One of South African horseracing’s most passionate owners and a breeder of note, Peter White passed away on Thursday 12 November.
He had been in and out of hospital for just over a year battling cancer and some resulting complications.
A popular figure on the racecourses of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, Peter turned 78 on 4 November.
A good friend, and a racing and breeding partner, Colin Gordon, who was also something of an unofficial Racing Manager to Peter White, said that he would remember the man who loved the game as a fiercely loyal gentleman.
“He was extremely proud of the long associations he enjoyed. These were initially with legendary trainer Anne Upton, and then his three subsequent conditioners Dianne Stenger, Alec Laird and Mathew de Kock,” added Colin Gordon.
Born in November 1942, Peter White grew up in the mining town of Pilgrims Rest. Unsurprisingly, he became a miner and, ultimately through the urgings of another passionate horseracing supporter in Graham Beck, started a contract mining business.
Colin Gordon and the late Peter White lead in another winner
Peter White loved horses from an early age and was so keen he would spend his leave to serve as an assistant trainer! He would pop down from the mines to watch his horses run at every opportunity. But with his horses being trained in KZN by Anne Upton, this was not always practical as he was based in Mpumalanga.
Always an innovator, he arranged a helicopter and even took over the controls when the opportunity presented itself.
His red, white and black silks enjoyed great success, winning, amongst other races, the Holiday Inns with North Island, the SA and Joburg Fillies Guineas and the Swallow Stakes, on no less than 3 occasions.
His long list of stakes horses included North Island, Abernant Star, Aquitaine, Star Sapphire, Sapphire Ring, Samba Serenade, Glenrossal, Green Top, Midnight Serenade, Esterel, Covered In Snow and latterly, the smart Marygold is also black type performed.
On the breeding front Peter struck up a wonderful partnership with Peter and Jenny Blyth of Clifton Stud.
He loved naming his horses – many after the sayings or jokes he often repeated as a raconteur of note. It’s A True Story and Tern Unstoned were two examples. But probably his best named was What A Life!
