Heartbreak Hill
ROBYN LOUW: Harry gave his all. He was more than a horse. He was a hero. And how could he not be? He was a South African Thoroughbred.
ROBYN LOUW: Harry gave his all. He was more than a horse. He was a hero. And how could he not be? He was a South African Thoroughbred.
SARAH WHITELAW: Former top SA racemares are represented on the Keeneland September Sale; Main Aim moves to the Karoo and America’s Best!
LANCE BENSON: It was quite out of the ordinary to have a Vaal Sand meeting on a Saturday, but well done to Phumelela for putting on an entertaining programme as a build-up to Africa’s richest race on sand, the Gr2 Emerald Cup.
ROBYN LOUW: Frankel is more than simply a racing phenomenon, he is a star. People are drawn to excellence and with his story of action, drama, pathos, royalty (!), friendship, loyalty and sheer brilliance, Frankel is a best-seller in anyone’s language.
SARAH WHITELAW: Frankel, whose value is said to be as high as 100 million pounds, is likely to retire after just one more start.
LANCE BENSON: The talk of a proposal recently by the National Horseracing Authority to outlaw sponsorship of trainers by betting operators is surely a shortsighted view of the bigger picture?
ROBYN LOUW: I’m coming to the end of my time smack in the middle of the Olympics, has made for an interesting trip. No matter where you went, there has been a uniform enthusiasm for all things Olympic and with an unprecedented medal haul, a massive surge in national pride.
SARAH WHITELAW: The South African 2012-2013 racing season will see a number of well bred and well performed stallions represented by their first local runners. Here is a look at some of these young sires:
ROBYN LOUW: Racing, as with any other endeavor, includes a mix of people with a mix of motivations.
LANCE BENSON: Do you, the man-in-the-street even know what Equus are or who they are? Do you care?
As usual, the Equus Awards provided some controversy over some of the awards given out last Wednesday.
Igugu is definitely a great racemare and fully deserving of the title “champion”. But did she do enough during the season
In one of the most high-profile in-race incidents of the past five years, former SA champion jockey Gavin Lerena was found guilty of four charges, while Jason Gates didn’t escape punishment
Glistian Events’ Joao da Mata chats to Cape Racing Chairman Greg Bortz about the path ahead for SA horseracing
At the age of 93, Mr Ferraris is still active in racing as a training consultant, and he takes great joy in following the career of his grandson, Luke Ferraris, a successful jockey in Hong Kong
The starting stalls stuck on the Fairview polytrack capped a mostly forgettable week for South African horseracing when the Nelson Mandela Bay Racing fixture ground to a dismal halt on Friday