Mr and Mrs Avison and Mary Carlisle

Avison and Mary Carlisle were introduced to the wonderful sport of horseracing by their life- long friends Scotch Ferrie and Robert Smith in the mid 80’s and they have never looked back. They are registered breeders and owners in South Africa. Mary is a retired housewife and proud grandmother and Avison is although retired, the Chairman of the South African Jockey Academy and manages his son Kuyan’s Kinmount Farm and the Kinmount Syndicates finances which keeps him very busy and is in fact a full time job! Avison is also a very proud grandparent. Most of the members of the Kinmount Syndicate are members of the Carlisle family but Gary De Bufanos, Graham Griffin and Dr James McAllister are proudly part of the team too.

Gold Circle and the entire team wish Mr and Mrs Carlisle and the members of the Kinmount Syndicate all the very best and many winners to come!     

SUGEN AND USHANTHA PILLAY

The Gold Circle Owner Award for the month has been awarded to Sugen and Ushantha Pillay.

“It’s wonderful to be part of this lovely racing family, being involved with these beautiful animals and socialising with the other owners and trainers.”

That was how Ushantha, a bubbly personality, described her exciting involvement in racing and the special nature of the sport that, in the case of Ushantha and Sugen, had driven them to expand their involvement to about 20 horses – half as outright owners and half in partnerships with others.

When at High School Ushantha had no interest in racing but had a friend that was “crazy” about horses and together they visited the animals. Her love, however, was for speed and fast cars but later, she felt it would be better to refocus her interests on horses.

The couple took out their colours in June 2016 with their first horse being the Twice Over filly Sweet Vittoria that did not prove that successful and is now in Kimberley. But, they had come to really enjoy the sport and expanded their involvement to have runners in Durban, Cape Town and Kimberley.

“Apart from the racing and socialising, we love going to visit the horses at the stables. When you look into those beautiful eyes, it is just something very special,” said Ushantha.

During the month the couple had three winners at Greyville with a double on the first day of the month.

Well done Sugen and Ushantha!

CANDIESE LENFERNA

The Gold Circle Owner Award for the month has been awarded to Candiese Lenferna – formerly Marnewick.

Candiese, the Gold Circle photographer, runs her private photographic company where she enjoys retainers from many top-class clients for photographs. Known for her strong attitude towards high quality work and service, Candiese is also the secretary for the KZN Breeders and does considerable work for Bloodstock SA.

Loving the thoroughbred and the sport of horseracing, Candiese believes it is important that she should put back into the sport from which she earns her living and has become involved as an owner having previously bred a number of horses of which at least one has found the winner’s enclosure. She began her involvement as an owner when buying shares in Coldhardcash on the recommendation of trainer Duncan Howells and has enjoyed wins in both races the bay gelding has run for her. She also has a share in the Mike Miller-trained Excessive Grace, a striking grey that has placed in two of the three races for Candiese and is expected to win soon, and is involved in the On A Mission Syndicate with the Mike de Kock yard in Gauteng. With her enthusiastic involvement in racing, we wish Candiese many more visits to the winner’s enclosure.

GEORGINA BUCHANAN

The Gold Circle Trainer Award for the month has been bestowed on Georgina Buchanan.

Born into a strong racing family in Mauritius and included as a young girl in her racehorse owning father’s involvement in the sport, it was inevitable that the seeds of love for horses and the thoroughbred in particular would be planted in Georgina’s heart. And with uncles and cousins equally involved in the sport, that seed was steadily nurtured to become a passion that inspired Georgina’s entry into racehorse ownership in South Africa about 30 years ago.

And it has been an involvement of loyalty to the Bestel stable that, with top trainers Irene and now daughter Corinne, has been greatly rewarding with enjoyment and the excitement of leading in more than 50 winners which Georgina, now 76 years of age, admits is quite a record for a very small owner.

“I love the horses and it is wonderful that we can visit the stables and see our horses work. I used to go racing regularly but I live in Howick now and mainly race at Scottsville when I have a horse running.”

