David Thiselton

South African champion jockey Gavin Lerena is living in limbo at present as he awaits the outcome of his appeal on August 18 against the severity of the sentence in the Jason Gates whipping incident.

He was looking forward to riding this week as he had to take time off for the inquiry and then had to sit out a suspension, but he had to book off yesterday’s Vaal meeting as he is down with the flu.

He described his championship winning season as having been mentally tough, especially due to the Gates incident, and expanded, “I stayed off social media, but my family really took it to heart and it wasn’t easy for any of us.”

He described the build up to the incident, his spur of the moment reaction and the immediate aftermath.

He said, “I had three winners the previous day, including Rascova winning a Gr 1, but it was a scorching day and after eleven rides there was a late night flight, so I was feeling a bit mentally fatigued. Jason’s mount carried me out six horse-widths from the top of the straight to where the incident happened. He had switched his whip to the right hand and his horse was going straight. He then changed it back to the left hand and began whipping when there was no room to whip. He struck my filly on the chest and then struck me on my arm. I was angered especially by my filly being hit on the chest and thereafter the whip could have gone anywhere, it could have even hit me in the eye. My reaction was spur of the moment, it is fight or flight.”

However, as quickly as the pull up Gavin was already thinking, “Oh my goodness, what have I just done.”

The next day he issued a public apology for his “out of character” reaction.

He and Jason chatted about a week later and agreed upon it being a dangerous sport and they needed to have respect for one another. They agreed to move on from the incident too.

However, keyboard warriors did not allow the tightly knit Lerena family to forget about it.

Furthermore, Gavin did not know where he stood for a long time.

He added, “The inquiry was also tough as it was three days long and I had to represent myself … had I taken a lawyer I would not have been able to appeal. I had to face nine legal people on my own.”

He continued, “Other than that, I had a fantastic season. I enjoyed my racing and I enjoyed the people I rode for. I didn’t have the East Cape, so I had to be extra smart to get as many winners as I could and I was very blessed. There’s been a couple of seasons lately that I’ve wanted to go for it, but it’s got to all fall into place and I was very fortunate to get support in Cape Town last season … I’ve never had that before.”

Gavin had a fall out with one of his main guv’nors, Johan Janse van Vuuren, at the beginning of the season, but they later made up.

Gavin said, “It is quite funny when you look back at it, because it was something so stupid. But it lit the fire inside me.”

The support in Cape Town included partnering the top class Vaughan Marshall-trained One World colt One Stripe.

Gavin said winning the prestigious Gr 1 L’Ormarins King’s Plate on One Stripe had been the highlight of his season.

He said, “Winning the Guineas was great, but the King’s Plate has aways been a race I’ve wanted to win. It’s not easy with a three-year-old, but he was up to the task.”

One Stripe had a lot of ground to make up at the top of the straight, but Gavin said, “I was going really well. I knew I had so much horse under me. He sometimes hits a flat spot and you’ve got to help him through it, but when he’s ready and you’re ready he gives you an amazing kick. I never felt like I was going to lose the race to be honest.”

Gavin’s daughter had broken her arm the previous night and the family had to make a late night emergency trip to the hospital, so he arrived on course with about three hours sleep.

Gavin rates One Stripe as up with the best he has ridden, but he said keeping the ride overseas was not going to “be easy”.

Gavin showed true grit in his first championship in 2014/2015, because always in the back of his mind in a tight tussle with S’Manga Khumalo was the heart-breaking memory of three years earlier when ousted by one win by Anton Marcus on the last day of the season, despite entering that meeting one win up. However, Gavin scored a record-breaking 42 wins in June 2015 to pull clear and obliterate that bad memory forever.

This season had a different challenge, as already mentioned.

He said chasing a championship was physically taxing too, with flying being the worst of it.

Gavin said as a jockey he was always improving.

