Racing · Heritage series
The SA Triple Tiara.
The fillies' Triple Crown — three Classic races, run on the same days and over the same distances as the colts' series. The defining test of a three-year-old filly in South African racing.
The series.
The fillies’ Triple Crown.
The South African Triple Tiara is a series of three races for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies, run on the same days and over the same distances as the Triple Crown colts’ series. Inaugurated in 1999 at the instigation of the Racing Association and Highveld owner-trainer St John Gray, it has been headline-sponsored by Wilgerbosdrift Stud Farm — always a champion of the fairer sex — since 2015.
Heritage
A series inaugurated for the fillies.
The Tiara was born out of a Racing Association and St John Gray initiative to give the country's best fillies their own equivalent of the Triple Crown. The three races — the Gauteng Fillies Guineas, the SA Fillies Classic, and the SA Oaks — are each uniquely testing in their own right. Together, they become the yardstick for a classic filly.
Turffontein racecourseThe three legs.
Gauteng Fillies Guineas · SA Fillies Classic · SA Oaks — all at Turffontein.
Wilgerbosdrift Gauteng Fillies Guineas
The opening leg of the Tiara. Originating from the Stuttafords Cup and later the Gr1 Gosforth Park Guineas, the race still attracts the best fillies in the country.
Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Classic
The middle leg, transformed from the 2000m SA Oaks Trial in 1999 to form the Tiara's equivalent of the SA Classic. Middle distance, Grade 1, and a true classic test.
Wilgerbosdrift Bridget Oppenheimer SA Oaks
The oldest and most demanding classic for three-year-old fillies in South Africa. The race dates back to 1914, when Pendant won under William Watson. It carries the name of Mrs Bridget Oppenheimer, who won the race a phenomenal 14 times.
Triple Tiara winners.
Five fillies. One line of history.
Igugu
The inaugural winner — the sensational filly by Galileo was owned by Mr & Mrs Andre MacDonald, trained by Mike de Kock and partnered by SA Champion Jockey, Anthony Delpech.
Cherry On The Top
Bred and owned by Bridget Oppenheimer, trained by Ormond Ferraris and ridden to victory in all three legs by Nooresh Juglall.
Summer Pudding
Closely related to Cherry On The Top, owned by Mauritzfontein's Jessica Jell and trained by Paul Peter. Summer Pudding started a sequence of three successive Tiara heroines.
War Of Athena
Owned by Mr R S Wentzel & Mrs R E Waterman-Wentzel, trained by Paul Matchett and ridden to victory in all three legs by Muzi Yeni.
Rain In Holland
Bred and owned by Drakenstein Stud, Rain In Holland was trained by Sean Tarry and partnered in all three legs by jockey Richard Fourie.
Ormond's eight
The Ferraris record.
South African Hall-of-Famer Ormond Ferraris trained a record eight SA Oaks winners across his career — starting with Pretty Border (Herbaceous) in 1976 and closing with Cherry On The Top in 2013. The Oaks record is one of the most remarkable statistics in the country's classic programme.
The SA Triple CrownBe there
The fillies' classic season.
February through April, Turffontein runs the Tiara alongside the Triple Crown. Three Classic race days that define the three-year-old fillies of their generation.
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