Picture: Andre Hauptfleisch accepts the Equus Champion Sprinter trophy from Joy Armitage at the 2014 Equus Awards
The popular breeder and owner Andre Hauptfleisch passed away last week much to the shock of racing industrymen.
He will be remembered as an affable man who had a great passion for the Sport Of Kings.
Andre Hauptfleisch first came into the racing public’s awareness as the part-owner of the Glen Kotzen-trained Durban July winner Big City Life, who was the last July victor to have a Monday night Chairman’s Dinner in his honour after his big race win on the first Saturday of July in 2009.
Hauptfleisch spoke at the Chairman’s Dinner and paid tribute to his father, Gren, whose horses he was able to enjoy as a kid, including Festive Season, who finished second in the J&B Met.
His father had also inadvertently played a part in him owning Big City Life, as it was he who had initiated a contract for him to build a road on Kotzen’s Woodhill Racing Estate.
Andre told the story of how, while building the road, he kept on encountering Big City Life, who was unmistakable due to his magnificent looks.
After enquiring about him and finding out he was for sale he encountered the horse alone in a paddock one day and once again the Casey Tibbs colt took his breath away.
He finally made the decision to go with Kotzen’s belief that he “would win the Met one day.”
He told Kotzen he would take a share if the horse ended up back at Woodhill after the sales, which he duly did, and he thanked owner Raymond Deacon for allowing him into the syndicate.
Big City Life gave Andre and wife Tilla and the rest of the syndicate a lot of fun, including winning the Gr 1 Cape Derby, then doing the Champions Season treble of the G2 KRA Guineas, Gr 1 Daily News 2000 and July. He was named Equus Champion Three-year-old Colt and would surely have been named Equus Horse Of The Year had his career not coincided with that of the great Pocket Power. Big City Life later won the Gr 1 Gold Challenge too, but Andre had sold his share in him by then.
Later, Andre was in the limelight again with another great horse he both owned and bred, the Duncan Howells-trained sprinting sensation Via Africa (Var).
Andre raced Via Africa’s mother, the Qui Danzig mare Bump ‘ N Grind, with Noordhoek Beach-based trainer Mike Stewart and she won three races over 1000m. However, she did not have a strong female line on paper and Andre consequently bought out his racing partners for breeding purposes. His father Gren owned a share in Var and the rest is history.
Via Africa was named Equus Champion Sprinter in the 2013/2014 season. Among other big wins she won the Gr 1 SA Fillies Sprint twice and beat the boys in the Gr 1 Cape Flying Championship.
Via Africa was sold on to Australia where she became a Gr 1-producing broodmare.
Andre will be greatly missed. Turf Talk extends condolences to his family.
