Speed King! Copper Parade (Muzi Yeni) stays on smartly to win the Listed Golden Loom Handicap (JC Photos)
Former part owner of the legendary champion sprinter Golden Loom, Budwa Abrosie summed up the spirit of a great afternoon when he quipped that the joy of racing is that everybody has a chance. He was talking in his capacity as sponsor of the R150 000 Listed Golden Loom Handicap, after the PE raider Copper Parade pulled an excellent victory.
Budwa, Raymond and Michael Abrosie raced the brilliant Golden Loom, who was affectionately known as ‘Goofy’ to his legion of fans. He was trained by the late Buddy Maroun, and it is wonderful to see racing maintaining sentimental ties such as this one. It is rare indeed.
Golden Loom raced for nine seasons and chalked up his final race victory at the ripe age of 10. In all, he had 78 starts, won 22 of them and was placed 37 times, for a stakes haul of R2.8-million.
Their mare Lumination, purchased for under R7000 in 1981 produced a colt, born in 1992, who was to be Lumination’s greatest legacy to SA racing. He was named Golden Loom by the brothers.
The Abrosies initially sent their youngster to Ormond Ferraris, but the timing wasn’t the best as the veteran trainer was then in the process of handing his yard over to son David.
Golden Loom had been sent to a spelling farm at Kyalami for gelding, pin-firing and blistering, and the Abrosies dispatched Buddy Maroun there to cast an eye over him.
.”Golden Loom campaigned through a golden age of sprinting, with all of Jet Master, Divine Force, Harry’s Charm, Noble Thatch, Turbo Star and other brilliant horses competing against him,’’ remembers Budwa.
“His first big win was in 1997, in the Grade 2 Concor Technicrete Spring Handicap,” says Raymond. “Over the next two years he raced 36 times and was always in the first three places.’’
In the 1997 season, Buddy took his star to the demanding uphill finish at Scottsville – regarded as the true test of a good sprinter – and he ran second in the Grade 1 Golden Spur. The next year he was third. Then, in 2001, he won the race and the undimmed admiration of all racing experts. Just for good measure, he clocked up another third in 2003.
His first Grade 1 Computaform Sprint victory came in 1998 over the 1000m of the old Gosforth Park track. It was a repeat performance the next year.
“We hosted hundreds of people at Germiston for those Computaform Sprint days,’’ says Budwa. “The excitement was unbelievable; by then Golden Loom had caught the public imagination. We turned them into charity days for the Maronite Catholic Church, taking over the old stewards’ enclosure. Those were wonderful days.’’
It was almost seven years to the day after his Maiden Plate win that Golden Loom landed his 22nd, and final victory. He was 10 years old when he claimed the Grade 3 Senor Santa Handicap over the Turffontein 1200m.
Anton Marcus rode him to 12 of his wins, Rhys van Wyk to six, Sherman Brown to two, and Piere Strydom and Guillermo Figueroa to one each.
“Golden Loom gave us the times of our lives in racing,’’ says Raymond. “We were immensely privileged. Such horses come to very few people – anywhere in the world.’’
“Golden Loom wasn’t the soundest,’’ recalls Budwa. “But Buddy kept him racing, which wouldn’t have happened with any other trainer. He’d spend four to six hours working on Goofy’s feet, fitting shoes to keep him sound.’’
Just like Golden Loom, Buddy Maroun came to be known as the “Sprint King’’ of the Highveld. He developed a legion of horses into top-grade speedsters – Geordoba, Fov’s Favourite, Al Nitak, All Will Be Well, among many others.
The racing world was devastated when Buddy died suddenly five years ago from infection to a minor wound while on a horse-buying trip to Argentina.
Golden Loom outlived his best friend.
After enjoying his retirement years on a farm at Kyalami, Goofy died in 2010 at the age of 18. He was euthanized after injuring himself in a romp with his paddock companion.
In the race named in his honour on Saturday, the speedy Jade Bay and Valberg cut out the pace for 700m before Muzi Yeni produced the PE raider Copper Parade.
The Lecture gelding turned on the jets late in the race in his trademark style, and won going away by 2 lengths in a time of 55,21 secs.
Magico also stayed on well for second, ahead of Desert Sheik, who was caught for early pace but went home with the third cheque.
Jade Bay stopped late for fourth.
Winning rider Muzi Yeni said that he thought he was riding the best weighted horse in the race, and always felt he had a good chance of winning.
Winning trainer Yvette Bremner was full of smiles and said that she felt that Copper Parade’s sire Lecture had been ‘written off far too soon.’ She said that their participation in the race was a spur of the moment decision as there were no races in PE for him.
Copper Parade was a travelling companion for his stablemate Celtic Fire who tried his luck from a wide draw in the Charity Mile a few hours earlier.
The winner was bred by Ascot Stud and is by Lecture out of the one time winning Al Mufti mare, Copper Horizon.
He has now won 7 races with 13 places from 42 starts for total stakes of R1 053 975.
