Kumaran Naidoo

KUMARAN ‘Kom’ NAIDOO broke into the training ranks of the South African Horseracing Industry eight years ago and has progressed steadily since. He began with a mere 10 horses at his Summerveld base, but due to hard work, honesty and a satisfactory success rate, he now has a whopping 100 thoroughbreds under his care. Kom pays a special tribute to long-time friend and loyal patron, Seelan Chetty, who was instrumental in him making the bold decision to take out his trainer’s licence in December 2006. His most successful season to date was when he saddled 58 winners, which ensured a very creditable 4^th placed finish on the KZN Trainer’s Log behind the likes of the game’s greats, Mike de Kock, Sean Tarry and Dennis Drier. Naidoo attributes his stable success to a great team and lists Candice Dawson (former Gauteng satellite yard assistant, now based in KZN) as a brilliant assistant. He has won a few Grade 2 and 3 events but is still searching for that thus far, elusive Grade 1 winner. However, Kom is looking to change that as he embarks on his first venture into the ‘mother city’, this Saturday, as his star gelding, ROYAL ZULU WARRIOR lines up for the Grade 1 L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate to be run over a mile at Kenilworth. Top jockey Anthony Delpech has secured the ride on the hugely talented son of Mossman who won Gauteng’s Grade 2 Charity Mile, before finishing a creditable 4^th in the Summer Cup, late last year.  We wish Kom well with his future endeavours.

 

What is your name? Kumaran Naidoo.

What is your star sign and birthdate? I am a Taurus and my birthdate is 20^th April 1981.

Where were you born? Pietermaritzburg.

Where do you live? Hayfields, Pietermaritzburg.

Tell us about your family? There is my mom and two sisters.

Do you have a ‘nickname’? Kom.

Favourite food? Breyani and steak.

Favourite drink? Coca-cola.

Favourite music? I like all types of music.

Favourite sport? Soccer and golf.

Favourite soccer team? Manchester United.

Favourite holiday destination? Mauritius.

Favourite author? The person who writes the race card.

What book are you reading at the moment? Winning Form.

Which is the characteristic about yourself that you like most? What you see is what you get.

Is there anything the public doesn’t know about Kom Naidoo that they would be interested to know?  Not really – I am an easy going person.

Where did you go to school? Heather Secondary -Pietermaritzburg.

What tertiary education did you attain? None.

What did you do on completion of your schooling? I worked for my dad for two years before getting into racing.

Tell us about your early involvement in horseracing? My dad was a punter and then owned a few horses with Bertie Hayden.

To whom were you assistant trainer and what convinced you to make the bold decision to take out your trainer’s licence? I worked for Selvan Moodley and Tony Rivalland. My friend Seelan Chetty approached and encouraged me to go on my own, which has been the best move of my life. I am eternally grateful to him.

In which year did you take out your trainer’s licence? In December 2006.

Did you find it difficult to make the adjustment of having your own string to take care of? Not really, as I was ready for it.

How many horses did you begin with and where were you based? I had 10 horses at Summerveld.

Which patrons supported you from day 1 and are any of them still with you? Seelan Chetty has supported me throughout and I am truly blessed to still have him on board. Later on, other supportive owners like Mr. Roy Moodley, Mayesh Chetty and a few others joined our team. I appreciate the support of all my owners, past and present.

Tell us all about your first winner, including how long it took after you started training? A few weeks after I got my licence I had my first winner with a decent filly called Jadene’s Joy.

How many winners did you have in your first season of training? I had 8 winners but one must remember that I started in December that year.

Which trainer’s offered you advice early on in your training career? A lot of people offered me advice but mainly Tony Rivalland, Steve Lodge, Nathan Kotzen and Rhys van Wyk.

What is the most important lesson you have learnt about the industry? It is a very hard industry. I learnt that one must be humble and worry about your own owners and horses, rather than others.

Which jockeys/trainers are your closer friends? I am friendly with all of them.

Mention some of the better horses that you had been associated with, early on? Purple Lake, Furious Dancer and Tamarino Bay were three of the better horses.

Tell us about your first feature race success? It was with Ultra Vires in the Easter Handicap and it was the best feeling ever.

Where are you currently based and how many horses do you have in your care? I am based at Summerveld and I have 100 horses.

Tell us about the team that assists you? My team is Candice, Sean, Tash, Nelly and Milton. We have a very good team who work really well together.

Do you have a stable jockey? No – not at present.

Which jockeys ride work for you? Brandon Lerena, Sean Veale, Jarred Samuel and quite a few apprentices. Anthony Delpech comes across occasionally.

Do you have boxes available for potential clients? We are cutting down at present and our weaker horses will be going to race in smaller centres.

What can Kom Naidoo Racing Stables offer potential clients? Honesty, and the fact that we do our very best for every client.

Does the yard have a website or are you on any social networks? We are working on it but right now we are still doing it the old school way.

It proved a brilliant move on your part to open up a satellite yard in Gauteng. What made you take this decision and where was the yard based? We were based at Randjesfontein. We used to raid to the Vaal sand a lot and that was the main reason.

What year did the satellite operation begin? It started in 2011.

