OFF THE RECORD #139

A Heritage of Horses, People and Passion

South Africa celebrated Heritage Day on Thursday to recognise the diverse cultures, traditions, languages and history that make up our national identity.  Horse racing, as much as anything else, has a heritage worth celebrating.

Official racing in South Africa dates back to 1795, when British rule was established at the Cape, and horses bred at the Southern Tip of Africa soon began making an impression beyond our shores.

The early South African-bred horses were named ‘Capers’. They were a breed forged from a mix of Javanese, Arabian, Persian, European and American blood. Capers were known for being on the small side but also strong, tough and suited to demanding conditions. They were especially in demand in India, where they found roles both on the racecourse and as army remounts.

All of us who love the sport owe a lasting debt of gratitude to Lord Charles Somerset, who arrived as Governor of the Cape Colony in 1814. He hailed from the equestrian hub of Badminton in Gloucestershire, and was a keen racing enthusiast himself, often seen at Newmarket.

Somerset wanted to nurture a passion for the thoroughbred and gave our fledgling racing industry a shot in the arm. He founded the Government Stud and imported English thoroughbred stallions and mares to lay the foundations for a more advanced breeding and racing industry.

More than two centuries later, our racing heritage remains rich, even if the road has not always been smooth. Our industry has stumbled through some difficult decades, but perhaps, as this week draws to a close, we should raise a glass to where racing comes from, and where it is slowly finding its way back to.

On the transformation front, South Africa has four promising black trainers – exactly four more than a decade ago.

Vengi Masawi made an incredible start to his career as Hollywood Racing’s trainer at Ashburton. He saddled 19 winners from 91 runners in his first official season for a winning strike rate of 20.9% – the highest in the land.

Alson Ndzilana and owner Johannes Manoko struck up a winning relationship at Randjesfontein, and Summerveld-based Bo Ngcobo won the Grade 2 SA Nursery. In the Eastern Cape, Lunga Gila is described as ‘the best dressed trainer in Gqeberha’ and he knows his way around horses too. Gila saddled nine winners from a small string of limited runners and is another who could come to prominence in the next few seasons.

Nowhere is diversity more evident than at the South African Jockeys Academy (SAJA). There are 40 apprentices in 2026 group, including youngsters in their second to fifth years. They include 36 males and four females from various race groups – Indian (14), Black African (8), White (7), Asian (7) and Coloured (2) – with representation from South Africa, Mauritius, South Korea, Qatar and Hungary.

James Maree’s Academy for Work Riders, founded in 2000, is still going strong at his Eikenhof farm under the auspices of 4Racing. Maree is assisted by Marthinus Mienie and Piet Nhlapo, and they continue to change the lives of many grooms and aspiring jockeys.

Maree said that approximately 1300 work riders have completed the four-month course since 2000, with about 20% of them – or 260 riders – having fully qualified to compete in races.

Maree said: “Our qualified graduates are in high demand around the world due to their advanced race riding skills. I’d say there are at least 100 of them employed in China, Japan and the UK. They include Charles Ndlovu and Joe Gwingwizha, who are doing spectacularly well with high incomes.”

There are encouraging signs that South African racing is once again finding its feet internationally.  Our horses continue to hold their own when given the opportunity, while our owners, breeders, trainers and jockeys are increasingly making their presence felt beyond our borders.

A fortnight ago, former Equus Champion Three-Year-Old Filly Gimme A Nother won the Grade 1 EP Taylor Stakes at Woodbine in Canada, a race packed not only with prestige and history, but also with a roll of honour of mares that have gone on to enjoy significant careers at stud.

She was bred by the Wilgerbosdrift/Mauritzfontein partnership by Gimmethegreenlight out of Nother Russia (Tiger Ridge), and races for Jessica and Steven Jell’s American racing entity, Newstead Stables LLC.

Aside from sharing the breeding honours of Gimme A Nother in the US and her customary host of winners in South Africa, Mary Slack herself has enjoyed success on three other continents this year, with a winner in Hong Kong, a Group 3 winner Pina Sonata (Pinatubo) in the UK and a recent Group 1 winner Personal Filly (Dabster) in Argentina.

