It is early days yet, but two horses that I bred, are currently high enough on the July Handicap log to run in the race this year.  One is a filly of Sabina Park by the name of Sabina’s Dynasty as well as a child of Festive Occasion (who some of my staff went to watch at Turffontein run many years ago and has subsequently died) called Made to Conquer.   I don’t own either of the horses anymore, I sold the vast majority of my 30+ horses during a sale in September 2017, because quite frankly they reached a stage where they were losing money every single month, but I did breed them and every time they win I obviously get a mention as the breeder.  To me, it gives me a lot of pride to have bred them as well as knowing how good their mothers were – Festive Occasion has after all already produced Do you Remember, who came third in the July Handicap and is currently pregnant by American Pharaoh, the last winner of America’s Triple Crown, in Kentucky USA.  Sabina Park of course produced Master Sabina who won two consecutive Summer Cups and has subsequently retired from racing.  It shows me again that what I believe in works, and that is that top mothers produce top children.  Yes, I sent the mothers to the best sires (or fathers) out there, but it is the mothers who did the best on the racetrack who have continually produced for me the best children.  When I send average mares to top sires, I get average foals, so to me its more about the mother.  I don’t know whether the new owners of either of the two horses will elect to run in the July, but it is likely that at least one of them will run in the July and it is quite possible that I will have bred two of this year’s July Handicap runners.  The July Handicap will be run on Saturday, 6 July.

Lastly, why did I sell?  Horseracing in South Africa is spectacularly unprofitable.  It did not use to be as bad as it is now, but honestly, even if I kept these two wonderful horses as well as all the other horses I sold last year and they ran first and second in the July, I would still be racing at a loss.  Horses cost a fortune, trainers want R8,000 a month, then there are vets, transport fees, running in the race, etc, and it gets to a situation where your accountant will ask you every year as to why you are still keeping all your horses.  The funny thing is I was always considered a “lucky owner” and well, as a lucky owner, I can tell you I was losing money.  I can only imagine how bad it has been for unlucky owners and the biggest problem is that the prize money in South Africa is way too low.  You have horses that cost R2 or R3 million that are racing to win R60,000 and when you come third in the July Handicap, as Do You Remember did, you only win R330,000.  That sounds like a lot of money, but compared to the value of the horses and what they would be worth overseas and what they are racing for in countries like Australia, that is a pitiful amount of money.  First prize in the Kentucky Derby for example would be closer to R20 million and the horse coming third will get the equivalent of R5 million, not R330,000.