Proudly Professional. Groom Of The Year Simphiwe Noholazi (on right) who looks after Beach Beauty
Beach Beauty received rapturous applause when announced as the KZN Horse Of The Year at the KZN Racing Awards ceremony at the Elangeni Hotel last Thursday night and this underlined her popularity.
The Dennis Drier-trained six-year-old Dynasty mare also received the Champion Older Female and Champion Middle Distance awards.
Another darling of the KZN turf, the Duncan Howells-trained Via Africa, also walked away with two awards as the Champion Three-year-old Filly and Champion Sprinter.
Many believe this daughter of Var was unlucky not to be named Equus Champion Three-year-old Filly a couple of weeks ago, so this was some consolation.
Beach Beauty’s honouring was accompanied by much emotion from the Shanks Syndicate, who race her in memory of the late Mark Armitage, as her breeder and owner Trevor Armitage had died the previous week of leukemia.
Smashing! Big winner Beach Beauty was named KZN Horse Of The Year
Trevor, who was Mark’s father, had recently discussed Beach Beauty’s future with Drier and had been pleased when the latter had given the stamp of approval to his wish to race her for another season.
Drier said that the fact that the syndicate and the training team had “never crossed swords” when planning her racing program had been a “big plus” during the tiny, but big-hearted mare’s career.
He said, “She has not been over raced and has not done the ‘Roof Of Africa’, she has only travelled between Durban and Cape Town. She is jumping out of her skin at present and is behaving like a four-year-old.”
Drier added, “The only people moaning about her are the vets. This is her biggest forte. A lot of the top horses in the country need help from the vets to reach their maximum ability, but she has cost her owners zero in medical bills.”
All The Winners
John Bescoby, a member of the Shanks Syndicate, recalled that Drier had told him at last year’s KZN Awards ceremony that he had believed “this was going to be her season.”
Drier said, “Yes, the previous season she had just been unlucky, nothing had gone her way.”
He said there was no reason why this season shouldn’t be as good as last’s.
Drier wasn’t sure yet of her chief targets for the Cape Sizzling Summer Season, but they would either be the L’Ormarin’s Queen’s Plate or the Maine Chance Farms Paddock Stakes and then the J&B Met or the Klawervlei Majorca Stakes.