He said, “In this sport you’re always learning new things and evolving. I have always been confident in the saddle, but your race riding and use of different tactics improves. Our racing’s changed quite a lot as well, fifteen years ago, we went a good, strong gallop, but a lot of races today are canter-sprints.”

Gavin said he always had a plan A, B and C going into a race.

He revealed, “I try to work out how a race is going to pan out and the bottom line is you’ve got to have a horse where the horse is happy. It’s no use forcing a horse to be two lenghs closer than he wants to be.”

His wife Vicky is a racing TV presenter and that has helped.

He said, “She found me a lot of winners just by watching the race and saying you’ve got to get on that one next time.”

Gavin’s agent Wade Viljoen also did a fine job finding good rides through the season.

Warren Lenferna

The fourth event on an eight-race program at today’s, September 3rd at Hollywoodbets Durbanville is the Gallop TV Progress Plate over 1400m, and there’s talent aplenty. What the race might lack in size is certainly made up for in quality.

Gimmelightning from the Justin Snaith camp gets the services of Craig Zackey, and they have the luxury of starting from pole position. He’s taking time to get his next win but is never far off the action.

Absolutely Yes, the Langerman winner, is bidding for a hat trick and can achieve it. Rated 103 and showing tons of talent, he is a very exciting, quality three-year-old with the attributes of a good horse. He’s already a three-time winner from only five starts, which alone tells a story.

Captain West was impressive when beating Please Be True last time, but Please Be True ran last week and didn’t add much spark to the form. Despite that, he can get involved in the finish.

Jet Force from the Des McLachlan yard has won twice from only three starts. He gets tested over the 1400m trip, which should be to his liking. Yes, he takes on tougher competition now, but he could have more to offer.

Air Raid is a tad erratic, but he does have ability and would be a must for betting permutations.

There is one runner on the card that needs highlighting, and that’s Late December, who competes in the last race. He’s from the in-form stable of Greg Ennion. Late December won his last start as he liked, making it a win straight out of the maidens, which is always a good sign. He has a huge chance of reeling off the hat trick.

LATE DECEMBER BACK IN SIXTYTHREE

The son of Rafeef is cleverly named by his breeder, John Everitt of Narrow Creek Stud, who clearly enjoys music. The horse is out of a What A Winter mare called Sixtythree. Most will remember the 80s hit “Oh What a Night” sung by Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons.

RACE 1

6 MARKETA has been rested for 71 days, she is very consistent, she ran a cracker behind Viva La Vida on the 24th of June, the form of that race has worked out well, if she doesn’t need the run badly on Wednesday, she will be hard to beat. 5 CALL OF THE KAROO stayed on beautifully for second behind Stormwatch last time, from a neat draw, if she can build on her last performance, she could certainly trouble them in the finish. 4 PENNYS CHOICE ran a great race behind Heritage Ridge on the 29th of July, she improved nicely with the blinkers fitted, on her best form, she will be competitive. 12 WHATASTAR has been rested for 78 days, she will need lots of luck in running from a bad draw, if the race works out for her, she could earn some money for the connections. Watch the first timers closely. (Brandon Bailey: 6 – 5 – 4 – 12)

RACE 2

2 ELUSIVE WINTER won a great race up the straight at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on the 13th of August, he was given six points for that victory, he is very fast, from a neat draw, he will be hard to fetch. 3 ROMAN AGENT should be cherry ripe for this race on Wednesday, he was beaten just over five lengths by Elusive Winter last time, at the weights, he must be respected in a big way. 1 FLYING FINLEY has been in terrific form of late, jockey Andrew Fortune knows this individual well, he should be amongst the places from a good draw. 6 ONE LINER has been rested for 71 days, he is much better than his last performance, include him into the Quartet, he will be doing some good work late. (Brandon Bailey: 2 – 3 – 1 – 6)

