The Sadly Flagging Fortunes
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The flags fluttered at half mast in the chilly winter afternoon air at Kenilworth on Sunday as South Africa mourned the passing of struggle icon and ‘mother of the nation’, Albertina Sisulu. I assume it was this sad occasion that was being acknowledged as there was no announcement to this effect but for me it held a measure of twisted irony. Horseracing as an industry has sadly become a cold, uncaring, unsentimental shell, dominated by egos and commercial considerations – writes Lance Benson
I say ironic because here we are acknowledging the contribution of a wonderful lady who probably never set foot on a racecourse in her 92 years on earth but who suffered so much and worked so hard to fashion and contribute to the free South Africa we are proud to call home today. For me those fluttering flags ignited memories of the ongoing debate around how poorly we look after in life and remember in death , the real heroes and characters right here on our doorstep. Not everybody can be a hall-of-famer or a superstar, but anybody who gives years of a life to the sport should at least be remembered and paid some form of acknowledgement.
They may not be the only two left , but WPOTA Chairman Rodney Dunn and retired trainer Peter Kannemeyer are two genuinely sentimental guys in this game. Peter’s favourite pastime is to sit in the lounge of his comfortable Milnerton home and regale those willing and interested to listen with stories of bygone days, great horses, colourful characters and events that should really be preserved for posterity in the pages of books for the benefit of generations to come. Rodney, on the other hand, has done his bit in the past thirty years by keeping the flickering flame of owner interests alive in the Western Cape against much resistance and pressure. He has been something of a lone voice and sentimental crusader for the greats of the past. He has been instrumental in keeping the Millard, Amos and Kannemeyer name alive and Pocket Power is there too at Kenilworth. It may not exactly be a museum or hall of fame but it is at least something. Those in command would have us believe though that racing has moved on and outgrown the need for an Association that prides itself on protecting the traditions and history – and the people that make this game what it is.
It is not exactly the happiest subject on earth, but the way we respect the dead speaks a lot of who we really are in life, in many ways. I was still working at Avondale Road when we had the great debate as to whose passing warranted the flags being flown at half mast. Protocols and habit said one thing and on the flipside we were lobbying to have the net thrown wider. Jockey Peter Dillon had tragically just been killed in a motorbike accident near his home in Hillcrest and while he himself would have admitted that he may not have been the greatest jockey to sit on a horse , he was a character, soldier and great contributor in many ways to the sport. The jocks wore black armbands for a couple of races. He has probably been forgotten by most, except his dedicated wife Leonie and his children. That is how it works in horseracing.
The powers-that – be were concerned that lowering the flags for ‘all and sundry’ would set a precedent – ‘ where do we draw the line..?’ – they pondered and worried. Laurie Jaffee, John Newsome and Graham Beck all passed away recently. These were great men, breeders and big owners who invested heavily in a sport they loved. They certainly warrant being remembered. Did they qualify for a flag? Lavinia De Klerk, wife of trainer Theo De Klerk died three years ago. She was the glamorous unofficial first lady of Cape Racing in the halcyon sixties and seventies. Her family held a memorial service attended by a few racing people. Administrator , owner and breeder Peter Mills passed away recently. His passing hardly attracted the attention of anybody, although a memorial service was held at Avontuur in Somerset West. Trainer Colin Burroughs died this year. He spent his last months forgotten, ill and lonely, save for his family. Where were all his racing buddies and ‘friends’?
We will all get our turn but it is a very sad reality that nobody really cares, do they?
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Diana – Princess Of Tales
Karis Teetan rode the former Mike Bass-trained Grisham to an emphatic win in the OK Grand Challenge at Borrowdale on Saturday afternoon , but he would have woken up on Sunday Morning with a copy of the Sunday Mail telling him that it was all just a bad dream. Teaches him a lesson for partying too hard at his 21st birthday celebration on Friday or was he just the victim of a fairytale concocted by an incompetent racing scribe?
