Two smaller stables made their mark last week with notable victories, each carrying a backstory.
Halfway through the meeting at Fairview last Friday, Jurgen van Heerden halted Alan Greeff and Richard Fourie’s dominant winning streak with a Maiden Plate triumph posted by Anchor Man.
At Turffontein last Saturday, Van Heerden’s former neighbour, Brett Warren, saddled Romeo’s Magic to his ninth career success.
Jurgen van Heerden and Gareth Wright with the ROA’s bonus cheque for Anchor Man (Pic – Pauline Herman)
Anchor Man (Vercingetorix) started at 14-1 and snatched a narrow win, getting there in the nick of time from the favourite Asinantanga.
Jurgen said: “I didn’t really know what to expect, I thought he wouldn’t be fit enough after his five-month break. Thankfully, he was. I am pleased, because I think I have finally figured out the best ways of working horses on my home track.”
In 2019, Jurgen and his wife Vanessa opted for a lifestyle change, relocating from Randjesfontein in Gauteng to the Eastern Cape, where Jurgen was born.
Settling near Kenton-on-Sea, he built a 700m training track with a 30m incline and established a stable yard with 12 boxes.
His head groom Joseph Dlamini relocated with the Van Heerden family. He has been in Jurgen’s employ for 29 years and plays an important role in the day to day life of the stable.
The uphill track at the Van Heerden farm, Kenton-On-Sea (Pic – Supplied)
Jurgen said: “A few years ago, I started consulting jockey Greg Cheyne, who works for William Haggas at Newmarket, where they utilise the renowned Warren Hill track for training. Based on his advice, I’ve refined my approach to exercising my runners, incorporating heart rate monitors and using recovery rates as a key metric. My work riders have also learnt about fractions. This has made a significant difference to my training methods.”
Anchor Man was bred from Van Heerden’s now deceased mare Africa’s Touch (Al Mufti), who had produced earlier winners in Africa’s Gold and Dumisani.
Africa’s Gold and another of the mare’s offspring, Duchess Of Africa, moved on to Amy Ratcliffe for showjumping careers. Both are jumping over 1.10m fences and doing well.
Jurgen said that he was extremely grateful to Mary Slack for her huge and ongoing contributions to the industry, which has given everyone a chance to continue doing what they love.
He believes there is untapped potential in the synergy between the racing and show jumping industries. He noted that many individuals, like himself, are willing to train and race a small number of racehorses as a hobby, and this crossover could be further encouraged and developed.
Brett Warren (back) and connections with Romeo’s Magic (Pic – JC Photos)
There is the famous story of low-key Australian trainer Peter Moody, who had only a handful of horses and kept things quiet and personal. He’d often travel with his superstar Black Caviar in a caravan when they were on the road for races.
Jurgen said: “There are people like this in the sports horse industry who would love to train a few runners, but they don’t because it takes too long and it’s too cumbersome and expensive to get a trainer’s licence. It can take several years to get through the process, so they sit on the side-lines instead of getting involved.
“I think that we can licence aspiring new trainers a lot quicker now that we have access to so much incredible technology and freely available online training courses. There has to be good control and examination schedules, but I think it can be done and racing will benefit. There is no or very little prize money to win in showjumping and eventing, but yet there is a lot of money going into it. There is an affluent community for racing to tap into. Horse people want to be involved in the day-to-day experience of the horse. There is nothing like watching your horse develop, get strong and finally winning. It is almost as exciting as watching your child do well on the sports field.”
A number of trainers came into the game from the showjumping and events circuit in years gone by, including John Nicholson, Willie Pieters and Nigel Riley.
More recently Philip Vermeulen moved into Jurgen’s old property at Randjesfontein.
He and wife Jeannique have enjoyed a fair amount of success with unfashionably-bred horses.
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