RACE 3

5 AMERICAN ULTRA has been rested for 113 days, she won her maiden in great fashion on the 13th of May, even though she will need to take a big step forward to win again, she looks better than her current rating of 77, she should run a big race from a decent draw. 2 LOVE SHACK has been rested for 122 days, her form at this level is very good, she will get some cover early, and she will be storming home late, include her into all bets. 7 INSIDE VOICE has been rested for 101 days, she quickened up to win her maiden well on the 25th of May, she looks decent, if she gets some luck in running from a tricky draw, she could be dangerous in the finish. 1 ALL IS GREEN has dropped in the ratings, and the blinkers have been fitted, watch her closely, she could be the value horse in this tricky race. (Brandon Bailey: 5 – 2 – 7 – 1)

RACE 4

2 ABSOLUTELY YES has been rested for 74 days, he is a smart gelding with tons of ability, he was very impressive last time when he won the Grade 3 Langerman by just under one length, he should get the run of the race from a good draw on Wednesday, he will take lots of beating again. 5 JET FORCE has been rested for 120 days, he looks exciting, he quickened up like a smart horse to win going away on the 6th of May at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth, the yard thinks highly of this individual, this will be a nice test for him. 4 CAPTAIN WEST bounced back to his best form to win really well over 1400m on the 26th of July, he is a beautiful gelding with a great action, he should be right there in the finish. 6 AIR RAID is much better than his last performance, he was beaten just under six lengths by Captain West, on his best form, he could sneak into the Quartet. (Brandon Bailey: 2 – 5 – 4 – 6)

RACE 5

6 BETTER MAN won a good race on the 15th of July, there is no doubt he will love the step up in trip to 1800m on Wednesday afternoon, he is still improving, if he finds himself in a good position turning for home, he will be hard to beat in this race. 1 KING’S QUEST stayed on strongly to run second behind Afrique on the 29th of July, life won’t be easy for him with the big weight of 64kgs, but he has a good draw and he now steps up in trip, he should run an honest race. 5 NOBLE HERO has been rested for 74 days, he ran a poor race last time behind Ariovistus, he is much better than that, watch him closely, he could sneak into the places on his best form. 7 DOUBLE DASH has been rested for 83 days, she won her maiden over this trip of 1800m, if she doesn’t need the run badly on Wednesday, she could earn some money. (Brandon Bailey: 6 -1 – 5 – 7)

RACE 6

3 COUNTRY TIME has been rested for 78 days, she was very disappointing in her last start behind Over The Atlantic on the 17th of June, she has dropped even further in the ratings, and she has a low weight on her back for this race on Wednesday, from a neat draw, she should be very competitive. 1 OVER THE ATLANTIC has been rested for 78 days, she fought hard to win well on the 17th of June at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth, if she can build on that performance from a neat draw, she could easily win a race like this. 5 EASY LIVING has improved tremendously in her last two starts, she ran a great race behind Bonne Bouche on the 29th of July, she will be just behind the speed early, and she will be running on strongly late. 7 DU MAURIER moved up like she was going to run a huge race last time, unfortunately she didn’t find much under pressure, the big weight and the wide draw won’t make it easy for her, but she has ability and could sneak into the places. (Brandon Bailey: 3 – 1 – 5 – 7)

RACE 7

7 BONNE BOUCHE showed tremendous speed to win a lovely race on the 29th of July, she was given four points for that victory, even though she carries a big weight on Wednesday, and she has gone up in the ratings, she will run a huge race again. 2 IM THE BUZZ quickened up nicely to win a good race on the 26th of July at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth, she was given three points for that victory, jockey Craig Zackey knows this mare well, if she can bring her last performance to the track again, she will go very close to winning from a neat draw. 8 LOWVELD LILY has been rested for 74 days, she stayed on strongly late behind Ukuduma in the Listed Irridescence Stakes on the 21st of June, she is a young filly with lots of potential, even though she is drawn wide and she wants more ground, she will be running on powerfully, watch her closely. 4 TRES CHIC finished her race off really well at Hollywoodbets Durbanville on the 27th of August, she ran second behind Black Path, she is always competitive at this level, include her into all bets. (Brandon Bailey: 7 – 2 – 8 – 4)

