We hope to constantly upgrade our stock and breed the best, fastest, toughest horses we can. Grandma and Grandpa set some pretty high standards, we want to live up to those and take the next steps – and to breed champions of course!
First the CTS Million Dollar and then Snaith Racing’s record-breaking 8th winner on Met day. We chat to the man with the Midas touch – Heavelon van der Hoven
I didn’t even have to give her a few slaps, she’s so good. The further we went the further we won by
At this stage, everything is on track with our prep and everything has gone well. However, there is still a while to go and things need to go right, so we just have to hold thumbs.
We didn’t have a gate at the top of our driveway. What we did have were two wolves called debt and overdraft. There was one horse guarding my family from those two wolves and that was Captain Al.
Part of being a trainer is that you have to believe in yourself. You make mistakes – you think you need to be hard on them, then you feel sorry for them and you’re too soft – you’ve got to find the balance. When you’re winning, you know you’ve got it.
It’s like a pendulum this breeding game. You do well for a bit and then you don’t and then of course, the thing swings back. It’s a phenomenon of the business and you’ve just got to wait your turn.”
You have to take the highs with the lows and learn to treat them all the same. But most of all, you’ve got to learn to take a chance.
They say saving a horse may not change the world, but it does change the world for that horse. In Fantasia’s case, it seems she may well change the world after all.
“We bought him off the farm. Dr Crohin came down from South West Africa with a big suitcase, opened it up in front of Granville and he couldn’t refuse! He was an absolute champ – he won the Nursery, the Guineas, the Derby and the July – you can’t ask for more.”
As we continue our nostalgic walk down the Hollywoodbets Durban July memory lane, one thing is certain, the most recent decade lacked for nothing in drama and splendour
Finding the words ‘excitement’ and ‘insurance’ in the same sentence is as rare as breeding a Triple Crown winner!
