Jannie Borman trains against the odds for his love of horses and racing
Even with its regular doses of politics, woes and heartaches, racing continues to deliver the kind of special moments that keep viewers glued to their screens and get the die-hards returning for their ‘fix’ of the kind of pure emotion only this wonderful sport can bring.
Approaching Race 4 over 1450m at the Vaal on Tuesday, 4Racing’s hosts, Alistair Cohen and Nico Kritsiotis, were debating who would be interviewing trainer Jannie Borman if his runner Lorna Lily, the firm favourite, managed to win it. Both were keen, because Lorna Lily was about to provide a rare winner to a trainer who carries his heart on his sleeve and is known for his impassioned conversations in the winner’s enclosure.
Alistair must have won the coin toss, or perhaps he just beat recently-turned 60, Nico, for speed down the stairs from the commentary box to the winners circle. Lorna Lily got there in an exciting finish under Dennis Schwartz, and this was always going to be a chat worth watching.
Jannie (70) said: “I am so pleased with this win because I bought Lorna Lily online for R7,000. She came from Lucky Houdalakis and she had an early scare on the track so she was intractable. I decided to start from scratch with her, broke her in and reschooled her and over time she improved. It was satisfying to see her win. She races for Shaun Potgieter, who runs a food business in Port Elizabeth and has supported me from my early days of training in Bloemfontein.”
Jannie’s held his licence since 1997 and said: “I started training on a farm with my dad, Henry Sham. When I took out my own licence I trained at Bloemfontein alongside Mike Maclachlan and Bertie van der Merwe and in 2005 I went to Kimberley.”
He joked: “Kimberley was great until Markus Jooste brought all his battling runners and gave them to the late Peter Miller to train. Peter had 80 horses at one stage, charging R8,000 a month, the rest of us were charging R2,500. Peter must be a millionaire, wherever he is now!”
Jannie has three horses stabled at the Vaal – the older stabling area on the right side of the main entry road. Since the closure of Kimberley Racecourse in 2019 and the subsequent onset of Covid, he has never had more than five runners in his care and his has been an uphill battle. From being a regular in the frame at Flamingo Park with runners like seven-time winner Beach Flight, and multiple winners Groovy News, Whistling Gill and Razzle My Tazzle, Jannie’s had only three winners since moving to the Vaal, but he’s knuckled down, hoping for someone to step through his door. “I am a good trainer and I can prove it. All I need is a few more horses in my yard. If I can get just five or six more I will be a blessed man!”
Aside from Lorna Lily he has Forever Mary, a filly by Wings Of Desire, unplaced in three runs but growing stronger after a rest and better than her form suggests; and an unraced filly by One World that looks promising.
Jannie was accompanied on Tuesday by Sylvester Makoena and he said: “Sylvester is a good friend to me, it gets lonely here at the Vaal. We discuss things, we have a braai now and then and a few beers, and he helps me mentally. He previously owned racehorses but now is focused on running his businesses with his family. I live here at my yard, I’ve made it neat and nice, a good place to train. Stephen Moffatt and his son have also been helpful. And my groom, William Kepele, has been with me 14 years, through thick and thin. He is just the best in the land!
“Now, all I have to do is fill some of my boxes. I am here for the love of horses and the game, I have a happy stable with room for owners. It’s not easy to train moderate horses, one goes faster driving a Mercedes Benz than a Tata. I am capable of training good horses!”
RARE JOY: Lorna Lily (Dennis Schwartz) with William Kepele, Jannie Borman and Sylvester Makoena on the right; Johathan Nassif on the left. (JC Photos).
4Racing increases stakes, changes race names
GABI SOMA, 4Racing: “We are making steady progress to achieve our goals.”
4Racing has announced the publication of the Highveld programme, which includes a number of updates to refresh and add interest to the forthcoming season.
These include changes to the feature race placement and flow, as well as a number of feature race name changes to pay homage to our racing greats. Most importantly, these are accompanied by significant increases to both major and minor feature race stakes.
