Christopher Goosen

Christopher Goosen is the only son of Vaal-based trainer Louis Goosen. Although he may not be all that well-known by the racing public, he is a young man with a passion for horse racing and is a natural people’s person. Without much training and studying he has taken to marketing and was responsible for Phumelela’s Young Achievers Raceday at Turffontein on Classic Day, recently. Chris considers himself one of only a few youngsters who really understand the game and he is doing his best to address this issue by bringing Young Achievers to the races and exposing them to the wonders of racing, and all it entails, first hand. One of his short-term ambitions is to own a horse and for his father to train it. Obviously, winning with that horse will be high on his memorable moment’s list, in life. Outside of racing Christopher has a wide range of interests ranging from golf to mountain climbing, fishing and riding his jet ski.  Chris is certainly a well-rounded young man and it is to be hoped that with his unbounded passion for marketing and racing, this helps improve the state of South African horseracing.

What is your name and age?  Christopher Attila Goosen, 24 years old.

What is your start sign and birthdate?  Pisces, 9 March 1988.

Where were you born?  Pretoria.

Where do you live?  I’ve recently moved from the Vaal to Bedfordview.

Tell us about your family?  As everyone already knows, I’m the only son of trainer Louis Goosen. My mom is Eva Tesar, she resides in Pretoria. Although my parents are divorced, they maintain a healthy relationship and everyone gets along quite fine.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Do you have a ‘nickname’?  I have a few, however – Goose, Gooseman, Attila and Seuntjie are most popular.

Favourite food?  I enjoy most food, but a lightly seared tuna steak with sesame seed and wasabi mayonnaise dressing can really get me going.

Favourite sport?  Participation sports: Golf, ice hockey and action cricket. I enjoy my golf, however – I haven’t had a club in my hand for ages now – there is no time! I received my colours for ice hockey and was fortunate enough to represent South Africa when we toured Hungary in 2006. I’m a big rugby fan, YES – I do support the Bulls!!! It was awesome watching Tiger come back to his winning ways at the Arnold Palmer Invitational – thus, looking forward to the US Masters, not forgetting that our very own Charl Schwartzel  is the defending champion.

What other sports or hobbies do you partake in?  I’m a keen fisherman. My best mate and I,

each have a jet ski, which we try get to Mozambique at least once every six weeks, be it even for just a weekend. That’s how fanatical we are. Our skis are called Goose and Maverick – originating from my all-time favourite movie, Top Gun. Thereafter, comes spear fishing, kite boarding, surfing and wake boarding – anything to get the adrenalin going.

Do you have a Bucket List?  Yes, I do. To climb and reach the summit of Kilimanjaro! Attend the most incredible music festival in the world – TOMORROWLAND, Belgium. I want to fish Bassas Da India, as well as St. Lazarus Banks. I’ve already jumped off the highest bungee platform in the world, (Bloukraans).  Also the highest swing, off Lehrs’ Waterfall – Oribi Gorge.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 You are a 3^rd generation member of the Goosen racing family. Did you ever consider following in the family tradition and becoming a trainer?  Of course I did. Yet, it’s no secret that my old man has been through many a rough time whilst training. I look up to him and admire his hard work and determination – because without that, he wouldn’t be where he is today. A trainer is a special being, they give up their lives for the love of the horse – surviving on the bare minimum – their horse always comes first. To answer the question, I don’t see myself ever going into training but I plan to own horses in the very near future.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Would these horses be trained by your father? Definitely. There are very few trainers that can do what he does. I’ve personally seen horses that couldn’t walk, that you couldn’t go near, that were completely written off by other trainers, and retired as there was no hope for them, come into my dad’s care, and eventually win races. THAT IS SPECIAL!!!  A good friend of mine Johan Van Vuuren – assistant to Geoff Woodruff, has an unbelievable understanding of the horse. His determination and passion reminds me very much of my old man, and if ever I owned enough horses, he’d be my only alternative trainer of choice – once he takes out his licence, of course.

As a young man at school how much time did you spend at the stables?  As a youngster I lived with my mom, in Pretoria.  I didn’t get to go to the stables very much, as the opportunity didn’t regularly present itself. But, when I got to go to the stables and spend time with my dad, I was permanently in the boxes, in and around the horses – I loved it. Going racing with my dad was my favourite, although battling away, I knew the horse came first and personal luxuries were non-existent….These are childhood memories, which I’ll never forget – It’s those memories which I am most grateful for.

Did you ever ride work for your father and how enjoyable did you find it if you did?  Are you joking? Laughter is good for the soul – good question (“,)

Having a father who is a racehorse trainer you must have had lots of contact with jockeys. Did you become good friends with any of them?  I am friends with many of them. That is also another special breed of person – you have to understand them. However, being family or not – Piere Strydom is my best friend in the jockey room, I look up to him and admire his talent immensely – yet, in my eyes – what that man has got, is more a gift from God than a talent – He’s incredible! Gunter Wrogemann and Menno Malherbe are some of my closer friends, followed by Johnny Geroudis and Marthinus Mienie.

When you know a horse from the stable is doing particularly well and is really fancied to win do you have a bet on the horse?  My dad is from the old school, he’ll never change and he’s stuck to his ways. I never know if a horse is doing well or fancied. If I went to the stables more often, and went to track – I’m sure I’d be able to say which horses are doing well and were fancied for up and coming races. However, and fortunately I learnt my lesson young with gambling – on the very rare occasion, I’ll have a bet on a horse.

Do you have ‘punters’ phoning you wanting to know which of your father’s horses they should back?  Yes, occasionally. The best way to get rid of them is to give them horses that I know have absolutely no chance. They don’t call again…

It is known that your big interest in life is marketing. Right now you are working for Phumelela on a contract basis to bring Young Achievers into racing. How do you go about this?  Marketing is something that I feel comes naturally to me – it’s not something I’ve studied or ever taken seriously – it just happens. I worked with Phumelela on Achievers Day (Classic Day). The drive behind the day was to attract some youth to the course, and expose them to the wonders of racing.
They got me on board for this event, as I’m probably one of only a few youngsters in racing who understand the game – which is a major issue that needs to be addressed. Without young blood, which have a firm interest and continual support for racing and most importantly understand racing the game will eventually fade to nothing. Achievers Day 2012 went off very well and was well received by all who attended. Special thanks must go to Scott and William from I’sizwe – without them backing me, this event would not have taken place. There are a couple initiatives and plans in the pipeline aimed primarily at getting young blood to the course. Watch this space…                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Many believe that the competition from casinos, lottos, cell phones and the huge soccer pools will wear racing down. What are your views on this? Horse racing was a gold mine but due to increased competition from the likes of casino’s and the lottery it has come under severe pressure to sustain. In terms of casino’s and the lottery their marketing budget far exceeds that of horse racing’s. My personal opinion is that horse racing is the best form of gambling as there are tools such as form books and gallops to work from. The only way that we are going to get the general public back to the races is by increasing the industry’s marketing budget.

Do you officially, of unofficially, market your father’s business? I unofficially promote my dad’s stable but nothing in terms of official marketing drives.

How exciting is it for you to see a horse trained by your dad winning? It’s very exciting. However, the ultimate would be the first winner trained by my dad and owned by myself.

Do you think racing is well promoted? When considering the tough financial times and the state of the industry I take my hat off to Clyde Basel (Sales/Marketing Executive of Phumelela) and his team who are doing a sterling job when it comes to marketing and getting the word out to the public.