Marsh Shirtliff

As the owner of the ‘people’s’ horse, Pocket Power, Marsh Shirtliff could be one of the best known, and successful owners in South Africa. Despite this he remains remarkably level headed and a genuine nice man. He is a man who gives credit where credit is due and in this regard he cannot sing the praises of Pocket Power and his trainer Mike Bass, highly enough. As a really astute businessman he is prepared to take the best advice available to him and in this regard he has gone the best trainers available with Mike Bass heading that list for him.

 

What is your name and age? Nicholas Marshall Shirtliff (61)

Where do you live? Granger Bay, Cape Town

Tell us about your family? 2 sons – Marc 26, & Guy 27

You are a successful businessman. What business are you involved in? Insurance business, specialising in the motor industry.

How did you become involved in owning horses? Owning a horse was always a long term desire of mine and the passion for ownership has understandably grown commensurate with the success that my partners and I have achieved.

How many horses do you own right now? At this very moment in time I own shares in 70 horses in training, I also run a small band of broodmares.

You appear to have a very high percentage of top horses. Do you choose horses on your own or do you rely mainly on your trainers, to choose them for you? I rely heavily on my trainers for their input and the selection of the horses that we purchase. Ultimately it is the trainers who have to train the horses and they must be happy with the individuals that we have purchased.

Pocket Power is a phenomenon. He is still winning and you must be overjoyed that the end is still not yet here for him. On a personal note what chance do you give him in the J&B Met? Pocket Power is the ultimate blessing and light in our lives and we are delighted that he is still on top of his game. When he eventually retires it is going to be very difficult for all of his connections to accept, particularly not to see him in action on our tracks anymore. Pocket is currently very well and still enjoys his work, as Mike Bass says “ he will tell us when he has had enough” up until that day arrives we are going to savour and enjoy every minute of his larger than life presence.

With Pocket it is one race at a time, his next being the J&B Met. We are obviously willing him to win the Met.The years do not seem to have taken Pocket’s edge away yet, he should therefore have a good chance in the J&B Met, we are hoping for a big run from the champ.

You appear to have a ready made replacement for Pocket Power in What A Winter. How highly do you and Mike Bass rate him? Yes, Mike has certainly found a good one in What A Winter and we do rate him very highly, however, to say that he is in the class of Pocket Power at this early stage is very presumptuous, and besides, will we ever own another horse like Pocket in our lifetime? Somehow I don’t think so.

It is said that you like to have a good punt on your horses when they are fancied to win. How true is this and do you take really big bets on your horses? Yes, I do like to have a bet and I’ve been known to go big from time to time, be it my horse or not.

Talking of punting do you think it is possible to make a living by punting? I certainly couldn’t make a living out of punting, however, if one had iron discipline, time to study form and a good information network, then I would imagine that you could make a living out of the game.

For someone determined to punt horses what sort of bet would you advise if pressed to make an answer? I really like the new TAB All To Come bet, the exotics like the quartet, trifecta etc also offer very good value.

You appear to be very cool and calm after your horse has won but do you feel any nerves before a big race? There is always huge excitement and emotion before the big races, the closer to race time the more the butterflies.

With racing going through some tough times do you think personal ambitions and politics play too big a part in the administration of racing? Ambitions and politics are par for the course in any business and therefore it’s no different for the racing industry. Unfortunately racing is a sport as well as a business. It is said that we should not mix politics and sport, we therefore have to do the best that we can to please the politicians, businessmen and sportsmen – quite a difficult juggling act I’d say!

If asked to give your opinion how would you say racing in SA can pull itself out of the doldrums it finds itself in? I believe that unity is strength, we need to merge the two racing operators, Gold Circle and Phumelela, into one body that can work towards a common goal – the improvement of thoroughbred racing through good corporate guidance and marketing. We need to rationalize and cut overheads, then use these savings to market our great sport – particularly to the younger generation, let’s put the glitz and glamour back into our game!

Was there any particular personality who influenced you to make racing such a big part of your life? I don’t think so. Somehow I believe that I was always fated to be around horses. As a young boy a number of my school friends owned horses and I suppose that it all started back then. My love for sport and punting compounded my attraction to the thoroughbred racehorse and I think that the natural progression was to eventually become an owner.

Apart from your horses which horses do you think are worth following over the next couple of months? Ebony Flyer, Castlethorpe and   Gibraltar Blue

Which are your favourite stallions at the moment? Obviously Jet Master. I also like the freshmen Tobe Or Nottobe and Jay Peg due to my connection with them and after seeing the offspring of these two top horses. For the rest I like the fashionable and consistent stallions – Dynasty, Western Winter, Silvano and National Emblem.

Which racecourse, in your opinion, do you think gives your horses the fairest chance to win? Any course with a long run in.

For you personally what has been the most exciting moment of the past year or two? Just watching Pocket and his little sister, River Jetez, burning up the turf around the country.

What are your ambitions for your stable? On top of my immediate wish list for the Bass stable is a win in the Cape Guineas as it is probably the only big race in the Cape that Mike Bass has not won in his 36 years of training. A second wish is for Mike and the team to win the SA Trainers Championship, I know that it’s not a priority in Mike’s life, and that it would be extremely difficult to achieve, particularly as the stable does not race in Gauteng which offers very lucrative stakes.

What is your preferred way to celebrate a big win? An after party with all our connections, friends and well-wishers over a few bottles of champagne and red wine. This traditionally takes place in the Bass suite when at Kenilworth.

If ever you have some time to have a short holiday where do you like to spend it? I like spending my holidays in and around the Mediterranean when I get the time.

If you have to name the most important lesson you have learnt about racing what would you say that is? Racing is a very tough game “some days are diamonds, some days are stone” take it as it comes and always be sure that the wheel will turn. Be a good winner and a good loser.

Apart from racing what else are you really passionate about? Rugby. Particularly our rugby club, Hamilton Sea Point RFC.

How do you spend your free time if you have any? Apart from my business commitments, my life revolves around rugby and everything to do with the thoroughbred racehorse.

Is there a most memorable moment in your time in racing? Winning the Dubai Duty free in 2008 with Jay Peg was the highlight, it was absolutely unbelievable and I took a whole day to actually come to terms with what had transpired as I didn’t give “Peg” any chance of winning the race from his wide draw. Pocket Power winning his 4th L ‘Ormarins Queens Plate left me totally speechless. It was a huge achievement from the great horse.

If you had one piece of advice for your fellow associates in the racing world what would it be? Treat racing as a hobby, be passionate about the sport and try to be in touch with the actual horses themselves, it can be very therapeutic and you should derive great pleasure from the sport. Race with moderation, don’t ever place pressure on yourself by over extending yourself financially – be it training fees, the purchasing of horses, or punting.

Are most of your friends connected to racing? Not at all, I have friends from all walks of life who have varied interests, even my best friends may only join us at racing once or twice a year.

What is your philosophy on the racing game? My philosophy in life and racing has always been “to live and let live” but within that, to be the very best you can possibly be at whatever you tackle, and most of all – to persevere.

From what you have observed of racing do you think the game is straight? With all the controls and surveillance that the racing bodies have in place these days, racing is about as straight as it can possibly be, it is almost impossible to “hide” or “pull up” a horse in this day and age.