Dennis is one of the country’s senior trainers who has prepared the winners of many hundreds of races including the Vodacom Durban July with Spanish Galliard. Among the top horses he has trained are the legendary Val De Ra and the magnificent filly Beach Beauty.
But possibly his most notable achievement has been his recent domination of the Grade 1, Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion for two-year-old, a race which he has won six times in the past eight years and seven times overall.
The win this year with Sand And Sea was incredible with the colt slow out of the pens then accelerating from last to demolish the opposition.
His success with young sprinters has been phenomenal and his seventh victory in this premier juvenile sprint race with Sand And Sea is an achievement worthy of the award.
If dedication, enthusiasm and innovation are the requirements for success in life then Gavin has shown he has plenty of all three and together with sons Chesney and Gareth has formed a very effective training establishment operating in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
After a relatively quiet period the stable is again beginning to flex its muscles and did well for its supporters during the month with eight winners and nine other placed runners returning a win-place percentage of 51.52 and an outright win rate of 24.24%.
With the big season now in full swing one could expect further successes for the stable.
His engaging, positive and humorous outlook on life will have helped him through a difficult health problem during the past year and many will say that being with him is “a Laff a minute”.
But behind the smiles and the jokes is a man who takes his various roles in the racing industry very seriously, involving himself in administrative affairs for the benefit of the sport as a board member of Gold Circle.
Also among his collection of “activity hats” are those as an on-course presenter and co-presenter of the racing programme Winning Ways.
But it is the exploitation of his training skills, honed over many years, where his main focus lies and his dedication was rewarded during the month when topping the trainer list with nine winners and 11 placings from just 29 runners – a win-place strike rate of just on 70% giving his followers a return of R74.60 on a R1 win bet on each of his charges.
There are some very powerful racing stables operating in KwaZulu-Natal including satellite operations of some of the biggest yards in the country making racing extremely competitive.
However, against the strong opposition the local yards have held their own and one of those is that of lady trainer Alyson Wright that had one of its best months in topping the trainer table for the month with eight winners and another four placings from just 26 runners.
That translates roughly into one winner from every three runners which is excellent and the stable supporters would have been extremely happy with the R76.90 return on the R1 win bets they placed on all her runners.
Statistically, the Kannemeyer satellite stable at Summerveld must be one of the most successful in the country and, together with his Durban team, Dean has again topped the monthly winner’s list scoring seven wins from 29 runners with 13 other charges making the frame of which 11 returned place dividends for punters.
Punters are looking to make a profit and a R1 win bet on each of the Kannemeyer runners would have resulted in a R12.70 profit with the stable posting a 25% win rate and a massive win-place percentage of just on 70%.
The stable has maintained a strong performance level since the satellite yard was opened more than a year ago and is worthy of the monthly award for its consistency.
Talent, passion and hard work are a powerful combination and Duncan, known as a workaholic, is reaping the benefits of it at his Ashburton establishment. He has risen to be one of the leading conditioners in the country and this was reflected in his results during the month under review where he saddled 11 winners and 15 place-getters from his 67 runners.
Operating in a very competitive environment against some very powerful stables, Duncan has shown that the facilities at Ashburton can produce results in spite of it not being at the level of Summerveld which is recognised as the premier training centre in the country.
It is the effort and dedication that is the key and Duncan has shown he has an abundance of both.
Racehorse training is a tough and competitive occupation and things are even tougher when you are a woman in a male-dominated industry.
But Lezeanne has overcome the difficult passage of establishing herself as a competitive force in racing in KwaZulu-Natal and has enjoyed one of the most successful months of her relatively short career as a trainer.
Up against some very powerful stables, Lezeanne proved that she has the ability to match it with the boys and saddled five winners and another eight placed horses from a mere 22 runners to finish second on the provincial trainer log.
It was a clear demonstration that she can produce the goods when given the stock and worthy of the monthly award.
The Gold Circle Trainer Award for the month has been bestowed on Assistant Trainer for Andre Nel in KwaZulu-Natal, Byron Forster.
It was an incredibly competitive month with the spoils being spread across a large section of the training community and no stable dominating as has regularly been the case. Five stables each had five winners and another five had four with a further seven saddling three winners.
The usual leading yards were among those in the top group but one of those with four winners was that of the Nel KZN based yard that also managed a further 10 placings to give the stable supporters that invested a R1 win bet on all of the 23 stable winners a R10.90 profit.
One of the most energetic members of the racing fraternity, Paul wears many hats including Gold Circle Director, Television Presenter and enthusiastic soccer supporter to a man who is fanatical about racing and a very accomplished racehorse Trainer. Some say racing with Paul is fun and laughter all the way.
In spite of his most challenging recent health problems, Paul remains Paul and with his Summerveld team continues to do his loyal patrons proud. During the past month he had a great run sending out five winners and another 10 contenders that finished in the placing from just 23 runners – a Win and Place percentage of 65.22% which was outstanding.
Fighting the big C has been the greatest challenge he has faced but in true “Laff” style, as in his racing commitments, he has done it with style.
Following in the footsteps of his legendary uncle and mentor, the late great Sydney Laird, Dennis has built a Summerveld operation that has become one of the leading racing stables in the country, acknowledged for its consistency of performance and success.
In the past month, building on his status as the champion trainer in KwaZulu-Natal for the past season, Dennis and his team set the new season off in brilliant fashion with an outstanding 11 winners and an impressive R29.10 return on every R1 win bet struck on all his 39 runners.
His 11 wins equalled the total winners achieved by the next three stables on the log which was an outstanding performance.
Well done Dennis
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