Duncan McKenzie

Duncan McKenzie is from a dyed in the wool racing family. He has recently made the bold move of going out on his own again and has also taken on a satellite operation in Kimberley, manned by assistant Jarett Rugg. The string seems to be on form, so we thought we’d get to know him a little better.

Duncan McKenzie is the sort of guy who prefers focussing on the job to worrying about how he got there, but the affable PE trainer has a fascinating history in the sport. Duncan was born in Johannesburg on 5 May 1959. Interestingly, while most people are introduced to racing by their father or grandfather, Duncan’s biggest influence came via his dam line. “My dad came from Rhodesia and was involved in owning a couple of horses, but it’s more my mom’s side of the family that are the horsey people.” His mother was a Rugg and had 7 brothers who were all jockeys. “We were a big racing family. You can trace us all the way back to 1934 when my uncle Albert (Allie) Rugg won the July Handicap at the age of 14 on a horse for Mr Jackie Angles called Sun Tor. He was at the top of his game when he was killed at Gosforth Park three years later. It was called the Benoni Turf Club in those days. He was riding a horse called Southern Slave, a horse fell in front of him and he went down over it. He went into a coma and never came out. My mom still had the skull cap and colours he was killed in.”

“My mom was also involved in racing and worked for one of the first woman trainers in the country, Hilda Knaupp. It’s in the genes I think!”

Early years

Duncan grew up in the South of Johannesburg and went to school at Forest High. “I had a friend called Greg Klerck, whose father Bill Klerck was the course manager at Turffontein along with Mr Sharp. Because Greg lived at the racecourse, we always used to go to the racecourse and after school, we’d spend our afternoons playing around Turffontein.”

“I rode a bit as a youngster. In the early days when I was still at school I went to ride a bit of work for Frank Agliotti. I’d help him out in the mornings and then go to school. After that I got involved with Jean Heming and worked for her for a while. Then I worked for Johnny Nicholson and Nic Claasen at the Vaal and then down to Terry Lowe on his farm in Mooi River. Sledgehammer was the resident stallion at the time. He was a helluva horse. Won 21 races! He died of colic and was buried on that farm.”

“From there, I got a very good job with Willie Pieters during the time of Unaware, Heat And Dust and Senor Santa. Willie had some very good horses and he taught me a lot – he’s a helluva horseman. Willie I think has got involved in tourism – game parks and things like that. His daughter Jodi is doing well as a show-jumper and his ex-wife Sue has still got a farm in Peacevale and still spells quite a few horses.”

After Willie, I worked with Clodagh Shaw in Summerveld. She did most of her time with Tony Furness and was very good, particularly when it came to readying up babies. Then Dean Maroun told me to go out on my own, so I took out a trainer’s license and opened up in Summerveld. He actually helped set me up in training. It’s a funny thing, guys tell you they’ll give you support, but in my early days my biggest supporters were Dean, Patrick Shaw and Mike de Kock. Patrick in particular sent a lot of his clients’ weaker horses down to me in Durban. I never had a very big string, but I had one or two quality ones.

I ended up with quite a few guys owing me money – you know how it goes – so I took my good clients and joined Wendy Whitehead in Summerveld and worked under her name for a while. She was my partner for many years and we have a son called Damon.”

International experience

“Mike de Kock organised for me to go and train in Saudi Arabia. It was interesting. Their culture is very different to here and it opened my eyes a lot. I enjoyed my time there and met some good people, but it was a difficult stable to work for – for various reasons – and in the end I decided to come back to South Africa.”

“I got the opportunity to join Choppies McLachlan and spent about 2 years as his partner. When Choppies’ big client Peter Fabricius cut down, he went and joined the Snaith string and I went on my own again. We’d each had our own barn and done our own thing so I’m still in Barn 9 and it was just the name that changed really, but we had to change all the authorities to act, etc.”

Current string

“I’ve got about 38 horses. I’m training 2nd hand stuff, so they’re mostly just the run of the mills, although Ken Truter has sent me a baby which is a helluva nice horse. Ken’s supported me in a big way through Vaughan Marshall and I’m very grateful for what he’s sent me.”