FIXTURES
The 2024 Highveld Championships Series will be held over 4 race days comprising a number of significant changes as follows:-
- 3 February 2024 – Guineas Day
- 2 March 2024 – Classic Day (now including the Horse Chestnut Stakes & Tommy Hotspur Stakes (renamed JJ The Jet Plane Stakes)
- 6 April 2024 – Champions Day (now including Premier’s Champions Challenge & Empress Club Stakes)
- 27 April 2024 – Championships Finale
The first important change to note is the movement of the Horse Chestnut Stakes and Tommy Hotspur Stakes (renamed JJ The Jet Plane Stakes) to Classic Day on 2 March 2024.
Champions Day moves to 6 April 2024 and now boasts 4 Grade 1’s on the day with the line up including the SA Derby, the Premier’s Champions Challenge, Computaform Sprint and Empress Club Stakes as well as the SA Oaks, Caradoc Gold Cup, Hawaii Stakes, SA Nursery and SA Fillies Nursery.
The Championships Finale will be held on 27 April and offer 7 feature races namely the Grade 2 Senor Santa, Colorado King, Gerald Rosenberg Stakes and the Camelia Stakes as well as the Gr3 Protea Stakes and Pretty Polly Stakes and the Listed Gold Bowl.
4Racing’s Head of Operations Gabriel Soma explained, “The changes in our feature race program were made for a number of key reasons, but providing a better flow of the program was essential. A number of feature races around the country are struggling to maintain their Graded Status as per the APC Guidelines and we are confident these changes will allow our features to meet the requirements needed to maintain their status.”
“In addition to adding gloss to our marquee race day, scheduling Champions Day a month earlier than normal allows for a better racing surface as well as making a clearer transition from the Highveld to the KZN season. It also allows us to maximise sponsorship opportunities, which is critical in continuing to grow our stakes on an annual basis. Most importantly, the change avoids clashes with other major international fixtures, priming us for consideration for a World Pool event.”
“Lastly, these changes will allow us to create a mini winter season (programme to be announced in due course) with a three-year-old series comprising The Secretariat Stakes, Egoli Mile and Sea Cottage Stakes,” he concluded.
NAME CHANGES
A number of races are receiving makeovers in the form of name changes to honour significant racing figures including the Mike De Kock Ipi Tombe Challenge, The Mary Slack SA Fillies Classic and the Dr Richard Maponya Handicap as well as a number of recent stand out track stars.
The full list is set out below:-
- The Gardenia Stakes becomes the National Colour Stakes
- The Syringa Handicap becomes the Summer Pudding Handicap
- The Magnolia Handicap becomes the Carry On Alice Stakes
- The Ipi Tombe Challenge becomes the Mike de Kock Ipi Tombe Challenge
- The Jacaranda Handicap becomes the War Of Athena Handicap
- The Tony Ruffel Stakes becomes the Got The Greenlight Stakes
- The Three Troikas Stakes becomes the Mother Russia Stakes
- The Drum Star Handicap becomes the Dr Richard Maponya Handicap
- The Man O’War Sprint becomes the National Currency Sprint
- The SA Fillies Classic becomes the Mary Slack SA Fillies Classic
- The Tommy Hotspur Stakes becomes the JJ The Jet Plane Stakes
- The Derby Trial becomes the Hawwaam Stakes
- The Gold Rush Sprint becomes the Mythical Flight Sprint
- The Gerald Rosenberg Stakes becomes the Igugu Stakes
Gabriel continued, “The horses that had races named after them were carefully selected for their racetrack brilliance – and achievements on the Highveld in particular – and we felt were deserving of the accolade.”
“Mike De Kock’s efforts to put South African horses and racing on the world map have been phenomenal and he is thoroughly deserving of having a race named after him.”
“Without the passion and generosity of Mary Slack, the survival of our industry would simply not be possible. It would be impossible to ever repay her kindness, but honoring her in this way was the very least we could do.”
STAKES INCREASES
“Last but not least, thanks to a huge team effort and generously increased sponsorship support, 4Racing is proud to be offer significant increases to both minor and feature race stakes for the forthcoming Highveld season,” added Gabriel.
“4Racing is making every effort to serve all the stakeholders in our value chain. While we will always push ourselves to keep improving, we are confident that we are making steady progress in achieving our goals.”
Saturday features: Betting
MAIN DEFENDER: Tony Peter’s top class three-year-old has been priced up favourite for the Joburg Spring Challenge on Saturday. (Candiese Lenferna).
