Maestro Summerveld trainer Dennis Drier was the star of the show at the KZN Awards ceremony at the Elangeni Hotel last Thursday night thanks chiefly to his brilliant sprinter Captain Of All, who won a number of awards including the big one, the KZN Horse Of The Year. Unfortunately, Drier and his wife Gill were away on holiday in France.

Dennis and Gill were also the joint winners of the KZN Racing Personality of the Year award, while Dennis had the most winners in KZN of any trainer so recaptured a title he is familiar with, KZN Trainer Of The Year, beating last year’s winner Duncan Howells by a comfortable margin.

The Drier yard won a phenomenal five Gr 1 races (with three different horses) during the Champions Season. Captain Of All was named KZN Horse Of The Year at the expense of the Equus Horse Of The Year Futura, who won one Gr 1 during the Champions Season, the Gr 1 Champions Cup. Futura did also win both of Cape Town’s most prestigious races, the Gr 1 L’Ormarin’s Queen’s Plate and the Gr 1 J&B Met in Cape Town, but Captain Of All was the only horse during the season to win a Gr 1 Handicap with topweight (the Tsogo Sun Sprint) and he went on to destroy the opposition in the weight for age Gr 1 Mercury Sprint over 1200m, beating Carry On Alice, who had won two Gr 1 sprints before, by close to five lengths. Furthermore, the Riverton Stud-bred Captain Al colt retired with a merit rating of 126, the joint second- highest rating in South African history, and seven points higher than Futura’s. Futura did land the KZN Champion Middle Distance horse award. His fellow Capetonian, the Joey Ramsden-trained Gr 2 Gold Bracelet winner Gallica Rose, won the Champion Older Female award, but KZN horses swept the rest of the table.

Captain Of All was also named KZN Champion Sprinter and KZN Champion Older Male and his groom Goodman Makubalo was named Groom Of The Year.

Drier’s two-year-old Seventh Rock colt Seventh Plain, who won both the Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion and the Gr 1 Durban Golden Horseshoe, was the KZN Champion Two-Year-old Male. However, Drier’s Gr 1 Zulu Kingdom Explorer Golden Slipper winner Chestnuts N Pearls lost out on the Champion Two-year-old filly award to the Mike de Kock-trained Gr 1 Allan Robertson winner Entisaar, who also won the Gr 2 SA Fillies Nursery and the Listed Ruffian Stakes in Johannesburg.

Regarding the Driers’ Personality Of The Year award the night’s master of ceremonies Graeme Hawkins referred to them as a couple who were joined at the hip. He described the great trainer as one who had often been seen to cry in the winner’s enclosure but one who is also often seen laughing in public and also one who is not scared to voice his opinion in public. Gill, who like Dennis hails from a family steeped in racing, has always played a vital part in her husband’s success due to her vast knowledge of the thoroughbred, and she is also known for her big smile as well as her friendly, approachable nature. She is also always willing to talk about the yard’s horses, past and present, and appears to know each of them like one would know a family pet.

Hawkins walked away with an award himself, the annual Anita Akal award, and Akal described him as one who had given his life and soul to racing. Hawkins believed his wife Babette to be in Johannesburg preparing for his daughter’s wedding, so was pleasantly surprised when she appeared on stage.

The Champion Stayer award went to the De Kock-trained Gr 1 eLan Property Group Gold Cup winner Wild One. De Kock was away but owner Sean Phillips was there to receive it together with his wife Jackie and they invited winning jockey Anthony Delpech on to the stage. Delpech was later named KZN Jockey Of The Year to rapturous applause.

Callan Murray won the Apprentice Of The Year award and looks to have a bright future ahead of him.

Duncan Howells didn’t go home empty-handed as his crack three-year-old filly Same Jurisdiction, who won the Gr 1 Jonsson Workwear Garden Province Stakes, won the most competitive category, the Champion Three-year-old filly award, beating some top class members of a vintage crop. She runs in the Drakenstein Stud Colours and the other partners, Larry Vermaak, Marlene Powell, Dr Ralph Katzwinkel and Howells himself were all ecstatic to hear the filly’s name being announced.

The Paul Lafferty-trained Harry’s Son ironically didn’t run in KZN during the season but his stalwart performances in Johannesburg and Cape Town earned him Champion Three-year-old Male title. The connections were all there and the one whose colours he runs in, Roy Moodley, was named KZNOTA Owner of The Year as the KZN-domiciled owner who had won the most stakes money in KZN races.

The KZN Owner Of The Year was open to out of province participants too and was won once again by Markus and Ingrid Jooste. The Joostes own both Seventh Plain and Captain Of All and have a share in Klawervlei Stud, who added the KZN Breeder Of The Year award to their Equus title.

A special award was presented to racecourse judges Warren Eisle and Colin Buckham who have served the industry for 51 and 44 years respectively.

Another special award was presented to John Slade, stud manager of Maine Chance Farms, for the stud’s amazing feat of breeding the one-two-three in the Vodacom Durban July, all three of them sired by Maine Chance’s former champion stallion Silvano. Slade put it down to luck and Silvano.

Gold Circle chairman Robert Mauvis regarded everybody present as winners due to the success of the Champions Season.

By David Thiselton

Picture: Dennis Drier (Nkosi Hlophe)