17 Dec ALL SET FOR THE QUEEN’S PLATE

Horsepower of a different kind will be on view when L’Ormarins will, for the eleventh year in succession, be sponsoring the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate (LQP) at Kenilworth Racecourse on 9 January supported, as always, by a display of thoroughbreds from the Franschhoek Motor Museum. An integral part of the multi-faceted L’Ormarins operation, the Queen’s Plate is the Cape’s most prestigious horse racing event, which features the best 16 thoroughbred horses in the country – accepted according to their weight-for-age merit ratings – competing for the R1 million purse.

Television personality Bonang Matheba is the official spokeswoman for this year’s race, which is the 155th running of the event – the first was in 1861 – and it stands as a meeting of racing excellence, style and grace marked with blue-and-white themed fashions, top-notch music and entertainment and superb culinary experiences. Apart from the prestigious Queen’s Plate, the day’s 12-race card will include the third Peninsula Stakes, sponsored by England’s Goodwood Racecourse, bringing international flavour to the day’s line-up. Additionally, the Breeder’s Cup, the biggest annual race day held in the United States, will again grant the LQP winner automatic entrance to its Mile Division, cementing the race’s global status.

“The L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate has a rich history and is a defining moment in the international horse racing calendar. Every year we strive to maintain strict standards of elegance and leisure while building on the successes of the past. LQP 2016 will deliver everything people have come to expect, plus a few surprises,” said Katherine Gray, co-ordinator of the 2016 event.

As part of the Glorious Goodwood partnership with LQP, the Best Dressed Lady and a partner will be flown to the UK’s Glorious Goodwood race in August 2016. French luxury brand Cartier will present the Best Dressed Lady with a Cartier bag, while the Best Dressed Man will win a Cartier wallet.

Not to be outdone, adding motorized style to the days’ four- and two-legged proceedings will be a select few of FMM’s elite horseless carriages to provide a glamorous sideshow to the main event. Among the models to be displayed are some famous BMWs – a 1953 502, a 1938 328 and Nelson Mandela’s 46664 charity 7-Series – the BMW-engined McLaren F1 road car, and a 1928 Rolls-Royce Phantom 1. MM