Picture: John Motaung, Humberto Garcia-Olivera, and Marcel Pillay of Sequel Bloodstock (Picture credit: Paulick Report)
He Also Broke In Equus Horse Of The Year Igugu
Kabelo Nkoane tweeted, “A nice story is that a guy who broke-in Mage is the same guy who broke in Igugu. His name is John Motaung from Pinetown (Durban). He is my friend working at Sequel stud in Florida. He was working at Summerhill. We were on the same class at School of Excellence.”
John and former South African apprentice jockey and assistant trainer Marcel Pillay were in the news last year when a Sequel colt fetched a record price at a sale.
The below article about that occasion gives a good picture of what this pair of Summerhill Stud School of Excellence graduates have been up to.
‘I’m Over The Moon’: The Hands Behind Sequel Bloodstock’s Record-Setting Colt At Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale
by Joe Nevills|05.24.2022|5:59pm (Paulick Report)
From the moment he crossed the Maryland State Fairgrounds finish line and the timer blinked “:9.4” during the under-tack show, the focus of this year’s Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale had been the future of Hip 385, the Bernardini colt that set the blazing time.
That future became much clearer on Tuesday, when the colt hammered to Zedan Racing for $3.55 million, almost twice as much as anyone ever paid for a horse in the auction’s history. It was a crowning moment for the Sequel Bloodstock team, the consignment responsible for the colt’s past and present, on behalf of breeders and longtime clients Chester and Mary Broman.
“I can’t even explain it,” said John Motaung, co-manager and rider at Sequel’s training base at Winding Oaks Farm in Ocala, Fla. “This is my first time doing this kind of sale for such a nice horse like him. I’m over the moon.”
The colt, named Berning Remarks, arrived at Winding Oaks as a yearling in August 2021 to begin his under-saddle training after growing up in New York.
Marcel Pillay, a rider with Sequel, was tasked with getting the colt started under tack, and he said it took some time for him to zero in on his new job.
“It wasn’t easy at the start,” he said. “He wasn’t good to break in, but he learned quick, and from there, it was easy.
“He was straightforward, but also very fresh,” Pillay continued. “He was a very happy horse. You just have to relax when you’re on them, and they come back to you.”
