Turf Talk Newsletter – 02 September, 2025

Gavin Lerena regarded his winning the L’Ormarins King’s Plate on One Stripe as the number one highlight of his second championship-winning season (Chase Liebenberg Photography)

South African champion jockey Gavin Lerena is living in limbo at present as he awaits the outcome of his appeal, which was heard on August 18, against the severity of the sentence in the Jason Gates whipping incident and he also had to book off from Tuesday’s Vaal meeting as he has been down with the flu since Thursday last week.

However, he did therefore have time to reflect on last season as well as the season ahead.

Lerena’s plans to defend his title will depend on the appeal outcome, because otherwise he will have to take a 30 day suspension as per the sentence, which was 90 days of which 60 days are wholly suspended.

He had been looking forward to riding this week as he had to take time off for the inquiry and then had to sit out a suspension, meaning he has only ridden in two meetings this season, which returned a treble and a single.

Gavin described his championship winning season as having been mentally tough, especially due to the Gates incident.

He said, “I stayed off social media, but my family really took it to heart and it wasn’t easy at all for any of us.”

At the Equus Awards Gavin’s father Tex described how tightly knit the Lerena family was and how they stood up for each other. He added Gavin was good at handling the sort of situation he found himself in last season and had the ability to remain focused in the most trying of circumstances.

David Beckham had one of his best premiership seasons after being blamed for costing England the World Cup with his sending off offense. This was despite being booed at every match and Gavin seems to have the same mental toughness which enables him to shut out the noise.

Gavin described the build up to the Gates incident, his spur of the moment reaction and the immediate aftermath.

He said, “I had had three winners the previous day, including Rascova winning a Gr 1, but it had been a scorching day and after eleven rides there was a late night flight, so I was feeling a bit mentally fatigued. Jason’s mount carried me out six horse widths from the top of the straight to where the incident happened. He had switched his whip to the right hand and his horse was going straight. He then changed it back to the left hand and began whipping when there was no room to whip. He struck my filly on the chest and then struck me on my arm. I was angered, especially by my filly being hit on the chest and thereafter the whip could have gone anywhere, it could have even hit me in the eye. My reaction was spur of the moment … it is fight or flight.”

However, as quickly as the pull up Gavin was already thinking, “Oh my goodness, what have I just done.”

The next day he issued a public apology for his reaction, which had caused him to do something that was “out of character”.

He and Jason chatted about a week later.

Gavin said, “We agreed upon it being a dangerous sport and that we needed to have respect for one another and then we agreed to move on.”

However, the war of words from the keyboard cowboys continued for the rest of the season, the one side harsh in their criticism and the other side pointing out the mitigating circumstances and supporting Gavin.

Although Gavin stayed off social media, he did not know where he stood for a long time.

He added, “The inquiry was also tough as it was three days long and I had to represent myself … had I taken a lawyer in I would not have been able to appeal. I had to face nine legal people on my own.”

He continued, “It was tough, but other than that, I had a fantastic season. I enjoyed my racing and I enjoyed the people I rode for. I didn’t have the East Cape, so I had to be extra smart to get as many winners as I could and I was very blessed. There’s been a couple of seasons lately that I’ve wanted to go for it, but it’s got to all fall into place and I was very fortunate to get support in Cape Town last season, I’ve never had that before.”

Gavin had a fall out with one of his main yards, Johan Janse van Vuuren, at the beginning of the season, but they later made up.

Gavin said, “It is quite funny when you look back at it, because it was something so stupid. But it lit the fire inside me.”

The support in Cape Town included his partnering the top class Vaughan Marshall-trained One World colt One Stripe.

Gavin said winning the prestigious Gr 1 L’Ormarins King’s Plate on One Stripe had been the highlight of his season.

He said, “Winning the Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas was great, but the King’ Plate has aways been a race I’ve wanted to win. It’s not easy with a three-year-old, but he was up to the task.”

One Stripe had a lot of ground to make up at the top of the straight, but Gavin was always confident.

He said, “I was going really well. I knew I had so much horse under me. He sometimes hits a flat spot and you’ve got to help him through it, but when he’s ready and you’re ready he gives you an amazing kick. I never felt like I was going to lose the race, to be honest.”

Gavin showed his mental tenacity on the day as he had arrived on course with he reckons a maximum of about three hours sleep as his daughter had broken her arm the previous night and the family had to make a late night emergency trip to the hospital.

Gavin rates One Stripe as up with the best he has ridden and he has been trying to keep the ride for his overseas races, which will include the Gr 1 Breeders Cup Mile, although he admitted doing so was not going to be easy.

