Michael Taberer

On Wednesday, 29 July Avontuur Estate threw their gates open wide and treated friends, family and colleagues to a wonderful morning’s viewing of their stallions, a selection of Oratorio’s weanlings and of course the warm and hearty Avontuur hospitality. They say that all good horses come with a good story and we were lucky enough to grab Michael Taberer to tell us about the farm, the family and how they came to acquire Oratorio.

About Avontuur

Michael is the middle of the three Taberer brothers behind Avontuur Estate, but to get to Oratorio, it’s worth recounting a little of the farm’s history. There are so many interesting and quirky twists to the tale that one is tempted to start it ‘once upon a time’. Their father, Tony Taberer’s passion for racing was kindled after discovering an old racing trophy from the Mashonaland Turf Club among his family possessions. Thus inspired, Tony acquired two horses in training from Durban – the first named Linguist was a good sort, while the second, aptly named Joker, proved a different kettle of fish. Having raced successfully around Clairwood’s left hand bend, Joker thought little of Harare’s right hand track. However, let loose on Bulawayo’s left hand course, he won by 20 lengths. Jimmy Anderson, who partnered Joker on that auspicious occasion, reportedly remarked “This horse is incredible. I will win 12 races in a row on him!” Tony offered him an all-expenses paid holiday to the Far East if he did. Jimmy took the bet and duly notched the promised 12 wins. Tony was happy and Jimmy got his marvellous holiday.

Tony expanded his racing string, established a stud and went on to become Chairman of the Mashonaland Turf Club. He married a South African beauty queen and the Taberers had three sons – Blair, Michael and Phillip – who grew up in Zimbabwe’s halcyon days of breeding and racing.

In the early 80’s Tony put down roots in South Africa. Preferring to invest in productive capacity rather than a holiday apartment, he bought a 10 hectare grape farm outside Stellenbosch named Avontuur. Selling grapes to the local co-op wasn’t very profitable, so they started producing their own wine. Next, space was cleared to accommodate a few mares and among the first arrivals was Cockney, a multiple stakes winner who would produce the likes of London Fog, Right Prerogative, Gee C and Bow Street Belle and be named South African Broodmare of the Year in 1989. Michael recalls “I remember Mom and Dad being very excited about the 1989 July and a horse called Right Prerogative. I didn’t fully understand it all at the time and remember having mixed emotions when the truck overturned and all those horses were killed on the way to Cape Town. The memories aren’t vivid, but horses have always been part of our lives.”

South Africa

“My dad sold his tobacco business in 1996 and we moved here in 1997. By then Pippa was here and the stud was much more established. I was 6 or 7 years old and me, Phillip and Blair used to run around like hooligans. I remember Divine King and Dominion Royale. The farm gave my dad a chance to be creative, have a bit of fun and focus on the things he loved. The farm and the horses were very close to his heart and Var of course was very dear to him. There was a lot of excitement and pride when Var arrived in 2006.”

“I love animals and wanted a career in wildlife, so I was studying animal science in Australia at the time. Unfortunately the Australian curriculum focusses mainly on sheep, so I quickly changed to economics! I played rugby fairly seriously and had an opportunity of a rookie contract for Western Force (an Australian team that play in the international Super Rugby competition), before being injured in March 2007. Looking back, it was perhaps divine intervention. I was going to be side-lined for a year, so I called Dad and he said come home. He passed away in April.”

How to make a small fortune

“Dominion Royale passed on a few months afterwards and as there hadn’t been any time for my dad to pass along his knowledge or his way of doing things, it was just us and Var. It was quite symbolic in a way – a new generation all starting out together. We’ve probably approached things slightly differently to most. They say to make a small fortune in wine (or horses) you should start with a large one, so most people make their money first and then retire to breeding horses or making wine. Here we were with a wine farm and a stud and we had to make it work.”

It’s not just lip service – Michael often personally conducts farm tours. “We may encounter a tractor, or a few earthy smells, but it’s important that people know we’re a farm and we’re operational 24/7. We’re raw and you can touch us. Whether people see our silks, buy our horses or drink our wine, ultimately we want that person to come and visit and see who we are.”

