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Johannesburg, South Africa — With the completion of 2026 Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge and TAB Jubilee Stakes meetings on 6 and 7 June, the numbers have been collated for the publication of the first 2026 Equus Awards logs.
The 2026 Equus judging panel comprises Graeme Hawkins (Chairman), Robert Bloomberg, Karel Miedema, Aveen Sewpersad and Darryl Maree.
While the panel will have the deciding vote on the winners in each category, both the list of nominees and the final results are drawn from the Equus Logs.
The current log standings reflect that this season’s dual Grade 1-winning SEE IT AGAIN (Justin Snaith) holds a 14-point lead over Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge winner QUESTIONING (Vaughan Marshall) in both the Champion Older Male and prestigious Horse Of The Year categories.
As far as the Two-Year-Old awards are concerned, the Sean Tarry-trained GET UP enjoys a substantial lead over Mike / Mathew de Kock charge GOOD DAY SUNSHINE in the Filly category, while HAUTE COUTURE (Mike / Mathew de Kock) has an 8-point advantage over Cape contender, RICH MAN'S WORLD (Vaughan Marshall) for Champion Two-Year-Old Colt/Gelding.
WISH LIST (Justin Snaith) holds a strong lead in the Champion Three-Year-Old Filly category, ahead of QUICKSTEPGAL (Tienie Prinsloo) and HAZY DAZY (Corne Spies), while TIN PAN ALLEY (Sean Tarry) has a 24-point advantage over STAR MAJOR (James Crawford) for Champion Three-Year-Old Colt/Gelding.
DOUBLE GRAND SLAM (Justin Snaith) is 31 points ahead of ASIYE PHAMBILI (Duncan Howells) and 32 ahead of Callmegetrix (Sean Tarry) in the Champion Older Female Category.
Nominees for this year’s Champion Sprinter category are very closely matched with BUFFALO STORM CODY (Tony Peter) and TAXI TO THE MOON (Sean Tarry) tied on 48 points each and KINGDUNDEE, the charge of young Dean Smith, not far behind on 40 points.
Vaughan Marshall charge QUESTIONING holds a 36 point lead over nearest rival TIN PAN ALLEY (Sean Tarry) for the Champion Miler Award, while SEE IT AGAIN seems an unassailable 64 points clear of nearest rival MOCHA BLEND for Champion Middle Distance honours.
Things are a lot less cut and dried in the Champion Stayer category, with only 5 points between AHEAD OF THE FACTS (Justin Snaith), HOLDING THUMBS (Glen Kotzen) and ENFLAME (Candice/Tammy Dawson).
With everything to play for, there is plenty of competitive racing to look forward to as the season progresses.
The next log will be published after the conclusion of 2026 Hollywoodbets Durban July day.