He might have missed out as Mampara of the Year (that "honour" went to former minister Malusi Gigaba), but there's one thing for certain: Johann Rupert sure knows how to put on a classy do.
If anything is a citadel to chic when it comes to the horsey set, it's undoubtedly the L'Ormarins Queen's Plate, which was run for the 158th time at Cape Town's Kenilworth Racecourse yesterday.
That's no surprise, really; the Stellenbosch business behemoth, whose wine farm sponsors the event, owns chunks of the world's most covetable luxury brands.
No sign, though, of the supposed poster boy for white monopoly capital himself as I made my way onto the track on Friday for the garden party that kick-starts the fest.
This part of the proceedings is more sedate, with the true horsey set chatting about form while tucking into typical summer fare such as beef tagliata, mezze-style platters and a slightly too al dente potato salad.
It was there that I met a lass who seemed to have the inside track on the favourites for Saturday's main race.
Turns out that Roxy Joubert is dating jockey Bernard Fayd'Herbe, who was riding one of the plate's favourites, Rainbow Bridge, that finished third.
Roxy, who was there with her mate Victoria Csuthy (the brains behind the thriving Bubble Tea Company), tells me that off the track, Bernard has a bit of a fashion flair.
"My boyfriend was my co-designer in creating the hat," she explained, showing off the fetching headgear that finished off the floral jumpsuit she designed herself.
On to the main event, and yesterday I found myself immersed in a sea of white and blue, not only in the décor and floral arrangements brightening up the course's party village, but also in the get-up of the guests, who were expected to stick to the colour scheme.
First person I spot as I walk onto the course is model Mala Bryan, who won the best-dressed award last year and has just come back from her Caribbean holiday.
Someone who also has just come back from lazing in the sun was Liezel van der Westhuizen, who - here's a scoop - got engaged in Mozambique. Said her investment specialist beau Mike Fannin about how he asked her parents' permission before going down on bended knee: "I did it the traditional way - in WhatsApp."
Elsewhere I spotted social doyenne Peta Eggierth-Symes, sporting a flying-saucer-like hat to finish off her cream dress, and Pulane Kingston, who tells me she "hasn't stopped partying" since arriving in Cape Town a week ago.
She was wearing a fetching blue and white dress fashioned from kente cloth bought in Ghana.
Someone running around like he was on the rugby pitch was Springbok captain Siya Kolisi, and another rugby player, Ryan Kankowski, was also spotted.
This year one of the biggest trends was top celebs eschewing designer brands. Nomzamo Mbatha, who will be adding "producer" to her already hefty CV when she starts working on a short film next week, wore a Topshop x Halpern Collection suit with a very revealing lacy bra, while Liezel rented her dress from a new outfit called Best Friend's Closet.
And possibly the most beautiful girl in the land, Tamaryn Green, turned up in a cream cocktail dress finished off with a blue bow, from Cape Town Dress Hire.
The beauty queen, who made us proud by coming second at the Miss Universe pageant, said she hopes to complete her university studies in May as well as driving her campaign #BreakTheStigma, which "encourages people to tell their stories" about tuberculosis.
When the horses were safely back in their stables we all let our hair down at the event's raucous afterparty, which featured DJ PH and those popular turntable twins, Banele and Bandile Mbere, who are better known as Major League...