Beeechamwood Boy cruises to victory over 1200m at Hollywoodbets Scottsville today (Wednesday) to record a hattrick, all under Keagan de Melo, and a fifth career win overall (Candiese Leneferna).
The Wendy Whitehead-trained Beechamwood Boy made it a hattrick at Hollywoodbets Scottsville today (Wednesday) when winning a handicap in highly impressive style over 1200m to write another chapter in a wonderful racing story, which starts way back in the 1930s.
Leading in Beechamwood Boy was nonagenarian Ian Gibson together with his wife of well over sixty years standing Helen.
Ian grew up in Mount Frere in the Transkei and both his father and Uncle enjoyed horseracing.
The latter both owned a horse or two and their trainer was an Englishman called Russell, although it is not clear which Russell he was.
Racing rubbed off on Ian and he became such a fan he used to dress up as a jockey for fancy dress parties and arrive on his horse called Smuts.
The picture above shows Ian in his jockey outfit together with Smuts before a fancy dress party in 1936.
Ian’s dream of owning a racehorse came true in 1970 when he and fellow school teachers Doug Campbell and Scotch Ferrie bought a horse together called Silver Sovereign.
This grey by Sovereign Edition was trained by Hennie Coetzee at Summerveld and was fancied for a few races, but retired from the professional ranks as a maiden.
However, the knock on effect of the many visits to Hennie’s yard at Summerveld to see Silver Sovereign saw a couple of youngsters developing a lifelong passion for racing, Ian Gibson’s son Peter and Scotch Ferrie’s son Stuart. In fact, Stuart will have his own training license at Summerveld from the first of next month and will be training a horse for Peter too!
Peter Gibson together with sisters Janet and Phillipa on Hennie Cotzee’s pony called Jolly Boy back in the early 1970s.
Doug Campbell later took over as trainer of Silver Sovereign, preparing him for the amateur racing circuit at such gymkhana racecourses as Richmond, which was close to where Doug’s present day private training estate is situated.
Richmond racemeetings were memorable days for Silver Sovereign’s owners and their offspring and Peter and Stuart’s passion grew.
Richmond also heralded the starting point of the race-riding career of Hennie Coetzee’s son, Felix. His first winner was at a Richmond gymkhana racemeeting on a quarter horse called Middleberg. Felix went on to become one of South Africa’s all time great jockeys.
In 1972, Ian noticed an attractive set of all maroon colours had become available, previously owned by a trainer called Stephenson.
He showed them to Hennie, who advised he should go ahead and acquire them.
It was a decision of great foresight, because these days it is considered most prestigious to own solid colours.
The solid dark blue colours worn to Epsom Derby victory by Galileo, Pour Moi and Ruler Of The World cost John Magnier 25,000 pounds at a Sotheby’s auction, whilst the solid pink colours of his wife cost 69,000 pounds at another auction and big prices were also fetched for solid grey, solid mauve and solid burgundy.
The solid Burgundy colours are owned in the UK by Lady Bamford and are hard to separate from the solid maroon of Ian’s colours.
The first good horse to wear Ian’s all maroon colours was called Aberconway, by Port Merion, who won four races and placed 17 times.
He provided Ian’s family with a thrill shortly after TV had started in South Africa by appearing in one of the Saturday afternoon TV races for a big meeting at Greyville. In a day in which horseracing had plenty of mystique due to an entrance fee, a strict dress code, plush exclusive areas on course for owners and trainers, exclusive access to the parade ring and a strict age restriction, it was a momentous occasion for Ian’s children to watch the race from his lounge in Hillcrest. Ian was of course on course and Aberconway ran a place.
Doug Campbell, who had in the meantime attained a professional license, became Ian’s trainer after the passing of Hennie Cotzee. Ian also became something of a father figure to young Felix. He and Felix still stay in touch today.
Doug trained such horses as Next Move (Really and Truly) and John Dudley (Harry Hotspur), who ran in the all maroon colors, while latterly Mark Dixon has trained the like of Timeforatiger (Eyeofthetiger).
The probable best horse to run in Ian’s all maroon colours to date has been the Diane Stenger-trained Danzig’s Mast, whom Ian owned in partnership with prolific Highveld owner Peter White.
This son of Qui Danzig won five races, but also had a number of notable places such as second in a Highveld Grade 3 to Glamour Boy, beating Clifton King, second in another Grade 3 to Major Hero, beating the like of Celtic Grove, as well as fourth in the Grade 3 King’s Cup.
Beechamwood Boy might usurp Danzig’s Mast from that honour, such is the rate at which he is improving.