Drakenstein’s Gaynor Rupert established Cayton Park Stud in the United Kingdom and came within a length of winning the Britannia Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2024, when her runner Skukuza (Blue Point out of Shingwedzi, by Trippi) finished second to Mickley.

More recently, Cayton Park’s I’m The One (Sea The Stars) finished second in the Listed Cheshire Oaks, while Thesecretadversary (St Mark’s Basilica) won the Group 3 Jersey Stakes at Royal Ascot before following up with a Group 1 success in the Haras de Fresnay-Le-Buffard Prix Jean Prat at Deauville in France. Both are contenders for forthcoming European features.

In Australia, Autumn Glow, a daughter of triple Gr1-winning South African racemare Via Africa (Var), was recently crowned Australian Racehorse of the Year for the 2025/26 season. She is now a winner of 13 races and has earned almost A$10 million in stakes.

Prominent owner Larry Nestadt has enjoyed some significant success in Australia as a partner in top-level Australian runners including Just Fine (Sea The Stars), former Melbourne Cup contender Military Mission (Mastercraftsman) and Grade 3 winner Letsbefrankbaby (Frankel). Earlier this year Heat Missile, a filly by More Than Ready out of 2014/15 Equus Champion Two-year-old filly Entisaar, won a handicap in Sydney for Nestadt, Gaynor Rupert, Mike de Kock and Gary Barber.

Hollywood Racing has a stated objective of expanding their own and the interests of the local industry overseas, and they’ve made a strong impact in a short period of time.

Hollywood-owned sprinter Isivunguvungu (What A Winter) has won twice in the United States, while former Equus Champion Three-Year-Old One Stripe (One World) finished a close second in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational at Gulfstream Park and second in the Grade 1 Maker’s Mark Mile at Keeneland, alongside an allowance win at Gulfstream Park.

One Stripe has returned to his home country, where he will stand at stud at Ridgemont.

Laurence Wernars and Hollywood Racing are backing Mike and Mathew de Kock’s recently announced ‘Global Stable’ which aims to race at the 2027 Dubai Racing Carnival and to use Dubai as a launching pad for competing elsewhere on the globe. They are working in conjunction with Vermaak Equine, who has purchased an exciting, Group-winning racing prospect in Argentina, with another set to be in the pipeline.

Colorado Del Monte (Strategos) is a versatile three-year-old colt of which Justin Vermaak said: “As a two-year-old, Colorado Del Monte started on dirt in the Gran Premio Montevideo and then switched to turf winning the Group 1 Estrellas Juvenile, before his recent three-year-old success in the Group 1 Dos Mil Guineas.

“His versatility between surfaces is one of the reasons we bought him, but if he doesn’t take to the Meydan dirt or goes the trip, he can run in the Jumeirah Three-Year-old Series after that – three races on turf over 1400m, 1600m and 1800m with good prize money.

“His versatility also makes the USA a very realistic target for Colorado Del Monte post the 2027 Dubai Carnival. There is a longer-term plan for him, targeting selected races on the American turf calendar.”

Another South African who has campaigned successfully in Dubai in recent years is the unassuming Dylan Cunha, whose remarkable achievements in the UK have attracted the attention of the media and a couple of high-profile patrons. Surprisingly, apart from Johnny Gerber’s shareholding in one horse, South African owners have largely ignored him.

The Durban-born Cunha has saddled more than 130 winners on the flat and five over the jumps in the UK and Ireland in his first four seasons, and a further three during the Dubai carnivals in 2025 and 2026. He has won races at famous tracks like Ascot, Epsom and York, has a UK Group 2 success to his name with the bargain buy Prague (Galileo), who won the 2025 Joel Stakes. Prague recently also took out a Grade 1 race in Hungary.

Cunha started from scratch in 2022 with family savings and three rejected runners from other stables. He has since taken over the historic Phantom House stable complex at Newmarket from the Jarvis family, is training shoulder-to-shoulder with some of the best horsemen in the world and has his father Luiz is assisting him with pedigree advice.