Your favourite horse . . .

On the rugby threads we distinguish between best player and favourite player.

Let's do the same here. I think we've had a few discussions about the best horse and names like Frankel, Black Caviar, Winx, Dancing Brave, Secretariat and Man O'War all came up.

On the rugby board, I've made no secret of the fact that Henry Honiball is my all time favourite rugby player . . . but not even in my biased mind is he the best. I just liked his big hits, his attitude, his demeanour . . . pretty much everything about him. He will probably always be my favourite (although Sacha is pushing hard) but he's my favourite, not the best.

Same goes for my favourite horse, a sprinter named Welcome Guest.

I haven't done any research into the stats but I'm pretty sure Welcome Guest will feature a few times in the top fastest-last-400m finishers . . . in this country at least. Computaform used to keep track of the fastest-last-400m as one of their many metrics and it was one that I was always fixated on.

Before I go further I'm going to take a step back. When I was 11 years old, my father took me to a racetrack for the first time, together with my twin brother. That might sound like a bit of a MAGA-style upbringing but no, 11 yr olds weren't allowed at racetracks back in 1973. However, my uncle, my father's brother (and namesake) had many varied and weird jobs during his lifetime and at that time he was the guy who filmed the race on behalf of the stipendiary stewards at Arlington racecourse in Port Elizabeth. So my brother and I were allowed into the filming booth and that's where we sat while my dad and my uncle laid our bets for us. In the very first race I decided to go for a place rather than a win and picked a roughie paying about R6 a place (R6 for an 11 year old in 1974 was probably like a few grand today). My horse was stone last with about 800 m to go but I could see he started to kick on. He flashed up to grab 3rd place and I won more than my dad or uncle that day, and they both won.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, from that day onwards I've always had a love for horseracing and it's something I follow even if I don't bet anymore (other than a small flutter on the Durban July as any self-respecting South African does). I love the colour, the buzz and the cross-section of society that attends horseracing events. Also, from that day onwards I always looked for fast finishers. Hence the long-winded deviation.

I forget Welcome Guest's exact starting odds in his first race. It must have been around 16-1 because it was my biggest win ever up to that point and I backed him for one reason, he was the son of Gatecrasher. I'm going to take another step back here. Indulge me . . .

The 1975 Durban July will always be remembered as one of the most controversial editions of all time. I was 12 at the time but I remember it like yesterday. Gatecrasher was the champion 3 year old of his year but, while he was unbeatable (literally) over left handed tracks, he had what is called a flexor tendon problem on his near fore leg which made him shft to the left. He was fine on a left-handed track (like Kenilworth where he won the 1976 J&B Met) but on a right-handed track (like Greyville) it meant he'd come into the straight and veer off toward the outside rail . . . but all the jockeys knew this, except the apprentice on the Highveld raider Distinctly.

Gatecrasher came into the short Greyville straight and immediately headed for the outside rail on his left hand side. Unfortunately he carried the horse Distinctly on his outside with him to the extent that the stipendiary stewards disqualified him for taking up Distinctly's running. Gatecrasher won alright and it was clear he had Distinctly's measure . . . but Distinctly's connections objected because they felt their horse had at least been denied 2nd place . . . a complete roughie named Principal Boy had got up for second behind Gatecrasher on the inside of the track but ahead of Distinctly. The objection was upheld on the grounds that even though he had no chance with the winner, Distinctly had been denied second place. Gatecrasher was demoted to 3rd, Distinctly was awarded 2nd and the secon-placed roughie was promoted to 1st. One of the biggest upsets in the history of the race and definitely one of the most controversial.

I was a big fan of Gatecrasher and I was gutted. It was a travesty of justice. He went on to prove his class in the following year (on left-handed tracks) and retired to stud the following year. I'd pretty much forgotten about Gatecrasher in 1985 when I saw on the racecard that he was the sire of a first timer called Welcome Guest. That's why I backed him and he won at good odds, despite standing in the stalls and giving his competitors around 6 lengths start (over 1000m that's a lot to make up). Needless to say I backed him in his second run and he did the same thing, he missed the break, stood in the stall and lost many lengths but won anyway with another devastating finishing run. He won his next 4 races (all over 1000m or 1200m) in the same manner meaning he was 6 wins from 6 starts when the connections decided to try him over further, over 1600. The then Highveld champion at that time was a horse called Pedometer who was better over further but still good enough to win over a mile. He won while Welcome Guest disappointed, he didn't have the same finish and he was sent back to sprinting where he won a few more races including the Grade 1 Computaform sprint in 1987.

He had one further attempt at 1600m after that and I backed him as usual but in a bizarre race, he produced his fast finish earlier than usual and hit the front at the 300m mark, only for the jockey - Craig Magua was his name - to lift his whip in a victory salute, thinking he'd won the race when there were still 300m to go. Not sure if the jockey was on drugs or something but he was ridiculed after that brain explosion and Welcome Guest ended up running out of the places. A really bizarre race and the last time I remember Welcome Guest running..

Anyway, I'm not claiming Welcome Giest was the best, but there's no question he was my favourite horse of all time. I've never seen anything like his finishing speed in all my years of watching this great sport.

Nice post. There are plenty of stories in horse racing, some good and some not so good—about the horses, trainers, and jockeys. My connection to the sport came about unintentionally through my dad. I grew up in an age when kids were seen but not heard, so I would listen, watch, and absorb his passion for it. It caught my interest early on, and to this day I still find it fascinating. Racehorses and racing pigeons remain my favorite animals. Back then, the only form guide was the racecard, and tips flowed like the Cape southeaster. How anyone could survive that is beyond me, and I had no doubts about racing being crooked. Thinking back, I remember the great trainer Syd Laird and his two remarkable horses, Politician and Sea Cottage.I also remember Sea Cottage being the favorite for the July, only to be shot in the thigh six weeks before the big race. Punters held their breath as Sea Cottage recovered just enough to deadheat with a horse named Jollify.

I remember Gatecrasher, there was a lot said about its foot at the time. Syd Laird had a stable jockey, sorry I don't remember his name, he was one of my favourites, also there was Bertie? Hayden, I might have the spelling of his name wrong, they were excellent jockeys, Hayden was Mr Cool and Syd Laird was a master trainer.

Like every other punter I have more hard luck stories than good but I guess you've heard them all before so I'll tell you a couple of good ones LOL.

A friend of mine drove from Cape Town to Durban for the July, but the night before the race he had to drop off a parcel at Syd Laird’s place. Syd walked into the lounge, tying his tie for a big night out, and asked, “So you’re here for the race? Let me see your racecard.” He marked seven horses, putting four crosses next to Politician’s name, and said, “They don’t think he’ll win,” clearly referring to the media. My friend passed the tips to his family and friends but didn’t place any bets himself. They all followed the tips, won, and even hit both the Jackpot and the Quinpot.

Another time, that same friend and I were out at Kenilworth, and between us we backed seven winners on an eight-race card and also landed the Jackpot. Our pockets were bulging with cash as we made our way home.

Now if I spoke about my hard luck stories I'll be posting forever LOL

You mentioned Black Caviar and Winx, and I’ve always been intrigued by the way they won. They never seemed to lengthen their stride after the final turn, and unlike most horses at full speed, their ears stayed upright. What really stood out was their high cruising speed, which never seemed to drop off. I’ve been meaning to find out if, as top-tier sprinters, they broke any records, but I haven’t heard of any.