Variety Club wins the 2014 Champions Mile
We all witnessed Variety Club race into equine immortality in the Champions Mile at Sha Tin on Sunday, 4 May 2014, and there is no denying that the mantle of “Champion” sits very appropriately next to the name of dual South African Horse of the Year, writes Simon Burgess.
Standing at the winning post watching the race unfold and result in what can only be described as a dominant win, was “Team Variety Club”. Lead by owner Markus Jooste, the post-race emotions and celebrations spilling into the winner’s enclosure were nothing short of euphoric with sheer delight visible on the faces of racing manager Derek Brugman, breeder Anton Shepherd and Cape Thoroughbred Sales duo Adrian Todd and Grant Knowles, who were joined shortly afterwards by trainer Mike De Kock for obligatory hugs all round. Just as stirring was the rousing ovation they received from the local audience when they lead back the horse that had just trounced their very best milers, and rewritten the history books as the first foreign horse to win one of the world’s top fifty thoroughbred fixtures.
Team Variety Club – Mike de Kock, Markus Jooste, Anton Marcus and Derek Brugman
After the presentations, I caught up with Markus Jooste and Mike De Kock to reflect on what was surely a red-letter day for team Variety Club and for that matter, the racing world at large.
Markus, you’ve had a lot of highlights in the racing world, how does this one rate?
MJ: “This must be the biggest. I think to win the Hong Kong Mile and break the myth of no international horse ever achieving the feat has made it very special and especially being able to be on course to see it and with Anton, Mike and Derek it’s the whole package that makes it all worthwhile.”
What were your impressions when Variety Club stepped into the parade ring today?
MJ: “I think that’s the best I’ve ever seen him look and it’s a credit to the way Mike and his team prepared him.”
He’s a true professional on the track and obviously got a big career ahead of him at stud when he finishes his racing career?
MJ: “As you know, I’m in the breeding business and to have a horse with this sort of track record will be something to really look forward to when he finishes his racing for sure”
What do days like today do for the South African racing industry as a whole?
MJ: “I think it’s fantastic that the world sees what sort of quality horses we’re breeding in South Africa and that as it currently stands the rest of the world is at a disadvantage (with us) not being able to export and its something we have to work at to change so hopefully days like today will go a long way to rectifying the current situation.”
2014 Hong Kong Champions Mile Presentation
Mike De Kock was still on cloud nine when we spoke.
You’ve not had this horse in your care for very long, but what where your impressions today when he entered the parade ring?
MDK: “Look, he traveled over really well from Dubai. I work on weights a lot and when horses travel to these climates they can sweat a lot and lose weight and condition, but he’s maintained his condition really well since arriving and that’s a big credit to Trevor and all my team here. In fact, he’s really started to thrive here in the last few days and it’s evident by his coat today. I actually think he looked better here today than he did on Dubai World Cup night.”
It’s a big result for you to break the locals’ stranglehold on this race and be the first foreign raider to win.
MDK: “This game is full of myths and stories and that’s what keeps us all in the game. To be honest after having Musir run third here a few years ago now, I think Variety Club is a much better horse than him. We were fairly confident of a big run. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy with the wide draw but again you can’t get too analytical about these things, it’s a sport and if you don’t like the rules, you don’t have to play.”
Anton Marcus
You certainly had the right man in the pilot seat today in Anton Marcus.
MDK: “There’s nothing better than when you have a world class jockey like Anton who reads the race so well and knows exactly how good his horse is and isn’t scared to come out and do the job or of failure.”
When the horse straightened today he showed an explosive turn of foot?
MDK: “I was surprised because I actually thought that the horse was travelling easy then when I saw the fractions, I had to think is he going that quick? Then to be able to kick like that really speaks volumes for the quality of this horse.”
You’ve been an incredible pioneer for travelling horses, plus a great ambassador for South African racing, what does a result like this mean to the breeding and racing industry?
MDK: “It’s massive for both. In fact it’s massive for the country and great exposure especially with the Asian Racing Conference this week and I’m sure a lot’s going to be discussed about the quarantine and making our horses more accessible to foreign markets. Collectively, we are an industry that being held back at the moment. It’s a tsunami and I know what we could achieve. I know I’ve got my South African hat on, but I’m not going to apologise for being patriotic. I know we have so many passionate people at home who want to get this done, but really at the end of the day it’s a government to government situation that really needs to be sorted out ASAP because I think we can grow our industry ten fold or probably more if we can resolve this.”
You used the analogy of a tsunami, how do you keep on this wave and where does this horse go from here?
MDK: “This race was on our radar from day one. We felt that this race could really establish the horse as a serious international miler and potentially enhance his stallion career. You’re in the lions den here and you have to be good because it’s very tough to win. We’ll give him a good rest and a feed and get him home. Maybe a race on Arc day, the Breeders Cup and Hong Kong International Mile in December.”
Looking at your face at the presentation, you really do carry the weight of a nation on your shoulders when you run a horse overseas.
MDK: “When you fail, and we can’t be scared to do that otherwise we wouldn’t be here, you’re not only letting yourself down, but you’re letting your team done. I was watching Vercingetorix run last week on TV at the National Sale and I got a sense then for the first time how important these races are for South Africans and I actually felt pressure to the point that I didn’t want to sit in the room. It is the weight of a nation, but it has to be done and days like today make it all worth while and very proud and patriotic to be a South African.”
This win will give Variety Club an unofficial international rating of 128 and place him as the best miler in the world and most likely third on the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings. Let’s hope this is the type of tsunami South Africa has been waiting for and that we can ride it for a long time to come.