Ian’s son Peter bred and part-owns Beechamwood Boy, which has made the association with this remarkable horse all the more rewarding.
Peter left his profession of optometry to work for Wayne Aldridge’s Delta Bloodstock agency in the late 1990s and later became the head of Racing South Africa.
He has returned to optometry and lives in the UK now, but a lot of his waking hours are spent on racing meaning his friends are inundated with whatsapp tips and racing information on a daily basis!
He was at one stage the racing manager for Mr Guo from China, whose ownership and breeding operation in South Africa was called Hartley SA.
Included in the deals Peter did on behalf of Harley SA was the purchase of the stallion Eightfold Path from the Niarchos family.
The Group 3 winner in France was retired after having four unplaced runs in SA for Mike de Kock.
However, Eightfold Path was superbly bred, being by “the iron horse” Giant’s Causeway out of the brilliant five-times Grade 1-winning mare Divine Proportions (Kingmambo), whose only career defeat was to Dubawi in her tenth and final start.
He seemed worth taking a chance on at stud.
Peter noticed one of the best cross’s with Giant’s Causeway was provided by Seeking The Gold mares.
Therefore, he deliberately sought a Windrush (Seeking The Gold) mare to buy for himself to send to Eightfold Path.
He found one called Time To Laugh and bought her for a mere R2,000 from Midlands thoroughbred stalwart, Jill Fox.
Time To Laugh’s first and only win in her seven start career had been on debut and she did it by 4,75 lengths over 1200m at the Vaal trained by Erico Verdonese after being backed in to 33/10.
Time To Laugh was in foal to The Apache at the time of purchase, but the foal unfortunately passed away.
Peter then sent her to Eightfold Path and she produced a colt, which Peter called Smuts, the same name as Ian’s first childhood horse.
Smuts showed promise and after a close second in his sixth start he was sold to Mauritius where he has won one race.
The next foal of Time To Laugh was named Beechamwood Boy after a Transkei fishing camp Peter has a share in.
Beechamwood Boy as a well balanced yearling.
Beechamwood Boy, born and raised at Bruce le Roux’s Blue Sky Thoroughbreds farm, showed immediate promise, running on strongly on debut on the Greyville poly for a close third despite starting odds of 67/1.
He won on his fifth start and was never far off in his first few handicap starts. However, he was proving to be a bit quirky and a winless streak of seven starts yielded just one place.
However, Peter wanted him to reap the full benefit of being an entire, so a gelding operation was delayed until the beginning of this season.
The owners, Ian and Peter as well as Irishman Matt Sharkey and Michael Sinnema, reaped immediate reward for their patience.
Returning from a three month layoff in November he won over 1200m on the Greyville poly off a 72 merit rating.
Today’s win saw him recording a hattrick and made his record since being gelded as six starts, four wins, a second and a third.
Nonagenarian Ian Gibson and wife Helen are among the connections leading in Beechamwwood today after his impressive victory (Candiese Lenferna Photography).
He has certainly been more relaxed in the running, but has retained the strength he had as an entire.
He clearly gets on well with champion jockey elect Keagan de Melo, who has been aboard for all three of his hattrick of victories.
Being slowly away last time out over 1200m on the Hollywoodbets Greyville turf has also proved to be a blessing in disguise, because he relaxed well with cover and then produced a fine turn of foot to win comfortably.
“He’s the type of horse you don’t know how much he is improving … it is scarey, he is just getting better and better,” said De Melo after the win today.
In his run before the hattrick sequence, he ran in behind a horse on the poly, otherwise could well have won that one too.
Keagan is well aware of this bad habit of Beechamwood Boy’s and said he had wanted to run into Putin’s Promise today when sitting on the latter’s outside.
He added, “So, I took a bit of a hold on him and he then just wanted to go right on to the fence. So I allowed him to do that. He then quickened up beautifully. He hits a bit of a flat spot at the 400m and thinks he’s done enough. But when you really get into him he gives you quite a bit and, wow, I was just blown away today!”
A thrilled Wendy Whitehead said about the gelding, “He is a little chubby chap, you would never think he is as small as he is when he lengthens that stride.”
Ian praised Wendy for all she had done for the gelding.
He said, “I really can’t believe the way he won today.”
He quipped, “I told the Receiver Of Revenue to back him, because I hope he won’t hit me too hard!”
From Smuts to Beechamwood Boy, it has been a wonderful ride and who knows how much further the latter can take the Gibsons on their enjoyable horseracing journey.
