The J&B Met is an example of the power of an enduring brand.  The best evidence of the fact that it is so effective is that we still mention their name even though the race is no longer the J&B – they are not the sponsors anymore!  They however sponsored it for so long that people like me still think of The Met as the J&B Met.  It is really the best horseracing day in South Africa and overshadows the excitement of the July Handicap and the Summer Cup.  The July is a busy day, it has some very close races, but I don’t think the racecourse has as true an a track as the one that you find at Kenilworth and I far prefer the crowds and the people in Cape Town and the way they dress to the crowds you see at the Durban July.

The bottom line is that the Cape’s most famous horserace, which is on the last Saturday of January every year, is now sponsored by Sun International.  They will have to sponsor it for a long time before we can forget about J&B who sponsored it for 39 years and that really does show you that a brand name cannot be built up overnight and it needs to be sustained with consistent advertising, promotion and good work over many years until it reaches the stage where people like me incorrectly identify the race, which truthfully should simply be called The Met, with a brand which no longer sponsors it.  Incidentally, J&B is marketed in South Africa by Diago SA.