Fundi Sithebe is a member of the Magical Lady syndicate who had good cause to be happy at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Saturday (Candiese Lenferna Photography).   

Fundi Sithebe intends to use her station in the industry as CEO of 4Racing and as a member of the syndicate who own the Sean Tarry-trained superstar filly Mrs Geriatrix to attract new owners into racehorse syndication.

Fundi is one of the two latest additions to the Magical Lady Syndicate and considering her clout in the industry she joined at a most appropriate time.

She said, “Sean, in his wisdom, figured this is a ladies syndicate horse. I had been consulting on a few racing matters with Sean and we all came together through Garth Towell (Racing Association director). Garth figured this would be a great opportunity to showcase how different people can own a horse. I came in and then brought a friend of mine in. My friend Kanye is actually a polo player and she got interested in horseracing. I think as one of the newest members of the syndicate I am actually the lucky charm here! There are ten of us and it has just been magical.”

Fundi has owned horses before.

She said, “I had shares in Track Commander and Chariot Master with Sean and a share in Follow The Flow, who was with Mike de Kock and is now with Alan Greeff. So this is my fourth stint.”

Mrs Geriatrix is obviously on a different level to the previous three, being unbeaten in five starts including one Gr 1, two Gr 2s and a Listed race.

That was despite not reaching her reserve at the BSA National Yearling Sale, at which point Sean Tarry was approached and bought her for R200,000.

Asked how exciting it was to own such a horse, Fundi replied, “I just need to sit down sometime and analyse it. Yes, she’s a Vercingetorix, who is very, very strong. But I think the fact she went unsold at the sales, people underestimated her. I don’t know if it was her size, or the breeding on the female side. But now she is showing people up and saying I was a winner all the time! It is an amazing story.”

She continued, “But I am loving it, absolutely loving it. Part of my story owning this horse is, yes, of course it is for the fun and enjoyment of it, but is is also to show people of all colours and all ages and all genders that it doesn’t matter, you can own a horse whoever you are. And you don’t have to own a whole horse. You can own a portion of a horse and it is equally exciting. And that is what we need. We need a lot more syndicates in South African racing to really put that invigoration back into horseracing. Syndicate ownership is important.”

Asked whether dollar signs had begun flashing before her eyes considering the burgeoning value of Mrs Geriatrix, Fundi said, “Not yet! People are throwing these figures around and there are also of course the insurance figures but for now we just absolutely love her. I usually take my daughter out to Randjesfontein and Mrs Geriatrix has just got the most amazing temperament! I actually just enjoy being with her. We are also just loving the racing experience. It was never about the money so we are not entertaining offers yet!”

For the Hollywoodbets Durban July weekend the ladies took turns to appear in the pink outfits they usually wear at all race meetings in support of Mrs Geraitrix, whose racing silks are pink, purple stars, pink sleeves, purple seams, pink cap, purple stars.

Fundi wore a pink outfit on the Friday, it was the turn of one or two others to dress in pink at the big race meeting and one or two even dressed in pink on Sunday.

Natalie Turner, who is the CEO of the Racehorse Owners Association, is the nominee for the Magical Lady Syndicate.

Tarry said racing Mrs Geriatrix in the Gr 2 Zulu Kingdom Golden Explorer Golden Slipper at the Hollywoodbets Durban July meeting on Saturday had been a bit of a risk because before the race she was the incumbent favourite to land the Equus Champion Two-year-old filly award.

However, he was glad he did because he knows that much more about her now, including that she stays beyond sprints and handles racing around the turn like a professional and handles soft going.

The Clifton Stud-bred filly won by a commanding 3,70 lengths, so has also strengthened her position as the best two-year-old filly in the land.

She did get a bit worked up after the race with the presence of the big crowds and razzmatazz.

It will be interesting to see whether she runs in the Gr 1 Thekwini Stakes on Gold Cup day, although it will be no surprise if she does not take her place.

Tarry is confident she will stay the mile of the Thekwini, but he said it might be time to back off, because she had done a lot this season already.

However, he was going to monitor how she had come out of Saturday’s race before making a decision.