CANDIESE LENFERNA

The Gold Circle Owner Award for the month has been awarded to Candiese Lenferna – formerly Marnewick.

Candiese, the Gold Circle photographer, runs her private photographic company where she enjoys retainers from many top-class clients for photographs. Known for her strong attitude towards high quality work and service, Candiese is also the secretary for the KZN Breeders and does considerable work for Bloodstock SA.

Loving the thoroughbred and the sport of horseracing, Candiese believes it is important that she should put back into the sport from which she earns her living and has become involved as an owner having previously bred a number of horses of which at least one has found the winner’s enclosure. She began her involvement as an owner when buying shares in Coldhardcash on the recommendation of trainer Duncan Howells and has enjoyed wins in both races the bay gelding has run for her. She also has a share in the Mike Miller-trained Excessive Grace, a striking grey that has placed in two of the three races for Candiese and is expected to win soon, and is involved in the On A Mission Syndicate with the Mike de Kock yard in Gauteng. With her enthusiastic involvement in racing, we wish Candiese many more visits to the winner’s enclosure.

GEORGINA BUCHANAN

The Gold Circle Trainer Award for the month has been bestowed on Georgina Buchanan.

Born into a strong racing family in Mauritius and included as a young girl in her racehorse owning father’s involvement in the sport, it was inevitable that the seeds of love for horses and the thoroughbred in particular would be planted in Georgina’s heart. And with uncles and cousins equally involved in the sport, that seed was steadily nurtured to become a passion that inspired Georgina’s entry into racehorse ownership in South Africa about 30 years ago.

And it has been an involvement of loyalty to the Bestel stable that, with top trainers Irene and now daughter Corinne, has been greatly rewarding with enjoyment and the excitement of leading in more than 50 winners which Georgina, now 76 years of age, admits is quite a record for a very small owner.

“I love the horses and it is wonderful that we can visit the stables and see our horses work. I used to go racing regularly but I live in Howick now and mainly race at Scottsville when I have a horse running.”

Now with shares in four horses, Georgina had three winners in the month with Blaze Of Silk, Soiree and Soiree’s half sister Mystic Dreamer. “So I had a double with half-sisters, my first double in 30 years.”

A story of love and loyalty now rewarded – well done Georgina.

LESLIE LOGAN

The Gold Circle Owner Award for the month has been awarded to Leslie Logan.

A modest venture into the world of thoroughbred racehorse ownership four years ago, when taking a share in a horse owned by a friend, quickly blossomed into an involvement in 57 horses racing with a number of trainers in KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Durban.

For businessman Leslie, the sport of thoroughbred racing brought the family a lot of enjoyment and considerable success with 43 winners and many places including four visits to the winner’s enclosure during the month under review. But with a string of horses that size it demanded a considerable amount of involvement in time and money and business pressures led to the scaling down of the operation.

“My one son really loves the horses and is keenly involved but for me the business pressures are too heavy and I have only visited Summerveld twice. I have cut back considerably to 12 or 13 horses but because of my son I can see I will probably being buying more in the future” he said.

Congratulations and well done Leslie

NIC JONSSON

The Gold Circle Owner Award for the month has been bestowed on Nic Jonsson

For owners around the country, having a runner in the Vodacom Duran July, Africa’s greatest race, is an honour in itself and for that runner to win the famous event is something they dream of.

But to win the world-famous race twice in consecutive years with the same horse is extra special and this year that honour belonged to Nic Jonsson as his Twice Over gelding Do It Again – once again perfectly presented by trainer Justin Snaith – lifted the coveted trophy for the second year in a row, an honour only achieved three times before in the 121-year history of the race.

And fitting it is that a great grandson of Frederick Jonsson, one of the 15 founding stewards of the Durban Turf Club who established the famous Jonsson racing dynasty, should achieve the honour.

Nic is a leading supporter of racing in South Africa with about 50 horses in training with stables in KwaZulu-Natal, the Western Cape and Port Elizabeth and the Equus awards for Champion Older Male, Champion Miler, Champion Middle Distance Horse and Horse Of The Year bestowed on Do It Again recently were wonderful and well-deserved rewards for a man who says of his racing involvement – “I love it.”

Congratulations and well done Nic.

MARIO FERREIRA

The Gold Circle Owner Award for the month for June 2019 has been bestowed on Mario Ferreira.

An invitation to attend a major sale “five or six years ago” was the beginning of a search – that has become a passion – to obtain or breed “the ultimate racehorse” and the development of a stable of “40 or 50” thoroughbreds that have brought Mario 165 winners.

As the passion and the number of horses have grown over the years, Mario has spread his wings among the trainer community with a number of conditioners caring for his horses and he has become involved to a greater degree in the breeding side of the industry.

With a volume of evidence showing that great horses are not always the progeny of great stallions or mares, “there is always the chance of breeding the ultimate racehorse – it has become a dream.”

Well done Mario!

GREG BORTZ

The Gold Circle Owner Award for the month has been bestowed on Greg Bortz

A man with a life-long passion for the sport, the “racing bug” bit very early in life when hearing the horses in action at Greyville from his nearby home and sneaking through the fence into the course to watch them.

