Seb and Vanessa with Taylor and Georgia
A progressive and forward thinking young trainer is set to relocate from his homeland of Zimbabwe and will be setting up shop in partnership with Ronnie Sheehan at Milnerton.
A variety of family and business reasons has led to Sebastian (Seb) D’Aquino packing up lock, stock and barrel in Zimbabwe and seeking greener pastures down South.
“The reasoning behind the decision to relocate to South Africa, specifically Cape Town, is firstly a personal one. I have a young family who deserve the best with regard to an upbringing and education. It is mine and my wife Vanessa’s belief and hope that we can offer them both of these, in the Cape,” he said in an exclusive interview with the Sporting Post.
“The situation is also compounded by the economic situation Zimbabwe currently finds itself in. More specifically the owner population in the racing industry has significantly dwindled over the years, and in the last few months racehorse owners are now a rare breed there.Disposable income for luxuries such as racing are unheard of.This directly affects my personal growth, goals and career progression,” he said.
Seb said that an opportunity has arisen for him to join up with Ronnie Sheehan.
“He is a highly knowledgeable, vastly experienced trainer and I personally have a lot of respect for as a horseman, I also believe I can learn a lot about the Cape, the tracks and I’m sure a few other tricks. Having him as a guiding force will be invaluable in ensuring the ease of transition and the shortening of the time frame of my personal acclimatization into the new system.”
Seb will be based at Milnerton and will initially have 30 boxes.
He said that he had been assisted in making the move by his good friend Gareth Pepper
“Gareth has been associated with the yard for several years now and we had great success in sourcing horses in South Africa that have been very successful in Zimbabwe. He is on board and fills the role as Bloodstock Agent for me. We both look at and assess all yearlings at every sale in South Africa as well as horses in training that we feel will be competitive and will produce a return on investment. We look forward to growing the business in Cape Town and feel we will be successful. Our statistics in Zimbabwe have shown what a good record we have had of late and we are continually striving to increase our stable and improve on our statistics. We are a young dynamic team and we always ensure that our patrons are kept up to date and are in the know with regards to the yard and their horses.”
He added that he was also attending the National 2yo Sale next week and invited anyone interested in joining the yard or finding out more information about what he had to offer to contact the team.
Seb – +263 773274459 Gareth – 0835200953.
They are also on Facebook- D’aquino Racing – and via twitter on @daquinoracing