Tell us about the team you had in Gauteng and mention the success that you enjoyed on the Highveld, particularly on the sand? Candice Dawson, the most brilliant assistant and person one could ever find.

Late last year you were evicted by the NHA. What made them take that decision and are you appealing it? It was not the NHA but Phumelela and I would rather not go down that road.

Where are the horses that you had stationed in Gauteng? I am bringing them back to Durban.

Will you still be raiding that province on a frequent basis? Yes, I will.

Mention some top quality horses you have in the yard that the public can follow? Royal Zulu Warrior, Gothic, Scoop The Pool, Royal Nisha and a lot of young horses.

List the major races you have won to date? Michael Roberts Handicap, Easter Handicap, Magnolia Stakes, Charity Mile, Strelitzia and Hampton Handicap run on the Vaal sand.

What has been the most number of winners you have had in a single season? 58.

How many Graded races have you won? I have won a few Grade 2 and 3 races but it is really tough to win that Grade 1 race.

What has been your highest finishing position on the KZN log? 4^th has been my highest to date.

How did you acquire Gothic and was he your first July runner? We bought him after watching him run a good race in the Derby behind Wylie Hall at Turffontein.

He had a brilliant comeback win on the Highveld but has gone horribly wrong since. What are his problems and when will he be back in action? He has had nothing go right for him in his last three starts.

How highly do you rate him and is he your Gold Cup hopeful? He is a really good horse and the Gold Cup is our plan.

When did you acquire ROYAL ZULU WARRIOR? In 2012.

He had a brilliant start to his career for trainer Tony Rivalland with 3 wins from 3 starts over 1200m at Clairwood. However, things went wrong after he only managed a weak 4^th in April 2011. Mention some of the issues that sidelined the son of Mossman for over 20 months? His front fetlock is his biggest problem.

How excited were you when he joined the yard? I was very excited as I knew his ability when he was with Tony Rivalland.

You and your team did an excellent job with him during that enforced layoff but did his owner Mr. Roy Moodley put you under pressure to get him back quickly? Not at all. He was aware of his problems and he was keen to see him back in racing.

Describe the satisfaction you felt when he romped home to an effortless victory in the Lebelo Sprint in his comeback run on New Year’s Day, last year? I was ecstatic!

The seven-year old gelding has come a long way since and was a gutsy winner of the Charity Mile at Turffontein and then stayed on eye-catchingly for 4^th in the Summer Cup over ten furlongs? Has he exceeded expectations with those performances or were you always convinced that he was special? We knew he was special and it was a question of keeping him sound.

His next mission is this weekend’s L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate at Kenilworth, which is the country’s greatest race for milers. He deserves his place in a star-studded line-up. How has his work been since the Summer Cup? He is doing exceptionally well. He came out of the Summer Cup really well and is ready for his trip to Cape Town.

When will he be travelling down? He left on Monday, 6^th January 2014.

Are you concerned about the fact that he tries the left hand turn for the first time? Not at all.

Was the ride offered to top jockey Anthony Delpech or did he phone for it? He rides a lot of Mr. Moodley’s horses and he asked for the ride. Anthony knows the horse well, having won on him twice from three tries.

Which horses do you make your dangers? I think Yorker, Capetown Noir and Jackson are the horses to beat.

Just like most of the rest of the field, he isn’t well-weighted on official ratings with Jackson, but what chance do you give him in this contest? I think he is the ‘dark horse’ of the race and I give him a huge chance.

Depending on his performance here, will he stay on and contest the J & B Met? We are hoping – that is the plan.

Will you be taking any other horses down to race in the Cape over the weekend? No – he goes alone.

Have you ever raided the Cape before? No, this is my first time.

Is the stable and his owner excited about the journey that their ‘star gelding’ is about to embark upon? We are all very excited and confident of a big run.

You are currently in 7^th position on the National Trainers’ log. What targets have you set yourself for this season? My aim is to finish in the top 10. With the quality of trainer’s in this country, that would be an incredible achievement.

What are your long-term goals? My aim is to train a lot of Grade 1 winners. I would also like to take a horse overseas.

Would you ever consider training overseas? If the opportunity arose, I would take it.

Outside of racing what else are you passionate about? I like fishing and having a relaxing day at the dam.

The new polytrack at Greyville will soon be ready for action. What are your thoughts on the track and how excited are you at the prospect of racing on it? I cannot wait for it to begin. I think it will be really good for racing and it will give us another surface to race on.

Which of the current South African stallions really excite you? Judpot, Silvano and Horse Chestnut.

Do you ever have a bet on the horses and if so, which is your favourite play? I like taking a Pick 6.

You seem to have more than one sponsor for the yard. Tell us about them?  We only have the one sponsor, HOLLYWOODBETS.NET. Some owners have their own winning blankets and like them on their horses.

How does the stable benefit from the sponsorship and what is expected of you in return? They are a big help when it comes to making sure the grooms are well kitted when going to the races. Of course, we have to don the purple colours with pride and mention them in all  our post-race interviews.

Tell us about your most memorable moment in racing? I will never forget the day my horses ran 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd in the Hampton Handicap on the Vaal sand.

Does the old maxim, “Behind every successful man is an equally successful woman,” apply to Kom Naidoo? My family is behind my success and I am very grateful to all of them for their wonderful support.