Now with shares in four horses, Georgina had three winners in the month with Blaze Of Silk, Soiree and Soiree’s half sister Mystic Dreamer. “So I had a double with half-sisters, my first double in 30 years.”

A story of love and loyalty now rewarded – well done Georgina.

LESLIE LOGAN

The Gold Circle Owner Award for the month has been awarded to Leslie Logan.

A modest venture into the world of thoroughbred racehorse ownership four years ago, when taking a share in a horse owned by a friend, quickly blossomed into an involvement in 57 horses racing with a number of trainers in KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Durban.

For businessman Leslie, the sport of thoroughbred racing brought the family a lot of enjoyment and considerable success with 43 winners and many places including four visits to the winner’s enclosure during the month under review. But with a string of horses that size it demanded a considerable amount of involvement in time and money and business pressures led to the scaling down of the operation.

“My one son really loves the horses and is keenly involved but for me the business pressures are too heavy and I have only visited Summerveld twice. I have cut back considerably to 12 or 13 horses but because of my son I can see I will probably being buying more in the future” he said.

Congratulations and well done Leslie

NIC JONSSON

The Gold Circle Owner Award for the month has been bestowed on Nic Jonsson

For owners around the country, having a runner in the Vodacom Duran July, Africa’s greatest race, is an honour in itself and for that runner to win the famous event is something they dream of.

But to win the world-famous race twice in consecutive years with the same horse is extra special and this year that honour belonged to Nic Jonsson as his Twice Over gelding Do It Again – once again perfectly presented by trainer Justin Snaith – lifted the coveted trophy for the second year in a row, an honour only achieved three times before in the 121-year history of the race.

And fitting it is that a great grandson of Frederick Jonsson, one of the 15 founding stewards of the Durban Turf Club who established the famous Jonsson racing dynasty, should achieve the honour.

Nic is a leading supporter of racing in South Africa with about 50 horses in training with stables in KwaZulu-Natal, the Western Cape and Port Elizabeth and the Equus awards for Champion Older Male, Champion Miler, Champion Middle Distance Horse and Horse Of The Year bestowed on Do It Again recently were wonderful and well-deserved rewards for a man who says of his racing involvement – “I love it.”

Congratulations and well done Nic.

MARIO FERREIRA

The Gold Circle Owner Award for the month for June 2019 has been bestowed on Mario Ferreira.

An invitation to attend a major sale “five or six years ago” was the beginning of a search – that has become a passion – to obtain or breed “the ultimate racehorse” and the development of a stable of “40 or 50” thoroughbreds that have brought Mario 165 winners.

As the passion and the number of horses have grown over the years, Mario has spread his wings among the trainer community with a number of conditioners caring for his horses and he has become involved to a greater degree in the breeding side of the industry.

With a volume of evidence showing that great horses are not always the progeny of great stallions or mares, “there is always the chance of breeding the ultimate racehorse – it has become a dream.”

Well done Mario!

GREG BORTZ

The Gold Circle Owner Award for the month has been bestowed on Greg Bortz

A man with a life-long passion for the sport, the “racing bug” bit very early in life when hearing the horses in action at Greyville from his nearby home and sneaking through the fence into the course to watch them.

“I took my first place accumulator bet when I was nine years old,” he quipped and now owns “about 90” horses including Independent On Saturday Drill Hall Stakes winner Undercover Agent that will take Greg on a new direction in his love of the thoroughbred as a stallion.

After completing his university studies Greg left South Africa for the United Kingdom and then the United States but returned in 2012 when, on visiting his first thoroughbred sale to buy one horse, ended up buying 17.

“The bug had bitten big time and I just kept on buying. With Undercover Agent going to stud now I have my first stallion and while I had never thought of being a breeder, his career as a stallion might take me on the next stage of my passion.”

Having enjoyed 270 winners as an owner so far, Greg said his joy in the sport was watching his horses run and living overseas with homes in London and America, it had become more difficult to do.

During the month Greg had three winners in KwaZulu-Natal with G G’s Dynasty winning twice at Scottsville after Undercover Agent had scored at Greyville.

Well done Greg