One Stripe can give Rikesh Sewgoolam his first Gr 1 win (Picture: Wayne Marks)
Prominent KZN-based lawyer and owner Rikesh Sewgoolam comes from a family who have had colours for over 30 years and on Saturday this now prominent owner will be hoping to have his first Gr 1 winner with the Vaughan Marshall-trained One Stripe, who is a 9/10 shot for the iconic Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas.
One Stripe was a seven figure purchase, but in fact Rikesh was actuallly buying him back at the Sale on that occasion, as he was pinhooking him.
Grant Knowles of Central Route Trading had bought the Drakenstein Stud-bred One World colt for just R100,000 at the BSA August Two-year-old sale and Rikesh had then bought him from Grant before pinhooking him, with the probable idea of qualifying him for the relevant sales races.
Rikesh was determined to buy him back against some strong opposition at the 2023 Cape Racing Sales Ready To Run And Unbroken Two Year Sale.
Vaughan Marshall had rated One Stripe’s gallop at the Sale as the best breeze up gallop he had ever seen and Rikesh had to go to R1.4 million to keep the colt.
It was an important excercise, because One Stripe is now qualified for the R5 million CRS Big Cap, which is to be run over 1400m on March 16 at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth. That race is his chief target after the Cape Guineas.
Around the time of the Sale, the astute Rikesh took it a step further, because he then bought One Stripe’s dam off the previous owners.
That has turned out to be a most shrewd purchase, because One Stripe is presently regarded as the most exciting three-year-old male in the country.
One Stripe’s value has also been boosted by his sire One World, who has become a sensation. One World had a record-breaking 30 individual winners in his freshman season and he also equalled the overall record for the highest number of 2YO winners in a season. Both records were previously held by One World’s Champion Sire Captain Al.
This season One World is second only to Vercingetorix as leading sire of three-year-olds.
Although his father has had his colours since 1988, Rikesh took a while to own horses himself, and explained in May this year after having his first ever treble on the Hollywoodbets Greyville poly, “I was obviously introduced by my father, but was just on the periphery and never really focused on it until a mate of mine, an advocate actually, decided he was going to go to one of those auctions. He ended up buying one and then he gave me a ring and said, ‘You own a racehorse with me.’ And I said, ‘No, no, no, please leave me out, I’ve seen enough of this, my Dad has plenty of racehorses and this is not for me!’ He said, ‘No, no, just come in, it’s a cheap horse.’ I think he paid R10,000 for it. So eventually I went in with him and that’s how it started. And then when the bug bites, that’s the end of it!”
That first horse was called Silas Marner and won five races and got 17 places in a 61 race career that started in August 2003 and ended in December 2007.
However, today Rikesh’s orange colours with a dark blue ‘V’ bib, halved sleeves, orange cap and blue peak are becoming increasingly familiar.
The horse who really got those colours rolling was the Vaughan Marshall-trained Vercingetorix entire Seeking The Stars, who beat Rainbow Bridge, Linebacker and Jet Dark when winning the Gr 2 Green Point Stakes in 2021. This horse also won three Gr 3’s and was a seven-time winner overall.
However, at present Rikesh has a number of prominent horses , including One Stripe, Time Thief five-year-old mare Time Fo Orchids, Vercingetorix three-year-old gelding Cymric and Gimmethegreenlight four-year-old gelding Barbaresco, while his Pomodoro gelding Slytherin impressed when winning on debut the other day at long odds.
Rikesh owns One Stripe and Time Fo Orchids outright and owns Cymric and Barbaresco in partnership with Laurence Wernars.
Rikesh purchased Time Fo Orchids in training at a Sean Tarry dispersal sale in late 2022 for the specific purpose of running her on the ticket he had bought for the inaugural R7.5 million Gold Rush. He had to go to R850,000 to secure her, because she was the highest rated eligible horse for the Gold Rush at the time.
He said, “I thought she would be the right one, being a filly and getting the sex allowance. But unfortunately, the 1600m was too far for her. So that didn’t quite work out, but in hindsight it was still a very good buy … she’s a very nice sprinter.”
Rikesh has three trainers, Marshall in Cape Town, Alyson Wright in KZN and Johan Janse van Vuuren on the Highveld.
Time Fo Orchids has had a stint with all three, but really began blossoming over sprint trips on the Highveld, winning four in a row, before finishing second in the Gr 2 Camellia Stakes over 1160m.
She ran fourth in the Gr 1 SA Fillies Sprint last season.
Barabaresco gave him his first Hollywoodbets Durban July runner, which is the race he would most like to win.
Rikesh also had breeding interests.
Beside One Stripe’s dam Silver Stripe (Silvano), he also has the Master Of My Fate mare Preferential. The latter’s first foal was a colt by One World and Rikesh put him on the BSA Cape Yearling Sale in February with the intention of buying him back. However, Hollywood went to R900,000, the highest price of the Sale, and Rikesh decided to let him go.
The big question now is whether he will taste sweet Gr 1 success on Saturday at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth and do it in the country’s most iconic three-year-old event, which is also likely the country’s leading sire-producing race.
Riskesh had said in another interview last season that he preferred watching racing from home, but he might be tempted to go to the Cape Guineas meeting – who would want to miss leding in a Cape Guineas winner!
All eyes will be on Rikesh’s orange and dark blue colours as the crack One World colt One Stripe jumps out from pole position under Gavin Lerena on Saturday.