Diana Muringis’s review of the big race in Zimbabwe has got to go down in the annals of turf media history as the most embarrassing blunder ever. What makes it worse though is that she not only made a fair enough mistake and got the result wrong, she bulldusted the entire world, for a while anyway, into believing that she had actually watched the race. And through it all she went and inadvertently picked on an owner called Robert Bloomberg. Not too clever .
The comedy went something like this. Grisham (3) won the race easily from Eight Street(2) and Captain’s Tiger (1). Ms Muringisi took the winning saddle cloth numbers and used these numbers to create her own result by placing the horses drawn in those stall-gates as the new result. She overturned the result in her own bored room (must be located in a bloody mad-house) and declared the winner Mill Key Way, from Vincent and the luckless Grisham in third.
Here is an extract from sections of the sensational article:
Mill Key Way broke the hearts of many after he beat pre-race favourite Grisham at the OK Grand Challenge, arguably one of the biggest promotions in Southern Africa, at the Borrowdale Racecourse yesterday.
Grisham came into the race, which fielded 15 equine athletes, in fine form after clinching the Castle Tankard two weeks ago and was firmly placed as a favourite among the 15 runners.
The horse had galloped to a majestic finish in the Tankard under the navigation of seasoned South African but Mauritian-born jockey Karis Teetan.
.It was this victory that was still etched in the minds of many yesterday, but failed to materialise after Grisham struggled over the 1 800m distance, allowing unheralded Mill Key Way to lead the way into first position with veteran jockey Ralton Peters in the saddle.The Kahal gelding cantered to third place, finishing mere seconds behind Vincent from the Noelene Peech stable who was in second place.Interestingly, the top three race order was in descending order with Mill Key Way on number three on the race card coming first, while Vincent retained his race card number two and Grisham, number one on the race card occupying third spot.
As if to compound her blunder, she then turns Deon Sampson into a horse trained by Noelene Peech:
Richie Rich, who partnered Deon Sampson, also from the Noelene Peech stable, concluded the top four standings. The race, which was over 1 800m, was worth US$40 000 in stakes. The winner walked away with a whopping US$25 000, while the second-placed horse bagged US$8 000.
We could not confirm rumours yesterday that Ms Muringisi was joining the National Horseracing Authority as media liaison officer.
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Great Scotts!
The Grade 1 Daily News 2000 winner The Apache is a great feather in the cap of trainer Gavin Van Zyl and Hong Kong owner Winston Chow, but none more so than his breeders, The Scott Brothers. One of South Africa’s oldest breeding families, the Scotts can take great pride in the fact that a specimen of this quality was sold for just R80 000. It hopefully sends a message, that unlike many of their counterparts, the Scott Brothers horses are in the auction ring to be sold. No greed. No bulldust. Another pertinent example is the Miesque’s Approval filly, Don’t Tell Mama. Trained by Glen Kotzen and owned by Mauritian racing man Christian Lafraisiere and Judy Dempsey, this attractive filly went for just R40 000 and has won and is Group 3 placed already. Interestingly she is out of world traveller and racing media man, Dave Mollett’s talented mare, Pure Sands. Like The Apache, she is going to provide a handsome return and loads of fun for the owners in time to come.
Rare On Air
Tellytrack kept us entertained with some nice touches on Monday. In the morning, the Australian commentator didn’t realise he was live to the world while he was practising his colours and names in the pre-race and then started yawning and stretching as if he was as bored as sin. Can’t say I blame him judging by the quality of what we were supposed to be watching. Then at Flamingo Park in the afternoon , the enthusiastic Alvin August had just finished his race preview when we were treated to a rendition of his version of how to make a call to Telebet in less than one minute.
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A Lifetime
It is good to hear that there are certain traditions in horseracing that have stood the test of time. Our congratulations go to retired Cape trainer Colin Palm and his wife Marlene, who celebrated their 51st wedding anniversary last week. That just doesn’t happen these days!
