Justin Snaith . A magnet for racing’s new fans?
Among the people he thanked in his 1998 Oscar Award-winning speech, Robin Williams singled out his dad: “I want to thank my father, up there, the man who, when I said I wanted to be an actor, said, ‘Wonderful, just have a backup profession like welding’.
That reminded me of my father, who tried hard to deter me from following in his footsteps as a journalist but couldn’t help himself passing on a fascination with words; the sound of them and their allusive magic.
Actually, he sometimes sounded a bit like Williams in the movie Dead Poets Society: “We were romantics. We didn’t just read poetry. We let it drip from our tongues like honey. Spirits soared. Women swooned, and gods were created, gentlemen. Not a bad way to spend an evening, eh?”
S’manga Khumalo. Turbo Boost for racing
Also mentioning parents this week was our new superstar jockey S’manga Khumalo, who rode in an international contest at Ascot in England and told British journalists how grateful he was for his folks helping him in his riding career.
Khumalo flew straight home from the UK and into an awards ceremony himself. It wasn’t the Oscars – though the Equus Awards are sometimes referred to as South African horse racing’s “Oscars” – but the peroxide blond they call “Bling” was the shining light of the show this week. He is the first black African to be crowned champion jockey and is a potent transformational symbol.
Khumalo is just the guy to turbo-boost a branding campaign launched this week called “Racing. It’s A Rush”. The press release about this initiative sounds rather pony-tailish, if you know what I mean – full of words, sure, but tired ones. Our man Bling – charismatic, young, black and a champ in a tough game – would pump life into the marketing.
Also for the PR bods to sign up is another young blond, albeit a natural one – Justin Snaith.
He’s snatched the Equus champion trainer crown from the old guard and his easy, chatty charm and energy could be a magnet for the new fans racing desperately desires.
Award ceremonies stamp out heroes and, as we keep telling ourselves, heroes will draw people to racing.
Louis The King. More charismatic than Legislate?
With this in mind, I was disappointed at the choice of Equus Horse of the Year. Legislate, the three-year-old colt who won the Durban July on a much-debated objection ruling, got the nod, and clearly the judging panel went by the book and not their hearts in making their choice.
The irrepressible mare, Beach Beauty, would have been a more popular call – and a better marketing tool.
Even Louis The King, brave winner of the Triple Crown and a rags-to-riches story, would have brought great charisma to the Horse of the Year title. Okay, he lost out to Legislate in two races, but had dreadful luck in running on both occasions.
“Racing. It’s A Rush” suggests a certain light-headedness, which is clearly not what the judges were feeling as they opted for cold statistics and hard reality in making their selection.
Williams once said: “Reality . what a concept!”
He also said: “You’re only given a little spark of madness; don’t lose it.”
www.timeslive.co.za