Gavin said his two national championship wins had been equally important.

He showed true grit in his first championship in 2014/2015, because always in the back of his mind in a tight tussle with S’Manga Khumalo had been the heartbreaking memory of three years earlier when ousted by Anton Marcus on the last day of the season. He had entered that last meeting one ahead of Marcus, but rode a blank to Marcus’ double. He had enjoyed a seemingly unassailable lead at one stage that season and the desolate feeling associated with having somehow lost it stayed with him for a long time. However, Gavin scored a record-breaking 42 wins in June 2015 to pull clear of Khumalo and he obliterated that bad memory forever.

This season had a different challenge, as mentioned earlier, but he prevailed again.

Besides the mental challenge, he said chasing a championship was physically taxing too.

He said, “I think flying’s probably the worst part of it, sitting on the airplane or sitting waiting for flights, the late flights and delayed flights. It’s just non-stop.”

Gavin said as a jockey he was always improving.

He said, “In this sport you’re always trying to improve, and you’re always learning new things. If I look back 10 years, 15 years, you’re always evolving. I have always been confident in the saddle, but your race riding and use of different tactics improves and there are different ways to win races. Our racing’s changed quite a lot as well. The pace is a lot slower than it used to be. Fifteen years ago, we used to go a good, strong gallop, but a lot of races today are canter-sprints.”

Gavin spends about an hour before a meeting studying form.

He said he always had a plan A, plan B and plan C.

He revealed, “I try to work out how a race is going to pan out and the bottom line is you’ve got to have a horse where the horse is happy. It’s no use forcing a horse to be two lengths closer than he wants to be.”

His wife Vicky is a racing TV presenter and that has helped.

He said, “She found me a lot of winners through the season just by watching the race and saying you’ve got to get on that one next time.”

Gavin’s agent Wade Viljoen also did a fine job finding good rides throughout the season.

Hopefully the team will be in place to have another crack at the championship this season, although it seems unlikely the appeal board will lessen the sentence as that could set a precedent.

Barry Donnelly was a loyal assistant trainer to Crawford Racing for over twenty years and was always the go to man when the press could not get hold of Brett or, latterly, James. He had an intimate knowledge of all the horses in the yard and always shared the information with gusto, so it was good to see this approachable and  popular figure in racing had been given a fitting tribute by the Sporting Post on Monday after the sad news of his passing:

Crawford Racing have reported that it is with great sadness that they share the passing of their long-standing assistant trainer, Barry Donnelly, at the age of 70.

Barry was an integral part of the Crawford Racing team for over 20 years, standing alongside Brett from the very beginning. His passion for horses, his loyalty, and his dedication made him more than a colleague – he was family.

Beyond the yard, Barry had a love for the casino, football (an avid Arsenal supporter), and most of all, his family.

His two beloved children and grandchildren meant the world to him. He also shared a special life with his partner Rhoda, cherishing her children and grandchildren as his own.

Today, we mourn not only a team member but a dear friend.

Barry’s presence, humour, and heart will be deeply missed, and our thoughts are with his family during this difficult time.

Rest peacefully, Barry.

Monty Roberts became a nonagenarian in May but he is still active in promoting his “join-up” techniques of natural horsemanship, which are widely used today in starting horses as well as in training, including with racehorses.

His techniques have enabled diligent horseracing trainers to create mutual respect and clear communication between horse and trainer.

Kelly Marks, a former British showjumper and European Ladies thoroughbred racehorse jockey champion, was described once by Monty Roberts as the perfect person to demonstrate and teach his “horse-whispering” techniques to audiences and pupils alike and South African industry people were privileged to watch her in action at the South African Jockey Academy in December, 2008, which is fittingly the year Roberts was made Personality Of The Year in the British Equestrian Magazine “Your Horse”.

Not many racing enthusiasts know much about how “join-up” works.

It is worth revisiting that day when Marks put on a demonstration that had the Summerveld audience fascinated and sometimes gobsmacked.

Three problem horses, volunteered by locals, were used in the demonstrations.

Join-up involves the use of body language and energy to win a horse’s confidence over. The specific aim is for the horse to view the teacher as a trusted leader and protector. Eye contact is a very important part of the process.

In the wild the capacity to move other horses around is the only manifestation of leadership, so the join-up process is kicked off by the use of lunging.

Marks emphasised that lunging is not about tiring a horse out and shouldn’t be done for longer than five minutes. The process should include making the horse stop and change direction.

The teacher can start working with the horse once she’s got its attention. The first sign of this is ear movement and then licking and chewing.

