OFF THE RECORD #131
Ground Control To Major Tim
Tim Woodruff has joined his younger sister, Lucinda, as assistant trainer in charge of her Summerveld string, introducing the next chapter in a career shaped by one of South Africa’s most distinguished racing families. The 38-year-old is the son of five-time champion trainer Geoff Woodruff and part of a training lineage that stretches back to the legendary Terrance Millard, whose influence continues to echo through generations of South African horsemanship.
Tim arrives in KwaZulu-Natal this weekend with a broad grounding in the profession. He divided his early education between his father’s yard and valuable spells with two leading trainers in Britain before spending the past year as assistant to James Crawford at Randjesfontein. During that time, he played an integral role in the preparation of several top-class performers, including Graded winners Star Major and Fish Tales, further strengthening an already impressive set of credentials.
While Tim’s racing upbringing and practical experience make him well qualified for the role, they reveal only part of the man.
He is an unusually reflective character whose journey over the past decade has been centred on spiritual inquiry and a longstanding interest in archaeology and metaphysics.
Tim describes the journey as one of two steps forward and one step back. It has been a gradual process of exploration rather than sudden revelation, but one that now increasingly informs both the way he approaches life and the way he understands horses and the craft of training them.
Perhaps fittingly, Tim’s broader outlook began before he committed himself fully to racing. Although he had been riding racehorses from the age of nine and was a capable work rider by his early teens – track riding champions including El Picha – Geoff was keen that his son receive a formal education before entering the family profession and urged him to study beyond the stable yard.
He completed a Diploma in Film and Music, an experience that reinforced his appreciation of literature, the arts and philosophy. Those interests have since become part of the lens through which he observes horses, people and the world around him.
Geoff moved from Cape Town to Gauteng in the early 2000s, establishing a championship stable at the Vaal. By 2009, Tim had set his sights on becoming his father’s second-in-command. But, as he readily admits, he wasn’t yet ready for the responsibility.
“My dad had excellent assistant trainers back then – Candice and Tammy Dawson, David Rahilly and Johan Jansen van Vuuren. I was not ready for the task and actually on the lazy side, so I ended up wandering around the stables every day instead of working.”
In 2010, Tim decided to take an early sabbatical to Britain, a decision that proved invaluable. He joined the stable of accomplished National Hunt trainer Venetia Williams before spending time with leading Newmarket-based flat trainer, William Haggas.
“My time with Venetia was a revelation because I saw how much exercise thoroughbreds can actually take. She worked her runners up a 900m hill with a steep incline three times in a row – big, strong horses by mainstream Flat stallions out of jumping mares.”
For a while, Tim even considered becoming a jump jockey and rode in five Point-to-Point races, where amateur riders compete over fences. “I only finished one race and we came in last! But I only fell off once, which I thought was an achievement,” he quipped.
At William Haggas’ Somerville Lodge, every member of staff is expected to do everything from mucking out stables to riding work and travelling with runners to race meetings, an environment Tim relished.
“Our family knew the Haggas family well, my grandfather and my dad counted the late Lester Piggott as a friend, and Lester’s daughter Maureen is married to William. Riding out with Maureen gave me an inside look at a yard run with exceptional professionalism. The care that went into every aspect of preparing a racehorse was an eye-opener.”
At the premier Newmarket barn, Tim had the opportunity to ride what he describes as ‘the most magnificent horses’ – progeny of Galileo, Oasis Dream, Danehill Dancer, Dansili and other elite stallions. He enjoyed life in the famous racing village so much that he seriously considered staying on indefinitely.
However, by then Geoff had relocated the stable from the Vaal to Randjesfontein and was in need of assistance. He asked Tim to return to South Africa.
“It was an exciting time for him and, when I came back, I was finally ready to take on the responsibilities of working in a major yard.”
The next few years proved a golden period for the Woodruff stable. Yorker won the Grade 1 Summer Cup in 2013 with the Woodruff yard running 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th with 4 runners, followed by Master Sabina in 2014. Louis The King beat stablemate Killua Caste in 2015 and Master Sabina won again in 2016. Louis The King also completed the Triple Crown in 2014.
Tim recalled: “I was able to find my feet, make a solid contribution and apply the skills I’d learned from my family and overseas. There was very little to teach my dad, of course, but I was able to share what I’d learnt about swimming horses for conditioning and rehabilitation, something I picked up from Venetia Williams. We had a horse pool available to trainers at Randjesfontein at the time.”
