Two veteran exponents of their art, when golfing legend Gary Player talks to veteran scribe Dave Mollett, it’s got to make for interesting reading.
Sporting Post readers have requested that we publish the latest Molly column published on Turf Talk earlier this week.
If – on New Year’s Eve – breeder and golf legend Gary Player raised his glass to 2024, that’s highly understandable. It’s not every year one breeds the Equus ‘Horse-of-the-Year’ but he did it with Dave The King.
However, there’s every chance Gary could trump that in 2025.
Rascova (Gavin Lerena on inside) hangs on to beat Fourie on Double Grand Slam (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
The nine-time Major winner could celebrate his 90th birthday with a Breeders Cup runner at Del Mar in California. The horse likely to represent Gary and partners Gaynor Rupert and Dave Maclean, is Paddock Stakes victress, Double Grand Slam.
So will Double Grand Slam be making the journey for the two-day Breeders Cup meeting on Oct 31 and Nov 1?
America has been a happy hunting ground for Gary during his illustrious career. He won the Masters in 1961, 1974 and 1978, the PGA in 1962 and 1972 and the US Open in 1965.
Thanks to the efforts of my daughter, Jade, who lives in London, we were able to get hold of Gary for an exclusive interview for Turf Talk.
This is the message he sent back to her and my thanks for his swift response.
(Ed – this is a direct transcript of the message)
“It’s a pleasure to be able to speak to David Mollett, who I always like so much, and is so knowledgeable about racing. Obviously I’d love to have a horse in the Breeders’ Cup. We have a winner, but it’s a tall order. I think if my horse had won the Majorca and not lost by an inch, it would have made a difference. Yet unfortunately we all make mistakes. I feel that Richard Fourie rode a terrible race.If he’d run and listened to instructions, he would have won.”
Gary Player chats to Rascvova owner Sandy Arundel and Double Grand Slam went down narrowly (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)
“If he rode the similar ride that he had in winning the Met against the rail, which made a vast difference. But we all make mistakes. But it’s a very costly mistake because if she’s a two-time Group 1-winning mare, she obviously is worth a lot more if she goes to America and then would definitely be invited to the Breeders’ Cup.”
“Plus, I’ve got two half-sisters, which would have meant an awful lot to them. Plus, as a broodmare in the future. But the jockeys don’t seem to worry very much about all this. You’ve only got to see the sad things that happen. And the jockey said they’re not going to run the last two races because the grass is growing too much in the afternoon. Or in the met that some of the jockeys say they’re not going to ride the last two races.”
“Now imagine if I’ve got a horse or you’ve got a horse in the race and they turn around and say I’m not riding the last two races. Now you’ve got to scramble for a jockey. There should be some kind of a fine. Your word is your bond.”
“I’m 90 and I’m traveling around the world for companies and sometimes I feel very tired of the time-turn but I can’t turn around and say I’m not going to do it. I’ve got to honor my word. There’s not enough discipline in our business unfortunately.”
“As far as Justin is concerned, his opinion about the Breeder’s Cup, you have to ask him. I cannot answer for him. But I would prefer to have an American jockey if we ever did have a horse in that race because the tracks are so different and our jockeys are not riding. They’re not used to riding the same style and tracks and speed as the American jockeys are.”
“It’s always better to have a man who’s indigenous to ride your horse unless of course he’s a Frankie Dettori or with somebody of that nature. South Africa has had great horses.”
Gary Player – one of the greats (Pic – Supplied)
“You think of Bold Tropic, Ipi Tombe, I owned the sire of Ipi Tombe (Manshood), Mike de Kock still says it’s the fastest filly he ever had. Colorado King, how well he did. South African horses today are far better. We can stand our ground without a question. So all in all, I think that we have the stock, we have people like Gaynor, Rupert, we have John Koster, we have people like Susan Rowett, people who really are fantastic for the business in this country, and a host of others.”
“So we have the stock. I just don’t like also that I’ve had a few people that I’ve had interests in. I’m always trying to get people into the racing business and recently I’ve had people and they say, is there a money list, and I say yes, and they say, if I buy a horse do I qualify for the race, I say no, you’ve got to be an individual, they say but I don’t want to do it as an individual, I want to do it with you as a partner, and this happens across the spectrum.”
“Can you imagine an association, not including, if you’ve got three owners in a partnership and the first prize is 90, you allocated 30,000 towards your individual money list, but it’s too much work, or there’s too much paperwork, whatever the answer is, it’s feeble. Today with all the technology that we have, AI, all the computers, etc etc…no excuse.”
“So we lost two very, very big owners here. We’ve got to do everything in our power to encourage people to come into the business. Because the horse business is a disease and the joy you get out of it is fantastic. And we have a lot of people in this country now that are dedicating themselves for the improvement of the sport.”
“But we need discipline, and we need everybody to play their role, as Shakespeare said,” concluded Gary.
One Stripe (Gavin Lerena) has seen his merit rating increased to 132 (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)
It would appear there’s every chance of SA having four runners at the Breeders Cup – Double Grand Slam, One Stripe, Isivunguvungu and Quid Pro Quo.
The forward-thinking of Owen and Devin Heffer has seen Hollywood take a leaf out of Godolphin’s book and One Stripe will sport their colours overseas.
After her defeat on Saturday, it would be no surprise if Quid Pro Quo was on the next plane to the States.
All these developments may have perked the interest of charismatic KZN owner, Phil Georgiou. He has run several successful trips to Dubai for SA racing fans and looks the ideal guy to organise a group for the Breeders Cup.
- Originally published on www.turftalk.co.za
