Race connections and trainers were on the edge of their seats on Tuesday when the all-important barrier draw took place ahead of the World Sports Betting Cape Town Met, scheduled for Saturday, 31 January at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth.
The barrier draw is a longstanding tradition among trainers, owners and sponsors, determining both how much luck a horse would need to win, as well as the jockey’s strategy and tactics on the track.
Small, packed field
The 2026 race will feature a small, packed field with 11 runners on the card, including reigning Equus Horse of the Year and Cape Town Met defending champion, Eight on Eighteen, and The Real Prince, who won the 2026 L’Ormarins King’s Plate on 10 January and the 2025 Hollywoodbets Durban July.
A look at the latest betting shows that Eight On Eighteen is the current favourite at 2/1, followed by See It Again and The Real Prince (both 7/2).
Sail The Seas follows at 9/2.
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2026 Cape Town Met Barrier Draw
| Draw | Horse | Weight | Merit rating | Jockey | Trainer |
| 1 | Cosmic Speed | 59.5 | 124 | Gavin Lerena | Sean Tarry |
| 2 | Eight On Eighteen | 59.5 | 129 | Richard Fourie | Justin Snaith |
| 3 | Sail The Seas | 59.5 | 127 | Muzi Yeni | Justin Snaith |
| 4 | Gladatorian | 60 | 127 | Sean Veale | Stuart Ferrie |
| 5 | Garrix | 59.5 | 123 | Keagan de Melo | Piet / Elbert Steyn |
| 6 | The Real Prince | 60 | 128 | Craig Zackey | Dean Kannemeyer |
| 7 | Legal Counsel | 59.5 | 116 | Aldo Domeyer | Justin Snaith |
| 8 | Native Ruler | 59.5 | 119 | Juan Paul v’d Merwe | Justin Snaith |
| 9 | The Equator (IRE) | 60 | 117 | Rene Piechulek | Tony Peter |
| 10 | See It Again | 60 | 127 | Andrew Fortune | Justin Snaith |
| 11 | Okavango | 59.5 | 120 | Callan Murray | Justin Snaith |
Inside barrier position
All eyes will be on trainer Justin Snaith who will have six runners in the race. Snaith boasts a hat-trick of victories with Jet Dark in 2023, Double Superlative in 2024, and Eight On Eighteen in 2025, and is betting on a fourth consecutive win.
He was particularly thrilled with defending champ Eight on Eighteen’s #2 draw – an inside barrier position that has produced two winning horses in the past seven years.
Snaith, however, doesn’t rely on the luck of the draw alone.
His three consecutive Mets came from three different ‘zones’ – Barrier 4 (Inner), Barrier 2 (Inner), and Barrier 9 (Outer), which suggests that trainer preparation and jockey tactics often outweigh the starting position on the Hollywoodbets Kenilworth summer track.
Cape Town Met: Winning Facts
| Year | Winner | Barrier | Jockey | Trainer |
| 2025 | Eight On Eighteen | 9 | Richard Fourie | Justin Snaith |
| 2024 | Double Superlative | 2 | Daniel Muscutt | Justin Snaith |
| 2023 | Jet Dark | 4 | Richard Fourie | Justin Snaith |
| 2022 | Kommetdieding | 1 | Gavin Lerena | H. Crawford/M. Rix |
| 2021 | Rainbow Bridge | 6 | Luke Ferraris | Eric Sands |
| 2020 | One World | 12 | MJ Byleveld | Vaughan Marshall |
| 2019 | Rainbow Bridge | 2 | Anton Marcus | Eric Sands |
| 2018 | Oh Susanna (AUS) | 4 | Grant van Niekerk | Justin Snaith |
| 2017 | Whisky Baron (AUS) | 8 | Greg Cheyne | Brett Crawford |
| 2016 | Smart Call | 8 | JP van der Merwe | Alec Laird |
Barrier Statistics
| Barrier range | Wins (since 2016) | Notable winners |
| Inside (1-5) | 5 | Kommetdieding (1), Double Superlative (2), Rainbow Bridge (2), Jet Dark (4) |
| Middle (6-9) | 4 | Rainbow Bridge (6), Eight On Eighteen (9) |
| Outside (10+) | 1 | One World (12) |
While inside draws (barriers 1-5) are mathematically favourable, high-quality horses have also come from middle and outside draws the past decade.
The 2 000m start provides a long back straight of approximately 800m before the first turn, which allows jockeys jumping from wide positions ample time to find a slot. As a result, the draw bias is less severe in Cape Town when compared to Durban.
Historically, low draws are preferred for front-runners who want to save ground on the sweeping turn, and barriers 2 and 4 have seen significant success, having produced two wins each in the past eight years alone.
However, One World (2020) proved a wide draw is not a death sentence by winning from Barrier 12.
Statistically, Barriers 1 through 6 account for 60% of winners over the last decade.
However, because the Hollywoodbets Kenilworth summer track is considered “fair,” a horse with a high Merit Rating (OMR) and a strong finish can win from almost anywhere, provided the pace is sufficient.
Historical Highlights
- Eight On Eighteen (2025), made history as only the second three-year-old in 25 years to win the race
- Pocket Power is the only horse to win the Met three times consecutively (2007, 2008, 2009). His sister, River Jetez, famously ended his streak by winning in 2010
- Snaith Dominance: Trainer Justin Snaith currently dominates the Cape Town Met with three consecutive wins, and has a fourth consecutive win firmly in his sights
- The Margin Record: Horse Chestnut holds the record for the largest winning margin after destroying the field by eight lengths in 1999.
The final fields for the full race card will be released on Wednesday, 21 January.