Around 2016, Tim stumbled across a YouTube documentary by UFO researcher Dr Steven Greer. Exploring the possibility of advanced extraterrestrial civilisations, consciousness and humanity’s place in the universe, it was the beginning of an unexpected intellectual journey.
The subject remains controversial and often attracts scepticism, yet it opened the door to a much broader exploration of spirituality, meditation and the nature of consciousness. Tim has continued to study these subjects and is happy to discuss his own experiences.
“I was an atheist before, but Dr Greer’s video blew my mind open and made me reconsider what is termed the ‘Higher Power’, as well as human consciousness, meditation, fields of energy and the power of the mind. We are not alone.”
Tim began practising higher-energy meditation at the age of 28, adopted a vegan lifestyle and completed a 10-day Vipassana meditation course in Worcester, Western Cape. The silent retreat encourages participants to explore the relationship between mind and body through disciplined observation and meditation.
He has since returned as a volunteer helper, assisting teachers and supporting participants during various courses. He has also helped organise and spoken at societies and spiritual festivals, sharing aspects of his own experiences, archaeology and consciousness.
Tim said his spiritual journey over the past decade has profoundly changed his outlook on life. Among his daily practices is consciously directing what he describes as ‘loving thoughts’ towards the people, animals and environment around him.
He explained: “It’s taken my life one level up. Your energy affects everything around you. Plants, food, even water, respond to personal energy. You can, for example, place matter in two separate jars, for instance cooked rice – then purposefully send one jar loving energy and then send hate to the other. I did the experiment. The loving jar will preserve itself better while the hate jar will go black and spoil. This is the reason many religions encourage us to pray over our food.”
His philosophy extends naturally to his work with horses. He said: “Horses can feel your energy, your happiness or your anxiety. Their hearts are big and carry magnetic toroidal fields around their heartbeats that can create healing. That’s why they are employed in equine-assisted therapy. They can sense your energy and offer physical, emotional and cognitive benefits to those in need.”
Tim believes in bringing light to those around him, but the fiercely competitive world of racing leaves little room for New Age philosophies. “Racing is a rollercoaster. It’s a hard and intense industry to stay centred in. There was a point when I became too soft and sensitive, so I enrolled for martial arts classes, including jiu-jitsu, to toughen up and stay in the fight. That was another eye-opener and I found my balance again.”
Tim said his spiritual journey has also been accompanied by vivid dreams, one of which left a lasting impression last week. “The two nights before the Gold Cup I had clear dreams about Fish Tales. First jockey Mickaëlle Michel fishing in a lake and catching a massive fish, and then Fish Tales helping out one of his owners, jumping the rails at Randjes.
“I still didn’t think we’d win, but on race day I told the connections about my dreams, and Mickaëlle rode Fish to victory in the Grade 2 race for two-year-olds, winning for Nishen, Raph and Sel.
“Horses’ names have meanings, and I’ve always felt Star Major was somehow meant for me because it reflects the path I’m on,” he added.
Tim is hoping a horse of Star Major’s calibre will cross his path again at Summerveld. “We want to hit the ground running. I’ll be spending the next few weeks alongside Lulu, getting to know the horses I’ll be working with from the outset. The better horses will return with her to Cape Town in September, but I’ll still have a number of decent ones to carry on with, and hopefully we can find a few new additions for the future.”
He explained Lucinda’s strategy for the immediate future: “Lulu wants to bridge the gap for owners who want to compete in feature races and suitable races in all the major centres. Having a base at Summerveld will allow us to raid the Highveld, much like Frank Robinson did with Mocha Blend last year and Justin Snaith did with See It Again during the autumn season.
“Some horses also benefit from a change of scenery, while others don’t handle the heavy tracks in the Cape or the left-handed turn. Now we’ll be able to move them to Summerveld whenever it suits their programme.”
Tim said that Geoff’s influence on the Woodruff operation remains significant. “He goes to the training track at Milnerton every day and we’re fortunate to be able to draw on his incredible knowledge and vast experience.”
Ultimately, Tim hopes the values that guide his personal life will also define the culture of the Woodruff stable. “Charity begins at home, but we want to live by the motto, ‘In service to others’. We want to attract owners from all walks of life, and breeders who would like their graduates to race around the country.”
Whatever one makes of Tim’s philosophy, his horsemanship speaks for itself. Having already demonstrated a keen eye for thoroughbreds and a thoughtful approach to their development, he starts this venture with both credibility and quiet confidence, an excellent set of results, and every chance of making a lasting impact.