Chris Gerber Would Have Played A Leading Role During Racing’s Dark Days Says Mike De Kock
David MollettOn the fourth anniversary of the passing of businessman and owner-breeder Chris Gerber, top trainer, Mike De Kock, has emphasised how serious the loss of the 53 year-old has been to the sport.
Back in 2018 after Chris succumbed to complications following a bout of malaria, De Kock told Business Day “Chris’s loss is incalculable. He was a man who cannot be forgotten and who cannot be replaced. We’ll be having memorials for him years from now.”
Many-times champion breeder, Mick Goss, said: “There are few men who have served the industry in so many capacities and with so much competence.”
Fast forward to 2022 and Mike De Kock remains convinced Chris would have tackled the troubles racing has experienced in the last four years.
He told me yesterday: “Chris Gerber was a one-off. I’ve been in the industry since the early 80’s and seen some very big players come and go.”
“There’s always someone there to replace them – not this man. I firmly believe that when the shit hit the fan at Phumelela he would have been at the forefront and – who knows – may even have taken it all over.”
“The leadership he showed is what’s greatly missed today. The sales have never been the same without him and Moutonshoek.”
Colin Gordon, Chris’ racing manager and now Chief Operating Officer at 4Racing, commented: “We miss Chris every day and I believe that – if he was still with us – his energy and forward thinking would have been a huge asset to racing.”
Chris was the first owner of champion racehorse, Rainbow Bridge, who was retired at the beginning of the year. He went to R300 000 to acquire him as a yearling from Wilgerbosdrift Stud.
It was his dream – and that of his next owner the late Mike Rattray – to win the July but it wasn’t to be.
Still, Rainbow Bridge retired with a superb record of 11 wins and five Gr 1 victories. He delighted his many fans with two wins in the Cape Met winning the race in 2019 and 2021.
The words “sorely missed” are overused in tributes to people who have passed on. In Chris Gerber’s case “enormously missed” would be more accurate and many of us count ourselves lucky to have spent time him in his company.