“Initially I was the chief decision maker – Blair had other business pursuits and Phillip was still at school, so my wife and I moved onto the farm full time, I sat with Pippa, learnt about the farm and its history and so the journey began. It’s still very much a family enterprise – we all do our bit, but more from an oversight point of view to make sure things are being run the way we’d like. Dad was good at choosing people and with a lot of good, hugely loyal staff, there was no need for us to be day to day farmers. It allows us to have a bit of balance and gives us time to pursue our own interests.”

“I got involved in the wine marketing and another business on the side. There were a lot of growing pains, but the wine industry taught me a lot about business in general. It’s very competitive and teaches you to think more broadly and outside the box which has stood me in good stead.”

“We offered the first of Var’s progeny in 2009. Val De Ra was part of the draft and didn’t reach her reserve, so we kept her. As it turned out, it was another blessing in disguise – eleven wins from thirteen starts, champion sprinter – one can’t ask for more. People kept saying ‘enjoy it while you can, it doesn’t last’, but we started wondering whether there wasn’t more to it and whether we did perhaps have a significant role to play in the industry.”

Refocus

“Horses were always in our blood and we knew from our boutique wines that we wanted to be significant for quality, not volume. We refocussed our strategy and set out to buy the best horses we could afford and all credit has to go to Pippa for her experience and pedigree knowledge.”

“We participate at the National Yearling Sales as buyers and have a few horses in training. It’s important to be involved on the racing side and maintain good relationships with trainers, owners and fellow breeders. Networking in the community is a big part of our business.”

“We continually acquire good fillies off the track. It means digging a little deeper than planned from time to time and now that we’ve set a benchmark, we have to choose carefully to maintain the standard, but the results speak for themselves. We’re proud to have the highest AEPR in South Africa. It’s a blessing to have got there, but having reached that standard we don’t just want to maintain it, but want to keep improving. Hopefully things will open up for South Africa and our long term strategy is to become a global player.”

“I have two young children of my own and that also influences one’s perspective. You become more focussed on building and improving things to pass on to them.”

Oratorio

“It was with this in mind that we started thinking about a succession plan for Var in 2012. We kept missing opportunities and chatting to my wife Tara – who doesn’t get enough acknowledgement for her role in our success –I said I was starting to worry that we’d missed the boat. Tara reassured me that the right horse would come up at the right time. Four days later Pippa knocked on my door and said ‘Can I show you something?’

“Pippa only brings you things she’s serious about. A sky jockey had alerted her that Oratorio was on the market, she interrupted Tom Goff’s cricket viewing to confirm the news and within a matter of hours we’d confirmed our interest. However, I needed a final confirmation before making a decision. Most other parties would have seen Oratorio in the flesh during his racing career, but I hadn’t. I know that people buy horses on pedigree, but this was a stallion and I needed to see him in in the flesh and get a feel for him.”

Race against the clock

“Time was of the essence and I didn’t want to miss another opportunity, so I booked my flight to Australia. Var likes Polo mints and I figured if Oratorio liked Polos, it would be a sign, so I packed a few rolls from Var’s stash. When Oratorio was led out for me to look at, the first thing that struck me was his eye. I took a few photos and they went to put him back in the stable when I realised I hadn’t given him the Polos.” Michael does an impressive version of the Aussie accent. “The groom said “Ah yeah, he won’t eat those,” and I thought to myself ‘that’s because he’s not your horse.’ I asked whether I could try anyway, Oratorio took the Polos and that was the clincher,” he smiles. “Back at the hotel, I rang Pippa and said ‘He likes Polos!’ ‘What do you mean?’ she demanded and I laughed and said “Let’s buy him.” I had a good feeling. He was kind and I was sure he’d live next to Var very comfortably. Oratorio was syndicated long before he arrived – people took shares without even hesitating, which said a lot for his pedigree and proved we’d made the right choice.”

In fact, the only drawback to the deal was that Oratorio would need to spend an extra season in Australia and even that worked out well. With his progeny taking important racing titles all over the world, two days before Oratorio’s official South African launch in May 2013, his progeny had pushed him to the top of the European rankings list. “We couldn’t have paid for better marketing,” says Michael, still in slight disbelief. Reports from breeders across the country are that the foals look good and that really pleases us. We are very excited to see them in the sales ring and on the track.”

One gets the feeling this story is going to have a very happy ending.