Alan Higgins – a photo taken in October 2013 (Hamish Niven Photography)
South African horseracing is mourning the death of a long time colleague and friend to many. The Cape Town-based trainer Alan Higgins passed away at Vincent Pallotti Hospital on Monday 11 August.
He underwent two heart bypass operations in recent years and had a pacemaker inserted.
He would have turned 85 on 30 August.
Alan Higgins is survived by his wife Connie and son Gary and will not only be remembered as a passionate horseman, who always ran a successful yard, but also as a man of great integrity who gave many leading jockeys an excellent grounding.
Among the riders who served their apprenticeships with him were Spike Lerena, Glen Hatt, Greg Cheyne, Mark Khan, Trevor Taylor, Hilton Davie and John de Vries.
Higgins started out in horseracing as a jockey, first riding in amateur races as a schoolboy with the likes of Terrance Millard, Stanley Greeff, Bobby Schutt, Willie Kleb, Theo de Klerk and Maurice Nathan, before being apprenticed to Bob Lerena, who was the grandfather of Spike.
When his weight got the better of him he turned his attention to training.
He was a founding member of the Phillippi training centre along with Theo de Klerk, Athol Fisher and Scotty Schuleman.
He trained there until moving to Milnerton a couple of years ago.
His most successful recent season was in 2007/2008 in which he won both the Gr 2 Sceptre Stakes and the Gr 3 Diana Stakes with the Joshua Dancer filly Joshlin as well as the Gr 3 Matchem Stakes with the Joshua Dancer colt Joshua’s Dream.
In 2010 he sold a horse that he owned and trained, Ancestral Fore, for a healthy sum to the Mike de Kock yard. He bought the grey son of Dynasty for a mere R27500 at the 2008 Cape Yearling Sale, a tribute to just how good an eye for a horse and knowledge of pedigrees he had. Ancestral Fore won two races for Higgins, but his bargaining power was based on a narrow second in the Gr 3 Langerman as well as close up fourth places in both the Gr 2 Selangor Cup and Gr 1 Bloodstock SA Cape Guineas. In the latter race he was beaten only 1,75 lengths by the brilliant Noordhoek Flyer.
It proved to be a shrewd purchase by De Kock as Ancestral Fore went on to win both the Gr 3 Lonsdale Stirrup Cup and the Gr 1 Canon Gold Cup.
Garth Puller – fond memories of a true gentleman
Top former jockey and now trainer Garth Puller was a long-time friend of Higgins and said:
“I suggested to him after the Ancestral Fore sale that he should perhaps take a break and go on holiday, but such was his love for horses that he preferred to carry on training. He was a truly great man of integrity and a thorough gentleman. I rode for him and he was a father figure to myself and to many of the apprentices who went through his yard. He was a hard taskmaster, but was very loyal and would even fight with owners in order to ensure that not only his stable jockey but his apprentices would get all of the rides. One of his owners, Dirk Zandberg, was very wealthy but whenever approached by other yards he would say ‘while I own racehorses they will be with Alan Higgins and nobody else’. Zandberg’s son Boetie still owns horses with the yard today. Alan was a very strong man in his younger days and has always been well respected. As a rider he was a heavyweight and even rode in South West Africa (Namibia). It is a very sad day.”
Spike Lerena recalled, “When my father phoned and asked whether I could be apprenticed to him he replied that I could get on the next plane. I had broken my hand in a fall on the Saturday in Johannesburg and arrived the next day in a plaster cast. I had already been declared and he gave me the choice of returning home until I had recovered or removing the cast and riding with a stiff bandage. I opted for the latter, so was workriding the next day. I rode his good horse Parvonet to second at Durbanville two days later and then won on another good horse Seedling on the Saturday. He and Connie were lovely people and were absolutely wonderful to me throughout my stay in Cape Town.”
Lerena also remembered riding the Higgins-trained Rapallo to many wins.
Peter Kannemeyer
Peter Kannemeyer was an apprentice to Bob Lerena at the same time as Higgins and the pair became life long friends. A mournful Kannemeyer paid tribute and added, “We had a school that used to play golf every Tuesday and Thursday and just three weeks ago Alan was telling me that he and I were the only ones left.”
Glen Hatt also had fond memories of Higgins and said, “I am where I am today because of my belief in everything he instilled in me. He was a very honest and fair man. I recall him chasing me around his office once after I had told him a white lie, but I told it because I was scared of what would have happened if I had told the truth!”
Former racing journalist and now stipendiary steward Tarquin Norval confirmed that Higgins was a strict disciplinarian. He said his practise of pulling apprentices out of night clubs was still spoken about today.
Among Higgins’ best horses was Blue Cossack, who in 1989 won the Gr 1 Cape Derby under Karl Neisius and then gave Anton Marcus his first ever Gr 1 win as an eighteen-year-old when winning the Mainstay International at Clairwood.
Anton Marcus – Higgins gave him his first Gr1 winner
Marcus said, “Garth Puller was instrumental in getting me that ride as the horse came in with a light weight. Alan Higgins was a true, true gentleman. I’m very sad.”
Higgins’ last ever winner was Walton Heath at Durbanville on Wednesday 6 August. He was saddled on his behalf by Ronnie Sheehan and ridden by Morne Winnaar.
His sister Mary Rabe, a well known figure over many years to West Coast racegoers, said that her brother was the kindest man. ” I phoned Connie on Sunday evening. She said Alan was fine. I was shocked to get the call on Monday but I am glad he went peacefully. Our family will miss him terribly. He would never hurt anybody’s feelings. I am so honoured to have called him my brother .”
Higgins’ funeral will be held this Friday at 11 a.m at the Holy Redeemer Catholic Church on Bergvliet Road in Bergvliet.
(With thanks to www.goldcircle.co.za – additional reporting by Sporting Post Editorial Staff)