Marks gradually decreases her energy until the horse slows to a walk before standing still.

An excellent sign that the horse’s trust is being won is when it lowers its head – a frightened horse will always carry its head high.

When the horse is still, Marks walks around it in an arc and approaches it from the side with the aggressive front on gait of the predator, her eyes focused on the eye of the horse.

The moment the horse turns and makes eye contact, Marks turns away from the horse, lowers her head and walks away from it, thereby showing she has no aggressive intent and can be trusted.

Soon the horse will follow her and, either immediately or later, will go right up to the shoulder of the teacher. The teacher should stroke it to show praise.

Scratching a horse’s whither is one of the best methods of affection, and has been proven to lower a horse’s pulse rate, while being able to pick the feet up is a sign of trust.

Getting a horse to back up by pushing it on the chest is another important lesson during join-up, while a vital aspect of the process is termed “pressure and release”.

When pulling on a horse’s halter or rein, the reactive pull by the horse must be timed to coincide with a release. The horse then recognises the teacher as an “intelligent being” and soon knows that it will be rewarded by a release of pressure if moving in the right direction.

After join-up is completed the teacher is viewed not only as a leader but a protector or refuge. Problem-solving or breaking in is then tackled.

Saddles are introduced slowly and calmly, Marks emphasising that it is important to let the horse know that “we are in this together”. Calmness helps the horse to view the teacher as a leader and relaxes them.

The girth area is tickled to check for any discomfort before the girth is tightened and join-up is practised again once the saddle is on.

The horse is then lunged on a long double-rein and in this exercise the vital practise of pressure and release is the main lesson.

Then a life-size dummy is first placed tentatively on the horse’s back until it gets used to it. After that a rider can mount, first by lying sideways on the saddle and dismounting, before attempting to get into the stirrups.

Marks stunned the owner of the second horse, a nervous and sometimes aggressive seven-year-old piebald who had never before been backed or saddled despite numerous attempts by various people. He went through the process, all the way to being ridden, as quietly as a lamb.

However, it was the last demonstration that really emphasised Marks’ amazing affinity and patience with horses as she slowly convinced former racehorse, Veni Vici, that a float was nothing to fear.

After a lengthy process, she eventually had him walking into and backing out of the float at will from every conceivable angle.

Click here to watch Monty Roberts in action

Black Eagle won his maiden by 5,75 lengths and can follow up off an 87 merit rating in a class 4 event (Picture: Wayne Marks)

Hollywoodbets Durbanville Wednesday formguides and selections

R1 6 MARKETA has been rested for 71 days, she is very consistent, she ran a cracker behind Viva La Vida on the 24th of June, the form of that race has worked out well, if she doesn’t need the run badly on Wednesday, she will be hard to beat. 5 CALL OF THE KAROO stayed on beautifully for second behind Stormwatch last time, from a neat draw, if she can build on her last performance, she could certainly trouble them in the finish. 4 PENNYS CHOICE ran a great race behind Heritage Ridge on the 29th of July, she improved nicely with the blinkers fitted, on her best form, she will be competitive. 12 WHATASTAR has been rested for 78 days, she will need lots of luck in running from a bad draw, if the race works out for her, she could earn some money for the connections. Watch the first timers closely. (Brandon Bailey: 6 – 5 – 4 – 12)

R2 2 ELUSIVE WINTER won a great race up the straight at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on the 13th of August, he was given six points for that victory, he is very fast, from a neat draw, he will be hard to fetch. 3 ROMAN AGENT should be cherry ripe for this race on Wednesday, he was beaten just over five lengths by Elusive Winter last time, at the weights, he must be respected in a big way. 1 FLYING FINLEY has been in terrific form of late, jockey Andrew Fortune knows this individual well, he should be amongst the places from a good draw. 6 ONE LINER has been rested for 71 days, he is much better than his last performance, include him into the Quartet, he will be doing some good work late. (Brandon Bailey: 2 – 3 – 1 – 6)

R3 5 AMERICAN ULTRA has been rested for 113 days, she won her maiden in great fashion on the 13th of May, even though she will need to take a big step forward to win again, she looks better than her current rating of 77, she should run a big race from a decent draw. 2 LOVE SHACK has been rested for 122 days, her form at this level is very good, she will get some cover early, and she will be storming home late, include her into all bets. 7 INSIDE VOICE has been rested for 101 days, she quickened up to win her maiden well on the 25th of May, she looks decent, if she gets some luck in running from a tricky draw, she could be dangerous in the finish. 1 ALL IS GREEN has dropped in the ratings, and the blinkers have been fitted, watch her closely, she could be the value horse in this tricky race. (Brandon Bailey: 5 – 2 – 7 – 1)

