladies’ Day was “when the women, like angels, look sweetly divine.”
Last season’s leading owner, Lady Sarah Spencer, who will be at the races, is excited about the vogue and culture around Ladies Day.
“We are sure there will be some fashionable ladies at the Kenya Fillies Guineas. Kenyans know how to dress for a great occasion. It should be a brilliant day and we are looking forward to it,” she said.
The Executive Committee director of racing, Ms. Mary Binks, echoed the sentiments of Lady Spencer, saying it was “time for the fillies and ladies to shine,” and that it would be a “special day for women.”
As horse racing in Kenya continues to grow, so does the culture around the sport and its carnival, honouring the tradition of racing and doubling up as a fashion event.
It showcases the who’s-who of society and the latest fashions from local and international designers worn by models, celebrities, kings, queens, princes, and princesses.
For the first time in the 2023/24 season, there are seven races on the card.
In what promises to be an exciting day of racing, trainer Ollie Gray believes ‘there are few if any, bankers or favourites’ with his compatriot Joe Karari describing the meeting as having “open races where any horse can win because they’re all good horses with equal merit.”
The racing gets underway at 12:55 pm with a 1000m sprint where High Legislation is the closest to a sure bet that will be found.
The second race at 1:30 pm is the first of two distance races, this one over 2060m, where Carlisle, ridden by the experienced J Muhindi, who finished third in the Kenya Guineas, looks best on paper.
The third race at 2:05 pm is an 1800m middle-distance test that is wide open with no obvious winner.
The fourth race at 2:40pm should be a closely fought affair between Dalkeith, ridden by the in-form H Muya, Caspar and Star in Winter ridden by P Kiarie who has a habit of winning on unlikely winners.
The Kenya Fillies Guineas is being run at 3:15 pm over 1600m and will be a contest between Joanna being ridden by L Sercombe and Leap of Faith.
The 3:55 pm Kenya Gold Cup over 3200m has the only real banker of the day with General Lee, though Assured, unbeaten in his last three races, will not make it easy across the marathon.
The seventh race of the day is a 1000m sprint at 4:30 pm, where Sticky Ticket is the only known entity and likely gold medalist.