OFF THE RECORD #112
Kannemeyer’s Prince Targets Horse Chestnut Glory
Above: Dean Kannemeyer (image: Facebook)
Dean Kannemeyer has only brought a top horse to the Highveld three times in the last 24 years – and on each occasion it was for the Horse Chestnut 1600. Champion miler Free My Heart won it from Badger’s Coast in 2002, Capetown Noir was beaten a whisker by Yorker in 2014 and Cosmic Highway, caught on a wet track in 2024, finished unplaced to Main Defender.
Above: The Real Prince (yellow silks, far side) and See It Again (nearest camera), set for a rematch (image: Wayne Marks)
Kannemeyer has made the trip again for the 2026 renewal, this time with star colt The Real Prince (Vercingetorix). It sets up a rematch with his old rival See It Again, who beat him in the recent Grade1 WSB Cape Town Met over 2000m. They’ll meet over 1600m for a different test on the country’s toughest mile. Considering their encounter in the Grade 1 King’s Plate, this could be a close and exciting duel.
Free My Heart and Capetown Noir were flown to Johannesburg for their attempts, while Cosmic Highway made the journey from Cape Town by road. This time, with no flights available, Kannemeyer had to adjust plans. “We gave The Real Prince a few days off to recover after the Met before sending him to Durban to be prepared at Summerveld,” he said.
A direct flight from the Cape would have been ideal, but with that option no longer on the table, the team travelled with The Real Prince to Johannesburg from Durban instead. He arrived at Turffontein on Friday and was stabled overnight in facilities prepared for him at Joe Soma’s yard.
JJ van der Linden of Global Bloodstock Logistics explained that Capetown Noir was the last horse they shipped from Cape Town to Johannesburg for the race.
“At that stage SAA had four cargo aircraft in operation and there were regular routes available, with planes coming out of Durban, sometimes via Gqeberha and Cape Town,” he said.
“Now SAA effectively has only one cargo aircraft in service. They are expensive and, more importantly, unreliable. It’s not unusual for flights to be cancelled at short notice. It would have been a very risky exercise with The Real Prince, and we advised Dean accordingly.”
Kannemeyer traditionally sends the best runners from his powerful Cape string to KwaZulu-Natal at the end of March.
“It is very humid in Durban in February and March,” he said, “but we have limited racing options with The Real Prince off his high rating and we had to send him early. The weight-for-age races are the right targets. Jehan Malherbe and I put Plan B into place and the Horse Chestnut was an obvious choice.”
The trainer has installed new fans in his Summerveld stables. “It helps keep the horses cool and hydrated. By the time the KZN Champions Season comes around, the weather is more favourable.”
He added: “The Cape Derby brought the feature season in Cape Town to a close and, with poor nominations, we’ve lost our next midweek meeting, so there won’t be racing there again until 18 March. We’ve already trucked a few horses to KZN earlier than usual and the rest will follow towards the end of the month.”
Above: The Real Prince (image: Wayne Marks)
Kannemeyer gave The Real Prince a solid blowout at Summerveld last Thursday. “He did pacework with a companion up the hill on the grass and strode out well. It was a good piece of work, he recovered well. We rounded off his preparation with a gallop on the sand track, on Monday.”
Highveld trainers have made regular and successful raids on Durban with selected runners for decades. In recent years Brett Crawford won the Hollywoodbets Durban July twice with horses prepared at Randjesfontein and trucked down during race week.
Kannemeyer pointed out that, while less common, the eight-hour trip from Durban to Johannesburg on the eve of a race has also produced big results. “Alistair Gordon and David Payne did it many times in the 1990s. Several other KZN trainers used the same strategy successfully in the 2000s. Frank Robinson, for example, won last year’s Summer Cup and a stayers feature at Turffontein with horses that arrived on the Friday before the meeting.”
He believes that Turffontein will suit The Real Prince and said: “It’s a lovely course with a good surface and a long run in. Were happy with his fitness and we’re looking forward to the race and matching strides once more with See It Again.”
The stable’s Princess Of Gaul (Vercingetorix) posted a narrow but impressive win in the Grade 3 splashout Prix Du Cap over 1400m on Cape Derby Day. She’ll be a feature contender in the KZN features this winter and Kannemeyer said: “She was racing with her mouth too open and giving Craig Zackey a hard time, so we raced her with a dropped noseband. We tightened the leather strap above her muzzle and under her jaw and he said she settled beautifully and was much easier to ride.”
Princess Of Gaul races for veteran owner Fred Crabbia and Kannemeyer said: “It’s good to have a decent horse for Fred again. He’s been a soldier who has always supported my stable. We’ve had some big wins with Afrikaburn, It’s My Turn and Runaway Song, and this filly will win more races. She’s probably best over 1200m to 1400m, but we’ll consider the Grade 2 Fillies Guineas in May as a possible target, depending on the draw.
“Our other leading lights include Green Gateway (Gimmethegreenlight), who’ll go for the Byerley Turk on 27 March, and Keukenhof (The United States), who ran a cracking race behind Double Grand Slam in the Grade 1 Majorca Stakes and is one to follow. We’ll also be stepping out a few two-year-olds as the season progresses.”
In other stable news, Janene Newlands has joined the Kannemeyer team as assistant trainer after a 10-year stint with Snaith Racing.
“We are blessed to have Janene on board. She brings vast local and international experience and will hold the fort in Cape Town when I’m racing elsewhere,” Kannemeyer said.
Long-serving assistant Nicolette Roscoe remains in charge in KZN, where she continues to oversee a steady flow of winners from the Summerveld base.