David Thiselton
Owner Jonathan Bloch has a fascinating history behind him as a horseracing fan and owner and he almost certainly created July history just over a week ago, because after the announcement of the Hollywoodbets Durban July final field he was part-owner not only of the favourite Star Major, but also of the two joint-second favourites, Wish List and Note To Self.
Of course Wish List and Note To Self are now the joint-favourites after the shock scratching of Star Major, but whilst the scratching was disappointing for Jonathan as well as for trainer James Crawford and the other part-owners Neville Isdell, Ravi Naidoo and Prakashni Pillay, Jonathan knows the correct decision was made.
He said, “I I grew up riding and have always loved horses. I would never harm a horse. It can be asked ‘Could we have got him right for Saturday, could we have got his temperature down?’ Maybe. But if I am a partner in a horse it ain’t gonna happen. We will come back to fight another day. The other thing was we were not going to take him out on Friday or Saturday to deprive somebody else from having a chance to run, it’s just not the way the game is meant to work.”
He continued, “It was a disappointment for everybody, but all the owners have been absolutely amazing about it and philosophical. That is the secret about having the right partners.”
He added, “The person I really felt for was Neville Isdell as he is now 80 years old and he had previously had a fancied July runner, Zapatillas, who was also scratched on the week of the race. It was also a hard knock for our jockey Mickaelle Michel (although she now gets a ride on second reserve Curious Girl).”
Jonathan commented on Wish List and Note To Self, “Both horses are really well and are looking good. Their bloods are good and they are both working nicely. They are in a good space and we will have some fun.”
He added, “If you had to say which one is closer to my heart it would obviously be the filly, because she is just such a trier and has just been the most amazing horse (five wins including her last four starts consisting of two Gr 1s and two Gr 2s). If she can just reproduce her Derby run. But Note To Self is a very interesting horse too. When we bought him he was immature, but a magnificent yearling and we didn’t overpay. The penny dropped in his run before the Derby and his Derby run was also good. He has furnished well and is looking magnificent. Richard (Fourie) has been riding him in work and is feeling comfortable with him and is quietly confident.”
Jonathan said it was fitting both horses run in Nancy Hossack’s colours because he not only described her as the “perfect partner to have in racing,”, but the colours were her late father Jack Mitchell’s colours and the latter owned the respective sires of the two horses, Legislate and Futura.
Jonathan’s feat of having the three July favourites might just be one of the records he has established this Champions Season, because it is believed he might also be the first owner to capture all of what used to be KZN’s four classics. He won the Gr 2 WSB Guineas and Gr 1 Daily News 2000 with Star Major and the Gr 2 WSB Fillies Guineas and Gr 2 Woolavington 2000 with Wish List, although the latter race is no longer a classic as it is now open to older horses.
What makes the records more incredible is that although he is a long-time owner he is not a particularly prolific, big-spending owner. In fact he has only ever had one July runner before and it was 27 years ago, a horse called Ess Five Beaches, who finished 13th in 1999.
Jonathan was fortunate to be able to mix with some of horseracing’s greatest industrymen when he was fresh out of university.
He recalled, “I came into racing in about 1989-90-91. When I had finished university and started off as a young stockbroker I met two amazing guys by the names of Abe Swersky and Arnold Golombick. They were doyens of racing and very involved with the like of the great trainer Terrance Millard. They were just amazing to me and opened the doors for me. So at the beginning of my career I had Swersky, Golombick, Graham Beck, Laurie Jaffee as my clients. I was unbelievably blessed, but more importantly having them as my clients I also had them as my mentors. So I was a young guy in my early 20s being mentored by these captains of industry, it was just beyond belief, and 35 years later those relationships still continue.”
He continued, “I took small shares in horses back then and when Swersky stood down from the Jockey Club I landed up replacing him. However, I then had a difference of opinion with Markus Jooste in about 2003 and got out of racing until coming back about five years ago.”
The story of Ess Five Beaches is a fascinating one as Jonathan was asked by the family of big horseracing owner Len Salzman to accompany the latter to the Sales in New Zealand Sales with the aim of trying to help control his spending.
Jonathan, recalled, “Len was a great character, but uncontrollable and I failed dismally in my task! He ended up buying a jumbo-load of horses.”
He added, “One of them was this lovely grey by Zabeel which I took a share in and he was my first and only July runner to date. Len lived in the same block as Graham Beck in a residential estate called Beaches and he was in apartment S5. So his address was S5 Beaches and his wife’s name was Esther, so the horse was named Ess Five Beaches.”
Jonathan should improve on his July record to date on what will be a much anticipated race meeting on Saturday.