R4 2 ABSOLUTELY YES has been rested for 74 days, he is a smart gelding with tons of ability, he was very impressive last time when he won the Grade 3 Langerman by just under one length, he should get the run of the race from a good draw on Wednesday, he will take lots of beating again. 5 JET FORCE has been rested for 120 days, he looks exciting, he quickened up like a smart horse to win going away on the 6th of May at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth, the yard thinks highly of this individual, this will be a nice test for him. 4 CAPTAIN WEST bounced back to his best form to win really well over 1400m on the 26th of July, he is a beautiful gelding with a great action, he should be right there in the finish. 6 AIR RAID is much better than his last performance, he was beaten just under six lengths by Captain West, on his best form, he could sneak into the Quartet. (Brandon Bailey: 2 – 5 – 4 – 6)

R5 6 BETTER MAN won a good race on the 15th of July, there is no doubt he will love the step up in trip to 1800m on Wednesday afternoon, he is still improving, if he finds himself in a good position turning for home, he will be hard to beat in this race. 1 KING’S QUEST stayed on strongly to run second behind Afrique on the 29th of July, life won’t be easy for him with the big weight of 64kgs, but he has a good draw and he now steps up in trip, he should run an honest race. 5 NOBLE HERO has been rested for 74 days, he ran a poor race last time behind Ariovistus, he is much better than that, watch him closely, he could sneak into the places on his best form. 7 DOUBLE DASH has been rested for 83 days, she won her maiden over this trip of 1800m, if she doesn’t need the run badly on Wednesday, she could earn some money. (Brandon Bailey: 6 -1 – 5 – 7)

R6 3 COUNTRY TIME has been rested for 78 days, she was very disappointing in her last start behind Over The Atlantic on the 17th of June, she has dropped even further in the ratings, and she has a low weight on her back for this race on Wednesday, from a neat draw, she should be very competitive. 1 OVER THE ATLANTIC has been rested for 78 days, she fought hard to win well on the 17th of June at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth, if she can build on that performance from a neat draw, she could easily win a race like this. 5 EASY LIVING has improved tremendously in her last two starts, she ran a great race behind Bonne Bouche on the 29th of July, she will be just behind the speed early, and she will be running on strongly late. 7 DU MAURIER moved up like she was going to run a huge race last time, unfortunately she didn’t find much under pressure, the big weight and the wide draw won’t make it easy for her, but she has ability and could sneak into the places. (Brandon Bailey: 3 – 1 – 5 – 7)

R7 7 BONNE BOUCHE showed tremendous speed to win a lovely race on the 29th of July, she was given four points for that victory, even though she carries a big weight on Wednesday, and she has gone up in the ratings, she will run a huge race again. 2 IM THE BUZZ quickened up nicely to win a good race on the 26th of July at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth, she was given three points for that victory, jockey Craig Zackey knows this mare well, if she can bring her last performance to the track again, she will go very close to winning from a neat draw. 8 LOWVELD LILY has been rested for 74 days, she stayed on strongly late behind Ukuduma in the Listed Irridescence Stakes on the 21st of June, she is a young filly with lots of potential, even though she is drawn wide and she wants more ground, she will be running on powerfully, watch her closely. 4 TRES CHIC finished her race off really well at Hollywoodbets Durbanville on the 27th of August, she ran second behind Black Path, she is always competitive at this level, include her into all bets. (Brandon Bailey: 7 – 2 – 8 – 4)

R8 4 BLACK EAGLE powered away from his field to win very easily on the 13th of August, he is a lovely colt with tons of ability, from a neat draw, he will be hard to beat in the lucky last. 6 LATE DECEMBER quickened up like a smart horse in the making to win by just over five lengths on the 22nd of July, even though he has gone up in the ratings, he looks smart, and he should be right there in the finish again. 9 FOLLOW YOUR HEART has been rested for 105 days, he beat a nice field last time, the yard thinks highly of this gelding, even though he has a bad draw, and he wants further, his class will give him a huge winning chance. 5 NOON DAY GUN will need to improve quite a bit to win a race like this, he has dropped in the ratings, and he has a nice draw, he could make the Quartet pay. (Brandon Bailey: 4 – 6 – 9 – 5)

Brett Crawford bids for perfect start to Hong Kong career at Sha Tin season opener

Prominent South African handler has high hopes for his first runner in the city, Speedy Smartie, on Sunday

by Jay Rooney (South China Morning Post)

Buoyed by positive responses from Hong Kong owners, Brett Crawford is eyeing a dream start to his new venture when the prominent South African trainer starts Speedy Smartie at Sunday’s season opener at Sha Tin.

