Gun’s ‘n Roses, Michael Jackson, George Michael and Cliff Richard were topping the charts the year South African racing’s forever man Piere Strydom won the first of his six Queen’s Plates.
That either makes the Gqeberha-born champion semi vintage, very old, or plain bloody experienced!
But lest we forget that the man still has the energy and motivation 35 years later to travel all the way to the Vaal in midweek for a single MR 72 handicap winning ride on Candice Dawson’s 20-1 shot Banha Bridge!
His first royal mile victory was a superbly judged front-running ride on the Tobie Spies-trained Yardmaster on 31 December 1988 on a horse that ironically would see him fired after running fifth in the Met.
Piere Strydom and Yardmaster are led in by the late David Makins
It wasn’t the first firing for Striker, and neither was it his last.
“I won the Queen’s Plate and after the Met I got fired by Old Man Spies. I’d managed to lead in the Queen’s Plate because no-one wanted to go. In the Met, they went a bit harder and it’s a bit further, as you know. I sat fourth or fifth and a horse ran in behind me,” he shrugged.
In the years that followed, the champion would go on to win it in 1994 on Take A Walk, in 1998 and 1999 on Divine Force and Jet Master respectively, in 2000 on Dean Kannemeyer kingpin Free My Heart, and then in 2012 on the 3yo Gimmethegreenlight for Hassen Adams.
But 12 years is a long time between drinks for a champion and on Saturday the 57 year old most ‘nearly retired’ jockey in South African racing history sets out on what could be a golden January in his biography, when he bids to win the first leg of a potentially glorious Grade 1 double – and that on a KZN based horse, nogal.
Piere partners the 4yo See It Again for trainer Michael Roberts and owner Nic Jonsson on Saturday.
See It Again hacks up to win the WSB Green Point Stakes (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
The handsome chestnut colt is priced up a 9-10 favourite with Hollywoodbets to follow up on his walloping of arch rival Charles Dickens in the WSB Gr2 Green Point Stakes early last month.
The Green Point – Queen’s Plate double has been achieved by a few decent horses in recent years, including Variety Club, Legal Eagle (twice) and by Vardy, and it is possible that, despite the fact that Striker went fairly ‘easily’ in the Green Point, with his January targets in mind, on See It Again, there are those that will believe that Bass ace Charles Dickens can reverse the form.
Aldo Domeyer was denied his first King’s Plate by a nose on Charles Dickens last year, and Andrew Fortune’s talented son will be looking to make no mistakes come 16h10 on Saturday.
Close! Al Muthana (Bernard Fayd’herbe) beats Charles Dickens (Aldo Domeyer) in a thriller (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)
It’s going to be a fascinating tactical duel between two of our best horses, a veteran champion jockey, and the competitive Domeyer, who was two months short of his second birthday when Strydom had already been fired from his maiden Queen’s Plate winner!
Who would you be going to war with in your bid to win a share of the projected R5 million Pick 6 pool?
Only four other riders in Saturday’s 163rd renewal of the prestigious mile have won the race previously.
Bernard Fayd’herbe rides defending champion Al Muthana, and also won it three times on Pocket Power and in 2015 on Futura – the last horse to achieve the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate – Met double.
Grant van Niekerk won it in 2021 on Jet Dark, and partners recent Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas third-placer Hluhluwe.
Vardy and Craig Zackey celebrate a Queen’s Plate victory in 2020 (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)
Craig Zackey partnered popular winner Vardy for Adam Marcus in 2020, and rides our best outsider, the 66-1 Cosmic Highway on Saturday, for Dean Kannemeyer.
Richard Fourie rode See It Again’s three-parts brother Do It Again in 2019 to a thrilling victory, and on Saturday the national log-leader does duty for the Snaiths again as he rides past Cape Guineas winner Double Superlative.
Of the trainers, Ricky Maingard (2), Justin Snaith (4), Dean Kannemeyer (3) and Brett Crawford have the prestigious silverware on their mantelpieces.
Dean Kannemeyer chats to Alistair Cohen:
Kannemeyer, one of the senior statesman, had his first winner courtesy of Free My Heart, ridden as we already observed earlier, by a certain Piere Strydom, to beat Jeff Lloyd and Glamour Boy on 30 December 2000.
