| Surface: | Turf |
| Class: | Grade One |
| Horse Race: | Cape Metropolitan Stakes |
| Location: | Kenilworth Racecourse Cape Town, South Africa |
| Inaugurated: | 1883 |
| Race Type: | Thoroughbred - Flat racing |
| Distance: | 2,000 metres |
| Track: | Left-handed |
| Purse: | R5 Million |
The Cape Metropolitan Stakes, currently named the Sun Met (and previously known as the J&B Met) is a Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race run on the turf at Kenilworth Racecourse in Cape Town, South Africa.[1] It is run over 2000m. It was first run in 1883 as the Metropolitan Mile.[2]
It is considered one of the three main feature races in South Africa, alongside the Vodacom Durban July, and the Summer Cup.[3]
J&B Whiskey (part of the Diageo group at the time) were sponsors of the Cape Metropolitan Stakes from 1977 to 2016.[4] The stake pot offered by the company was R40,000, making it a record purse for a race at the time.[5] The race was commonly referred to as the J&B Met during their rein as sponsors.
In 2017 Sun International became sponsors of the race, with it being referred to as the Sun Met.[6]
World Sports Betting (WSB) a South African sports and live games betting site took over sponsorship in 2022 and the race was renamed to the World Sports Betting Cape Town Met. Press release: https://www.sportingpost.co.za/2021/12/met-gets-a-new-sponsor/[7]
Listed below are the past winners of the Met.[8] [9]
| Edition | Year | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 97 | 1959 | Bulbul | Colin Palm | Cookie Amos | |
| 98 | 1960 | Appeal Court | |||
| 99 | 1961 | Frantic | |||
| 100 | 1962 | Jerez | Stanley Amos | Cookie Amos | |
| 101 | 1963 | Polar Bear | |||
| 102 | 1964 | The Giant | Colin Palm | Cookie Amos | |
| 103 | 1965 | Speciality | |||
| 104 | 1966 | Renounce | Duncan Alexander | Cookie Amos | |
| 105 | 1967 | Ding Dong | James Maree | ||
| 106 | 1968 | ||||
| 107 | 1969 | Peter Beware | Terrance Millard | ||
| 108 | 1970 | Snow Fun | Duncan Alexander | J Bell | |
| 109 | 1971 | Night Off | |||
| 110 | 1972 | Force Ten | |||
| 111 | 1973 | Gold Flame | Terence D’Arcy | ||
| 112 | 1974 | Yataghan | Bertie Hayden | Syd Laird | |
| 113 | 1975 | Sledgehammer | Michael Roberts | Fred Rickaby | |
| 114 | 1976 | Gatecrasher | Garth Puller | Herman Brown | |
| 115 | 1977 | Bahadur | |||
| 116 | 1978 | Politician | Bertie Hayden | Syd Laird | |
| 117 | 1979 | Politician | Bertie Hayden | Syd Laird | |
| 118 | 1980 | Sunshine Man | Felix Coetzee | Peter Kannemeyer | |
| 119 | 1981 | Queen’s Elect | |||
| 120 | 1982 | Foveros | Basil Marcus | Herman Brown snr | |
| 121 | 1983 | Arctic Cove | Terrance Millard | ||
| 122 | 1984 | Wolf Power | Jeff Lloyd | Ricky Maingard | |
| 123 | 1985 | Charles Fortune | Grant Kotzen | Michael Airey | |
| 124 | 1986 | Wild West | Greg Holme | Ralph Rixon | |
| 125 | 1987 | Model Man | Basil Marcus | Patrick Lunn | |
| 126 | 1988 | Mark Anthony | Felix Coetzee | Terrance Millard | |
| 127 | 1989 | Fearless Streaker | Felix Coetzee | ||
| 128 | 1990 | Jungle Warrior | Felix Coetzee | Eric Sands | |
| 129 | 1991 | Olympic Duel | Felix Coetzee | Terrance Millard | |
| 130 | 1992 | Divine Master | Jeff Lloyd | Peter Kannemeyer | |
| 131 | 1993 | Empress Club | Anton Marcus | Tony Millard | |
| 132 | 1994 | Pas De Quoi | Garth Puller | Peter Kannemeyer | |
| 133 | 1995 | Surfing Home | Jeff Lloyd | Tony Millard | |
| 134 | 1996 | La Fabulous | Robbie Fradd | Vaughan Marshall | |
| 135 | 1997 | London News | Alec Laird | ||
| 136 | 1998[10] | Imperious Sue | Anthony Delpech | David Payne | |
| 137 | 1999 | Waichong Marwing | Mike de Kock | ||
| 138 | 2000 | Badger’s Coast | Guillermo Figueroa | Mike de Kock | |
| 139 | 2001 | Bunter Barlow | Glen Hatt | Mike Bass | |
| 140 | 2002 | Polo Classic | Barend Vorster | Eric Sands | |
| 141 | 2003 | Angus | Piere Strydom | Brett Crawford | |
| 142 | 2004 | Yard-Arm | Mark Khan | Geoff Woodruff | |
| 143 | 2005 | Alastor | Garth Puller | Sean Tarry | |
| 144 | 2006 | Zebra Crossing | Jeff Lloyd | Neil Bruss | |
| 145 | 2007 | Pocket Power | Jeff Lloyd | Mike Bass | |
| 146 | 2008 | Pocket Power | Bernard Faydherbe | Mike Bass | |
| 147 | 2009 | Pocket Power | Bernard Faydherbe | Mike Bass | |
| 148 | 2010 | River Jetez | Glen Hatt | Mike Bass | |
| 149 | 2011 | Past Master | Gerrit Schlechter | Darryl Hodgson | |
| 150 | 2012 | Igugu | Mike de Kock | ||
| 151 | 2013 | Martial Eagle | Aldo Domeyer | Yogas Govender | |
| 152 | 2014 | Hill Fifty Four | Anton Marcus | Vaughan Marshall | |
| 153 | 2015 | Futura | B Fayd'herbe | Brett Crawford | |
| 154 | 2016 | Smart Call | Juan Paul V'd Merwe | Alec Laird | |
| 155 | 2017 | Whisky Baron | Greg Cheyne | Brett Crawford | |
| 156 | 2018 | Oh Susanna | Grant Van Niekerk | Justin Snaith | |
| 157 | 2019 | Rainbow Bridge | Anton Marcus | Eric Sands | |
| 158 | 2020 | One World | MJ Byleveld | Vaughan Marshall | |
| 159 | 2021 | Rainbow Bridge | Eric Sands | ||
| 160 | 2022 | Kommetdieding | Gavin Lerena | H W Crawford & M Rix | |
| 161 | 2023 | Jet Dark | Richard Fourie | Justin Snaith | |
| 162 | 2024 | Double Superlative | Daniel Muscutt | Justin Snaith |