Kenilworth Racecourse, Cape Town, can boast the title of the oldest racecourse in South Africa hosting racing since 1881. The new course is a left handed round track has a perimeter of 14 furlongs (2800 metres) with a 3 furlong straight, while the old course is almost 13 furlongs (2700 metres) in length. Its principal race is the J B Met (Cape Metropolitan Stakes) which is run each January over 2000 metres, a race steeped in history, being run for the first time in the late 1790's, but first came to Kenilworth in 1883. The 2007 winner of the J&B Met was the Mike Bass trained Pocket Power and he repeated the victory on 1st February 2008. Amazingly he gained a third consecutive victory in 2009 when the 12-10 favourite. The other high quality is the Queen's Plate, also contested each January and run for the first time in 1861 when Queen Victoria donated a silver plate and 500 sovereigns. Incredibly, Pocket Power managed to win on 4 occasions between 2006 and 2010, although a full list of winners this millennium is shown below.
JB Met Cape Metropolitan Stakes winners since 2000
2000 The JB Met was won by Badgers Coast owned by Mr A Riley and Mrs H M Riley, trained by Mike de Kock and ridden by G Figueroa
2001 The JB Met was won by Bunter Barlow owned by Mr M W Bass and Mr R J Bloomberg, trained by Mike W Bass and ridden by G Hatt
2002 The JB Met was won by Polo Classic owned by Mr F Galasso, Mr L Kirsten and Mr T A Lowe, trained by T Lowe and ridden by B Vorster
2003 The JB Met was won by Angus owned by Mrs S Plattner, trained by B Crawford and ridden by Pierre Strydom
2004 The JB Met was won by Yard-Arm owned by the Lammerskraal Stud, trained by G Woodruff and ridden by M Khan
2005 The JB Met was won by Alastor owned by Mr S M P Michael and Mr Ramon Rahme, trained by S G Tarry and ridden by G Puller
2006 The JB Met was won by Zebra Crossing owned by Mr R L Bruss, Mr P A Deal, Mrs Davina Bruss and Mrs P D Hardy, trained by N Bruss and ridden by J Lloyd
2007 The JB Met was won by Pocket Power owned by Mr N M Shirtliff and Mr and Mrs A D Webber, trained by Mike W Bass and ridden by J Lloyd
2008 The JB Met was won by Pocket Power owned by Mr N M Shirtliff and Mr and Mrs A D Webber, trained by Mike W Bass and ridden by Bernard Fayd'Herbe
2009 The JB Met was won by Pocket Power owned by Mr N M Shirtliff and Mr and Mrs A D Webber, trained by Mike W Bass and ridden by Bernard Fayd'Herbe
2010 The JB Met was won by River Jetez owned by Mr N M Shirtliff and Mr and Mrs C A Amm, trained by Mike W Bass and ridden by G Hatt
2011 The JB Met was won by Past Master owned by Mr H Adams, trained by D R Hodgson and ridden by G Schlechter
2012 The JB Met was won by Igugu owned by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Maktoum and Mr and Mrs A J Macdonald, trained by Mike de Kock and ridden by Anthony Delpech
2013 The JB Met was won by Marital Eagle owned by Mrs N Plattner, trained by Y Govender and ridden by A Domeyer
2014 The JB Met was won by Hill Fifty Four owned by Mrs I Jooste and Mr M J Jooste, trained by V H Marshall and ridden by Anton Marcus
2015 The JB Met was won by Futura owned by Mr J T Freeman, Mr I W Longmore and Mr W J C Mitchell, trained by B Crawford and ridden by Bernard Fayd'Herbe
2016 The JB Met was won by Smart Call owned by Mauritzfonteine (Pty) Ltd, trained by A Laird and ridden by J P Van Der Merwe
2017 The JB Met was won by Whisky Baron owned by Mr C and R Kieswetter, trained by B Crawford and ridden by G Cheyne
2018 The JB Met was won by Oh Susanna owned by the Drakenstein Stud, trained by J Snaith and ridden by G Van Niekerk
Queen's Plate winners since 2000
2000 The Queen's Plate was won by Free My Heart
200 The Queen's Plate was won by Trademark
2002 The Queen's Plate was won by Free My Heart
2004 The Queen's Plate was won by Yard-Arm
2005 The Queen's Plate was won by Winter Solstice
2006 The Queen's Plate was won by Pocket Power
2007 The Queen's Plate was won by Pocket Power
2009 The Queen's Plate was won by Pocket Power
2010 The Queen's Plate was won by Pocket Power
2011 The Queen's Plate was won by Mother Russia
2012 The Queen's Plate was won by Gimmethegreenlight
2013 The Queen's Plate was won by Variety Club
2014 The Queen's Plate was won by Capetown Noir
2015 The Queen's Plate was won by Futura
2016 The Queen's Plate was won by Legal Eagle
2017 The Queen's Plate was won by Legal Eagle
2018 The Queen's Plate was won by Legal Eagle
