MR O’NEIL SYNDICATE

It is said that one man’s loss could lead to another’s gain and that is how the successful Mr O’Neil Syndicate was established after a group of friends enjoyed one of their regular lunches with Cape trainer Dean Kannemeyer whenever he was in Durban.

Making up the syndicate are colour holder Ryan Botsis, Ettiene van der Westhuizen of “Kid Colt” fame of years gone by, Garry Citron, Chris Gerber, Sean Phillips, Warren Eisele and his wife Annie – a happy group that have since added a young Visionaire colt to their “stable”.

Warren, the retired former racing Judge in KwaZulu-Natal whose “stint” in the judges box totalled 52 years, said that at the lunch Dean told them the sale on Mr O’Neil had fallen through and suggested the group of friends might want to get involved. “We got together and formed the syndicate and bought Mr O’Neil for R120 000.

“Well, he has won six races for us and close to R500 000 and was unlucky in both the Lonsdale Stirrup Cup at Greyville and the Track & Ball Derby at Scottsville. Dean has said that if he stays sound he will feature in the July season next year and could have the eLan Gold Cup as one of his missions.

“You know, owning a racehorse is all about having fun and Mr O’Neil has given us plenty of that.”

Well done team