“There’s always the odd difficult client, but fortunately I’ve got some nice clients now, who pay absolutely spot on and sometimes even phone up to ask you for a bill. Having non-payers is why I’ve closed my yard in the past – I’ve got that T-shirt! It is a problem for the industry and I don’t think the Jockey Club are doing enough. In the old days you had to go in front of a panel and you were only allowed one horse. These days anyone can have a racehorse. They say they’re not debt collectors, but they’re the ones handing out colours so they’re passing us the bad payers.”

Kimberley Satellite

“Vernon Rugg was my cousin. He was a very proud guy and would never tell people his problems, but he was really not well towards the end. He phoned me every week asking me to take care of things and I promised to take care of his son Jarett. When Vernon passed, I phoned Phumelela and they gave me the boxes to carry on with.”

“I took over the existing stock and sent up one or two from my yard. Jarett has been working with his dad for the past few years, so the idea is to work together and get him up and running and when he’s ready, he’ll hopefully be able to go out on his own.

“Jarett does all the day to day stuff up there. Obviously I help and guide him along the way as much as I can, but Vernon taught him a helluva lot along the way and now that he’s a qualified assistant, I don’t have to be there quite as much.”

“Kimberley is a little weaker than PE, so if a horse doesn’t shape up here, I can pass it along, which also gives the owners a little more of a chance. It’s a nice add on to my operation.”

Treble

On 28 September, Jarett saddled a treble for the stable with Act Away, Sleuth and McGeek, which was a big day for the yard. Duncan says, “The youngster was getting a little despondent about horses not coming into the stable. I told him, ‘Boet, the only way to get a response is to show results.’ For having 14 horses in the yard, he’s had a very good strike rate and they’ve been running a lot of places as well, which is good. Of course, after the treble he’s been walking on Cloud 9!” he chuckles.

“Suddenly a lot of people have stood up and taken notice. We’ve been getting a lot of phone calls from guys wanting to send horses. He’s really, really chuffed and very eager now, which is nice. Of course, you can’t drop your guard and you’ve got to keep the youngster on his toes, so I’ve told him he’s now got to strive for 4 winners!”

Jarett

Jarett is a serious-minded young man and despite his age and the obvious challenges that a career in the racing industry presents, he’s determined to make a go of it.

“My dad was in racing all his life. He moved around a bit, but was at the Vaal when he was offered the opportunity to get boxes at Kimberley about 7 years ago. He moved down here with 6 horses, but built things up and finished near the top of the log every year. About 3 years ago he asked if I wanted to join, so I did. I started out as a stable employee – I should have written my assistant’s exam ages ago, but one doesn’t expect to have to prepare for the worst,” he says quietly.

“My dad never wanted me in the racing industry, so I’ve have been in the restaurant trade most of my life, but as time went on, I was drawn back. I guess it’s in the blood. I think it has to be. Racing is a tough game. It’s a lifestyle, not a job. It’s long hours, 7 days a week. You’ve got to love being around horses and you need a lot of determination because it’s very pressurised. I remember sitting with my dad at races and he’d be really stressed and wouldn’t want to be irritated. I’d say ‘It’s racing, relax!’ But when you’re the one under pressure, it changes your whole perspective.”

“My dad passed away on 15 July 2015. Even though I’d been doing everything in the yard and at races for about two months by then, the first day on my own was very different. Luckily I learnt a lot from my dad and the horses had been doing well, but when you have to answer to everyone, you suddenly realise what a pressurised industry it is. Owners are not happy if a horse wins and you didn’t tell them, or equally if you tell them it will win and it doesn’t. Duncan has been amazing and we’re on the phone every day discussing things, but it was very nerve-wracking for me. It still is, for each and every runner. It’s maybe not quite as bad now as it was in the beginning, but two races before my first runner, I still get nervous and have butterflies.”

Emotional start

“My first win came straight after my father passed away with a horse called Easy To Please that I’m a 50% partner in. It was still under my dad’s name and Gavin Lerena rode him. The finishing shot shows Gavin pointing to the sky as he crosses the line. It was very emotional.”

“We’ve currently got a small string of about 14 horses, but it’s growing every month. I think I’m holding my own, compared to some of the bigger guys. I’d like to build it up, but one thing Dad and Duncan are both adamant about is that you don’t phone owners for support, you earn it with your results, so the triple was very big for me. I can’t say I expected it, but it was a great day and I was on Cloud 9! I know it’s not something that happens every day, so I’ve got my feet back on the ground and I’m focussing on trying to do it again.”

“It’s a tough game, but I love it so much and definitely wouldn’t change it for anything.”