South African horseracing is mourning a true blue legend of the turf. Anne Upton passed away on Sunday at the age of 86.
A formidable horsewoman, Anne was only the second lady trainer in South Africa, taking out her licence at the tender age of 21.
Anne Upton
Anne started training in Hilton, mainly for her parents and her late husband Lou and forged a reputation for being good with difficult horses, which attracted the admiration and support of the likes of Fred Rickaby, Syd Laird and George Azzie.
Despite never having more than 20 horses, she achieved a string of successes, including two Holiday Inns and a gazebo at Hollywoodbets Scottsville built in her honour – but she is most strongly associated with the mighty Furious.
Anne Upton was born in Pietermaritzburg on 13 December 1935.
From farming stock and good ‘horsey’ people, Anne grew up in the Hilton Road area of the Natal Midlands and was educated at Wyckeham Collegiate. Her father, Jimmy Hampson, had racehorses in training with George Salter and her mother taught her to ride at the tender age of four. Anne was the younger of their two children.
Although only the second woman to hold a trainers licence in South Africa, it’s not something she made a particular fuss about.
“I always wanted to train and never felt intimidated by the fact that it was a male dominated profession. I didn’t go into it thinking I was somebody special and I’ll show them – you don’t in racing! I got a license to train in 1957. My first trainers badge was No. 13 – good for me as I was born on the 13th December,” Anne once told the Sporting Post.
Frank Lambert (Gold Circle Ambassador Bill Lambert’s father) was the Chairman of Pietermaritzburg – the City Sporting Club as it was known in those days.
Anne Upton gazebo at Scottsville
He knew the Birch Bros and introduced Anne to Ted and Rosa Birch, who invited them to visit them. Her and Lou got married in 1958 and while they were on honeymoon down in the Cape, they – stayed at the Birch Bros.
They gave Anne three horses – all older animals that had raced, but still had races in them. One, a Ranjit gelding named Infringe, became her first winner. Of the other two – one was an entire called Dowry. They used him for stud and he delivered Anne one of her greatest racing memories – Dowrys Son won the Kruger Day Handicap in 1962, to give her a first feature success.
Anne initially trained from her parents’ Hilton Road property, later moving to her own farm in Howick in 1981.
She seemed to have a gift with difficult horses and trainers soon started sending her problem horses to fix.
Lou and Anne Upton
“In the mid-sixties I was offered an unmanageable Drum Beat gelding called Tympanist, owned by the late Walter Grinrod. He was a non-sweater and had a phobia of the starting tapes. Basically that horse made my name in racing because he was on the point of being warned off the racecourse for life when he was sent to me. We brought him up to Hilton Road, which was a bit colder than Clairwood and he eventually came right and started sweating normally. I made a replica of the barrier tapes and strung them in front of his loose box. At first he was terrified, but he gradually accepted them. He won nine races, ridden mostly by David Payne,” Anne recounted in an interview with the Sporting Post.
In 1971 Anne met Mill Ridge Stud’s Alice Bell, breeder of English Derby winner, Sir Ivor, on a visit to Scott Bros (Alice was visiting her fiancée Dr John Chandler, the resident stud vet at the time).
Alice invited her to the Kentucky and showed her the great studs and some of the best horses in the world – Nijinsky, Bold Ruler, Sir Ivor and South African champion, Hawaii. Alice had a horse named Commentary in training with Lucien Laurin. When Commentary came to stud in South Africa, Anne bred two top colts from him – Redwing and Bold Comment.
“When beef baron Cyril Hurvitz brought Charlie Whittingham to South Africa, he selected two horses to take back with him – Bold Tropic from Buller Benton and Redwing from me. Redwing was due to leave South Africa when tragedy struck and he died of African Horse Sickness. Whittingham invited me to America anyway and it was the start of many visits to one of the most respected trainers and racing stables in the world,” recalled Anne in an interview with the Sporting Post.
Furious cantering down for the Holiday Inns
Although Anne counted two Holiday Inns to her credit, it’s Furious that people associate her with most strongly.
Fred Rickaby’s top pick of the 1976 National Sale, Cyril Hurvitz had to go to R17 000 for the son of Savonarola. Ten days after the sale he developed a temperature that ran for weeks and later suffered an attack of biliary. Then he developed hock and knee trouble and because he needed a long rest, he was cut. For months afterwards he struggled with an extremely low blood count.
On 9 December 1978, less than 11 months after his first win, Furious won the Holidays Inns in style.
Asked what her emotions were at the time she told the Sporting Post some years ago:
“You know, it’s great to win a big race, I can tell you that now, but with Furious I was very relieved because the scary thing about Furious was his owner!” Hurvitz was the biggest gambler in SA at the time and had started backing Furious in March. He won a fortune.”
North Island -1983 winner of the Holiday Inns
Anne won the Holiday Inns for a second time in 1983 with a horse called North Island.
Anne moved her training operation to Ashburton and in about 2000, Gold Circle decided that trainers should buy their barns.
“I was 64 at the time and I had bought a farm and I thought well I can’t take out a bond at 64, build up a farm and train horses, so I decided to retire. The last race I won was the King’s Cup at Greyville on 24 March 2001, which I won for Peter White with Abernant Star
After retiring from training, Anne focussed on her farm and her cattle. She sold the farm about 10 years ago and moved to the Sakabula Estate just outside of Howick with her husband Lou.
Our condolences are extended to Anne Upton’s family and friends at this very sad time.
