David Nieuwenhuizen (photo: hamishNIVENPhotography)
In racing, there’s big magic – like Triple Crown winners, or Winx’s 18 race win streak – and there’s little magic. The stuff that can happen on any given day and often when you least expect it. It doesn’t make itself easily available to the casual day trippers on the once a year, flagship days. It’s reserved for the truly dedicated as a reward for being there. Every day, from the first race to the last. The special, everyday magic reserved for the special, everyday people. Which is perhaps why I like it so much.
The final race on the Turffontein card on Sunday, 6 August 2017 was a 1600m FM64 Handicap. While few people can find a reason to stay to the last, nevermind raise their pulse rate for an FM64 handicap, it is hats of exactly such ordinary seeming things that magic – and racing magic in particular – likes to jump out from. And so it was that Turffontein trainer, David Nieuwenhuizen, trained – and owned – the first four horses past the post. I thought that deserved a bit of fuss.
Meeting David
The first time I met David in person (so much gets done by phone or social media these days) was when I more or less accosted him across the rail of the picnic area at Kenilworth towards the end of Met day 2016. One doesn’t often get the chance to chat to up-country trainers and opportunities must be seized! We chatted about Virgo’s Babe and her success as well as the all-important question as to what was coming next. David was pragmatic and explained that they were a small yard and had to pick their opportunities, but was optimistic about their forthcoming young stock and hopeful that another good one would find him. He was thoroughly kind and sincere and I’ve followed the stable’s fortunes ever since, so 6 August gave me a lot of pleasure as well as an excuse to continue our conversation.
We picked up almost exactly where we left off and for all intents and purposes, might as well still have been chatting over that Kenilworth railing. “Look, it’s only a 64 Fillies and Mares race. Most of the horses I’ve got at the moment seem to be in that category,” says David pragmatically. “There were 8 events on the card and I thought they would probably end up splitting the field, so I put in five nominations. Two got decent draws (Flowing Gown drew 3 and Green Crest drew 4) and I thought those two would definitely run. Weichong Marwing asked for the ride on Golddust Woman, who was drawn in the middle (11) and I thought they all had decent chances.”
“I thought I could possibly try for a double and that the NRB might split the race if the other trainers kept their horses in. Of course it didn’t and when I looked again, I had 5 in the race. I didn’t want to scratch and face a suspension, so I decided we’d run and then had to find jockeys for all of them!” In the end the riding engagements were allocated as follows: Flowing Gown (Ryan Munger), Golddust Woman (Weichong Marwing), Monarch Air (S’manga Khumalo), Green Crest (JP van der Merwe) and Cinnamon Slew (Craig Zackey).
Having managed to secure 5 jockeys, David found himself one short on race day, after S’manga took a tumble in race one and was stood down. “I asked Chase Maujean and he said sure.”
Owner-trainer
The feat is doubly significant because not only did David train the first four, he owned them too. “I don’t want to run owners’ horses against each other, because if one finishes ahead, the other might think I’m favouring them, so I generally don’t like running too many of my horses in the same race. However, in this case I happened to own or have shares in all five of them, which makes it a bit more special. I’d just taken over Golddust Woman and Monarch Air and put them into my name that week, I was in partnerships in all the rest and I thought they all had a chance, so I thought I’ll just leave them in and see what happens.”
“I think this was the most runners I’ve had in a race and they actually all did very well. And I have to say the jockeys all rode really good races. When they jumped, Cinnamon Slew was caught in no man’s land and couldn’t get to the front. Craig Zackey had to try and commit and she ran herself out of it and compounded. At that stage, my other horses weren’t being called and you tend to focus on the horse that isn’t doing so well,” he explains. “As things turned out, coming into the last 300m, Cinnamon Slew was out, but all the others were coming through. I was looking for Weichong and could see Golddust Woman coming through and then Flowing Gown managed to quicken. Then the other two came from the back of the field.”
“I was extremely excited. Watching Weichong on Golddust Woman, I thought she’d possibly get up and win, but Ryan rode an extremely confident race on Flowing Gown.” The horses crossed the line within 1.5 lengths of one another and when the result went into the frame, it was Flowing Gown in first, Golddust Woman second, Monarch Air third and Green Crest fourth.
“I’m thankful to all the guys,” says David. “The jockeys rode for their lives. Each thought they could win. Chase said he was unlucky and that if he’d had a better draw, he would have won, but the way it turns out is the way it turns out. The stable has been a little on the off side and to come back like this was phenomenal, particularly being the owner of all of them as well.”
“Even though four came through, my other runner finished last, so you must always reflect on that and see that life isn’t easy. It could always be the other way round and they could all have been on the opposite side of the winning line, but thank goodness they weren’t. This game has great ups and downs and you can always expect the unexpected. It may be a low division race, but I’ll take it.”
About David
“It’s been tough, but hopefully the wheel’s turned” (photo: supplied)
David was mentored by Jan Breedt and went out under his own name in 2004. He currently trains from Turffontein and enjoys being there. “It’s the main racecourse up here, I’ve got nice stables and I’m very happy.”
“My team is small. I’ve got the wife in the stable and my daughter Nicole is my assistant. She really does work hard and runs around and gets everything organised. We’ve got some nice work riders and everyone helps in the yard.”
“We have a strong support team, a good farrier, a good vet – it’s not just a one man show. And obviously our owners are a big part of the team. The South African climate is making it hugely tough for the small and medium-sized owner and guys are cutting back drastically, so we’re grateful to our clients.”
“It’s been tough, but hopefully the wheel’s turned. You have your glory day and then it disappears and you have to fight to get back there. It’s not easy, and not on any given Sunday,” he says matter-of-factly.
“The small guys are really taking a hiding at the moment, but you’ve put yourself in this boat, so you just have to sail it. We all love the game, but it’s sad to see how hard things are at the moment. People are under a lot of pressure. It’s a tough game and nothing is a given, but I think it’s the competitiveness and toughness that I enjoy. If it was easy, I’d probably go and do something else,” he reflects.
“I find the bigger you get and the more horses you have, the more competitive you can be, but I’ve got a small string now and I’m quite happy with that. Sometimes, even in a small yard, one will pop up and that’s what you live for. That one champ, that one decent horse.” Or those one-offs when it all comes together on the day.
Unique Achievement
“I’m extremely proud. I think the whole stable is proud. When you look at it on paper, it’s actually very difficult to achieve. Even if you’ve got 4 or 5 horses, you’re still running against another 9 that can quite easily finish between those, so I think it’s a helluva achievement. Terrance Millard ran 1-2-3 in the July twice (1986 and 1990) and Geoff Woodruff trained the first three past the post in the 2013 Sansui Summer Cup (Yorker, Master Sabina and Tellina), but training and owning the first four past the post has got to be fairly unique.”
“It’s an accomplishment that I think I’ll enjoy,” he admits. “And it turned out in a fun way and as a result of something I wouldn’t normally do. I believe if you always try and live in a positive way, a bit of good comes out of it. Even if it doesn’t look like it, it’s there. You can’t give up. You have to keep going through the tough times.”
“It’s been tough over winter. I thought we would finish the season really well and it didn’t happen. But then this season started on a nice note, so hard work eventually pays off.”
Ordinary, everyday magic. Even on a Sunday.