Saturday features: Betting
HERE are the early odds on the two Betway Feature races at Turffontein on Saturday, as per Betway.co.za
JOBURG SPRING CHALLENGE, R550,000, 1450m
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Main Defender
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Quantum Theory
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Ready To Charge
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Dave The King
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Thunderstruck
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Bingwa
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Anfields Rocket
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Unzen
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William Robertson
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Miss Daisy
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Mk’s Pride
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Forever Mine
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Cabinet Shuffle
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Star Coin
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BETWAY JOBURG SPRING F&M CHALLENGE (Fillies and Mares), R450,000, 1450m
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Horse
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Win |
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Feather Boa
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Captain Peg
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Mrs Browning
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Humdinger
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Emirate Gina
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Lady Of Power
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Good Queen Bess
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None Other
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Tipsy Tarragon
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Just Be Lekker
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Gimme A Shot
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Marigold Hotel
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Full Velocity
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Versatile William Longsword’s five-winner week
WILLIAM LONGSWORD: Big week around the land.
Fireworks on Day One of Tattersalls October
575,000gns: Sea The Stars filly bought by Godolphin at Tattersalls on Tuesday.
Few, if any, farms came into Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale in as rich a vein of form as the Kavanagh family’s Kildaragh Stud.
The Kildare-based operation registered a Group 1 double on Saturday with Vandeek, a graduate of Rodgie Kavanagh’s Glending Stables breeze-up academy, extending his unbeaten run in the Middle Park Stakes. A sensational spell was capped when the homebred Sea Silk Road careered away with the Prix de Royallieu barely half an hour later.
The latter result was particularly timely as Kildaragh offered a Sea The Stars sister to Sea Silk Road as Lot 5 at Park Paddocks on Tuesday. After a three-way tussle involving Matt Houldsworth and Suzanne Roberts, Godolphin’s Anthony Stroud, accompanied by Sheikh Mohammed himself, won out on a bid of 575,000gns.
That six-figure transaction capped a fine start to Book 1 for Kildaragh, as it was immediately preceded by the sale of a Churchill colt out of the Listed-placed Orcia to Blandford Bloodstock at 300,000gns.
“You’re just about spellbound, you’re like a rabbit in the headlights!” said Peter Kavanagh as he explained how he felt during the bidding process. “You hope they’re going to sell well but you can’t dictate it. When they get to a certain level you just feel phenomenal though, and we’re immensely proud that the top buyers globally want our product.”
More from Racing Post, here.
WSB Cape Town Met Theme Unveiled – Cape Splendour
The WSB Cape Town Met theme, Cape Splendour (see above), will be welcomed by fashion afficionados as well as everyday racegoers as it has rich cultural connotations and should see creativity reaching high levels.
Watch the promo video below:
Parade Ring upgrade for Turffies
ON PARADE: Soon, the Turffontein grandstand parade ring will have a fresh look.
4Racing has notified clients of renovations to the Front Parade Ring at Turffontein:
“If you are joining us at Turffontein Racecourse on 7th, 14th or 21st October 2023, please note we will be using the BACK PARADE RING for both PARADE and WINNERS ENCLOSURE.”
The reason for the temporary change is that our team will be hard at work upgrading the front parade ring.
Thank you for your patience while we work to improve your racecourse experience. We look forward to hosting everyone in our new and improved FRONT PARADE RING from 28th October onwards.
This means that the front ring will be in use for the whole of November, including Summer Cup Day, and therafter.
Today’s Question
Name the filly in photo above. See if you can name this well-bred filly, who was trained by now Newmarket-based Dylan Cunha and, on her 6 September 2006 debut, ridden by the late Peter Dillon. Others on the pic are Justin Vermaak and Vicky Lerena (then Badenhorst). In all honesty, we selected this pic because of Justin’s 2006 hairstyle, which resembles the style of actor Freddie Highmore’s character, Dr Murphy, in ‘The Good Doctor’. But yes, try name the filly.
Today’s Question Answer
LINDA GRANDEZA
Linda Grandeza (Australia) was an import by Grand Lodge, highly thought of. She won three races and Dylan said from Newmarket on Tuesday: “I especially recall the day she won for Anton Marcus at the Vaal in October 2007. She was talented, but unsound.”