“I took my first place accumulator bet when I was nine years old,” he quipped and now owns “about 90” horses including Independent On Saturday Drill Hall Stakes winner Undercover Agent that will take Greg on a new direction in his love of the thoroughbred as a stallion.

After completing his university studies Greg left South Africa for the United Kingdom and then the United States but returned in 2012 when, on visiting his first thoroughbred sale to buy one horse, ended up buying 17.

“The bug had bitten big time and I just kept on buying. With Undercover Agent going to stud now I have my first stallion and while I had never thought of being a breeder, his career as a stallion might take me on the next stage of my passion.”

Having enjoyed 270 winners as an owner so far, Greg said his joy in the sport was watching his horses run and living overseas with homes in London and America, it had become more difficult to do.

During the month Greg had three winners in KwaZulu-Natal with G G’s Dynasty winning twice at Scottsville after Undercover Agent had scored at Greyville.

Well done Greg

MAYESH CHETTY

The Gold Circle Owner Award for the month has been bestowed on Mayesh Chetty.

Developing an interest in racing through his brother and friends who loved the sport and bet on the horses, Mayesh got a lot more involved in the industry when he bought his first horse, Butane, at a KwaZulu-Natal sale back in 2007.

Butane won first time out and since then Mayesh’s involvement has grown to include breeding and having six mares – one in KwaZulu-Natal and five in the Cape – and a racing team of about 25 horses located in stables around the country.

“I have horses here in KwaZulu-Natal, in the Western Cape, Port Elizabeth, Gauteng and Kimberley.”

Over the years Mayesh, who was elected a director of Gold Circle in January, has enjoyed 135 winners – two during the past month – and says he finds the breeding side of the industry “very exciting”. His relatively small current involvement in breeding with six mares has done very well with 13 of his home-bre.

Well done Mayesh!

MICHAEL DE HAAST

A relaxing sundowner and chat with his racehorse training neighbor Alec Laird 20 years ago set Michael de Haast on a mission that today runs an international racing operation that controls 37 horses in England and Ireland and a growing stable of horses in South Africa.

“I was never interested in racehorses. My wife Laura was, having been involved with horses for many years including back to when she rode work for trainer Henry Eatwell of Welcome Boy fame. But Alec was saying there was one horse he had not been able to get rid of, the filly Proud Peyton and I bought her for R80 000.

“I became hooked on racing and when we emigrated to the UK and Ireland I formed the International Racing Club and built a syndicate that today has 37 horses there and 14 or 15 here in KwaZulu-Natal. My wife and I also run a number of horses outside the syndicate here with Louis Goosen and I have just bought a number of horses including runners for

Mike Robinson in the Cape and Paul Peter in Gauteng. I also have a horse with Gavin Smith in Port Elizabeth.”

Since starting out in 1998, the International Racing Club together with Michael and Laura, have won 161 races which includes the three at Greyville during March that contributed to Michael being the recipient of the Gold Circle Owner of the Month award.

Well done Michael!

KINMOUNT RACING SYNDICATE

The Gold Circle Owner Award for the month has been bestowed on the Kinmount Racing Syndicate where the nominee is Avison Keyan Carlisle.

The syndicate, formed quite recently, includes Keyan’s parents Avison and Mary along with other family members and friends and operates from the family’s Kinmount Stud just north of Howick in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands.

Avison senior recalled how he and wife Mary became involved in racing through farming friends in 1996 and three years later bought their first horse, Rebel Patriot, that went on to win six races. A while later they bought Rebel Patriot’s dam, Rebel Qui, which became the foundation mare for the Kinmount Stud.

During February the syndicate had two winners – News Stream at Scottsville and Alfonso Spagoni at Greyville – the latter being the son of one of the daughters of Rebel Qui and, happily for three members of the Kinmount Racing Syndicate, a win first time out for the first horse they have ever been involved with.

Kinmount Stud is run by Avison senior and Mary with Keyan running the overall farming operation where the stud has produced a number of good horses that have contributed to the 47 winners they have enjoyed over the years.

The family is also involved with the welfare of the apprentice jockeys in the province with Avison senior being the chairman of the SA Jockey Academy at Summerveld for the past 10 years – a position which is very close to his heart.

A truly inspirational story of a family dedicated to the thoroughbred and those that celebrate its existence and purpose.

Well done.

MARIO FERREIRA

The Gold Circle Owner Award for the month has been bestowed on Mario Ferreira.

The thoroughbred racehorse is a unique breed and for the past seven years since buying his first horse, Mario has dreamed of owning or breeding the individual specimen that stands out as a champion or, as it has been termed by many, “the special one.”

Building a string of about 50 horses over the years with a few being in partnership with others, Mario races most of his horses in KwaZulu-Natal. He has horses with various trainers around the country and the three winners he enjoyed at Greyville during the month took his winner total to 149.

Fully supported in his hobby by his family, Mario also has a considerable involvement in breeding in his passionate search for that “special” individual.

Well done Mario