Crawford, who has won 38 Group Ones and almost 1,500 races throughout his career, is the only addition to the Hong Kong training ranks for the 2025-26 season.

Speedy Smartie – one of 25 gallopers on Crawford’s books – will be the handler’s only runner on Sunday and the former Benno Yung Tin-pang-trained gelding is fresh from a trial win on the Sha Tin dirt last week.

“He trialled pretty well and he’s come out of it well, so it looks like he’s ready to go,” said Crawford, who also celebrates his 54th birthday on Sunday.

Crawford built a reputation as one of South Africa’s better big-race trainers, with his Group One successes including back-to-back victories in the country’s most prestigious feature, the Durban July, in 2023 and 2024.

However, he faces the challenge of starting his stable from scratch and recruiting horses from Hong Kong and overseas owners.

“It hasn’t been easy, putting yourself out there in strange territory and unknown to everybody,” Crawford said.

“But I must say the owners here are more than willing to speak to you and make a decision after they’ve met with you, so that’s encouraging to get an opportunity.

“We’ve got 25 horses at the moment. There are a couple that I think are in their right classes. A lot of them were racing until the end of last season, so we’ve just freshened them up and got them going again.

“There are a few that have dropped in rating and look like they can bounce back. If we can turn them around, I’m sure there are a few we can have a bit of fun with.”

Since being unveiled by the Jockey Club in February, Crawford has been busy heeding the advice of Hong Kong’s many expat trainers, as well as South Africans Tony Millard and David Ferraris, who had successful training stints in Hong Kong.

One familiar face at Sha Tin is jockey Karis Teetan, who was Crawford’s stable jockey for several years before making the move to Hong Kong in 2013.

“Karis has been doing a lot of work for me since he’s come back from holiday and obviously he and I have worked closely in the past, so he’ll be riding a few, no doubt,” Crawford said.

“Zac [Purton] trialled one for me and I’m sure if they’re good enough, he’ll get on them. Lyle Hewitson, Keagan de Melo and Jerry Chau [Chun-lok] have also done some work for me.

“I think Hong Kong’s spoiled for talented riders, so I don’t think you’re ever falling short if you don’t get the one you really wanted. I’m sure we’ll have good relationships with most of them.”

The Zimbabwe-born Crawford isn’t setting himself any definitive goals for his first campaign in Hong Kong.

“I think for me it’s just about getting the best out of every horse I have in front of me, whether that be making him improve in Class Five or making him improve in Class Three,” he said.

“If they’ve been out of form and we can turn it around, that would show we’re on the right track. It’s just about seeing them run well and getting some winners on the board.”

Jan Brueghel just pips Illinois in last year’s English St. Leger (Picture: Sky Sports Racing)

At The Races

Two Ballydoyle heavyweights in Illinois and Jan Brueghel are on a collision course in the Comer Group Irish St Leger at the Curragh on Sunday week.

Illinois finished second to Trawlerman in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot in June and was then beaten by younger stablemate Scandinavia in the Goodwood Cup.

Jan Brueghel beat Illinois by a neck in last year’s St Leger at Doncaster and was too good for Calandagan in this summer’s Coronation Cup, but trainer Aidan O’Brien has admitted to getting his tactics all wrong when he attempted to make all in the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

Speaking at a press morning at his Ballydoyle Stables ahead of the Irish Champions Festival, O’Brien said: “I think Illinois and Jan Brueghel will take each other on, the lads are very happy for that to happen. They are two older horses.

“We might not have seen the best of Illinois yet because the Gold Cup was a bit hard on him and his preparation up to it might not have been brilliant. He might have felt that a little bit in Goodwood, but we think he’s in a good place again. It might take until next year to get him right back.

“Jan Brueghel, we absolutely made a hash of it in the King George but he’s very well. Obviously he’s very idle in front, he needs something to be running at but he stays very well and he’s in good shape.

“You get plenty of days like Ascot but it’s sport and you have to take the good with the bad, you often learn more from the bad. At least we know what not to do with him any more, we won’t ask him to make his own running. He loves following a horse, stays very well but he is lazy.”

When asked if Jan Brueghel could be a Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe contender, O’Brien added: “He could be anything if the pace is on. We did the perfect thing with him at Epsom and then the completely wrong thing at Ascot.”

Who said this in 1994, not realising that it was the start of something massive, “I knew the flat dream was over: the needle on the bathroom scale was stuck on 8 stone 10.”

The picture is of the subject