RACE 8

4 BLACK EAGLE powered away from his field to win very easily on the 13th of August, he is a lovely colt with tons of ability, from a neat draw, he will be hard to beat in the lucky last. 6 LATE DECEMBER quickened up like a smart horse in the making to win by just over five lengths on the 22nd of July, even though he has gone up in the ratings, he looks smart, and he should be right there in the finish again. 9 FOLLOW YOUR HEART has been rested for 105 days, he beat a nice field last time, the yard thinks highly of this gelding, even though he has a bad draw, and he wants further, his class will give him a huge winning chance. 5 NOON DAY GUN will need to improve quite a bit to win a race like this, he has dropped in the ratings, and he has a nice draw, he could make the Quartet pay. (Brandon Bailey: 4 – 6 – 9 – 5)

Please Note: South African Quartet Pools with fractional betting offered at Goodwood and Southwell (UK) – 02 September 2025

DAVID THISELTON

SANELE MCHUNU has made giant strides as Race Coast’s Zulu horseracing commentator and has already commentated two Hollywoodbets Durban Julys with the feed going live on Supersport as well as on to the normal Gallop TV stream.

It all started for him when he landed a job as a cameraman for Gold Circle back in 2015. He said, “I was so privileged when I started my job as I was working closely with the presenters Kevin Shea, Warren Lenferna, Deez Dayanand and Sheldon Peters. They were sending me to

take their bets, so I started learning about betting and about the horses and I started grasping all the information related to punting. I couldn’t always rely on them to give me tips, so I started studying form so I could take my own bets. I would say I am an average punter. I do have my good days and I do have my bad days. “My best moment was when the Candice Dawson-trained filly Sentbydestiny won the Gr 1 Premiers Champion Stakes. She was running against big horses like Tempting Fate, who was the short-priced favourite, but I liked her and picked her and she won paying R25.20 on The Tote.”

Sanele was given an opportunity to be the first Zulu commentator in the country last year and jumped at it.

He said, “I had to teach myself, there was nobody to teach me, but I studied the Zulu commentaries in other sports to find a model that would appeal to a Zulu audience.”

He continued, “I had a number of practice commentaries using my phone to record myself, so I could see if I was doing well. I sent those videos to a couple of people to critique me and

they gave me some pointers. Sheldon and Deez were two of the critics. They gave me some good feedback that I learned from because it was a new thing for me. The critique made it a little bit easier, because I was doing it for the first time and so could afford to go wrong and I was going to learn from that.”

Sanele’s first live commentary was in May last year and a couple of months later he was doing his first Hollywoodbets Durban July.

He does his commentaries from the old SABC box at Hollywoodbets Greyville, which is directly below the main commentary box used by Craig and Sheldon Peters and is next door to the judge’s box. He said, “It’s the biggest racing event in the whole continent, so obviously you have to be nervous. Doing it for the first time and knowing that for the first time you’re going to an audience that has never heard you before, like the Supersport audience,which is a big platform, it was nerve-wracking.”

However, the commentary went very well, particularly as he screamed “ORIENTAL CHARM!”

in the final stages and his last words were that Oriental Charm had beaten Cousin Casey, the

one-two in a typically frantic July finish.

“I received some good feedback after that,” he said. However, he was sweating on the result and explained, “The most challenging aspect of the race was there were two horses with the same silks and the same caps, except the one had a little white pom-pom on which you couldn’t see. They were Cousin Casey and Future Swing and I did manage to call Cousin Casey second, but after the race I jumped up to look at the results board because I was thinking what if it was actually Future Swing and I was calling Cousin Casey? I was relieved I got it right.” By the time the next Hollywoodbets Durban July had come around commentating was starting to become second nature. He is no longer a cameraman and is now dedicated to his knew role as commentator and studio presenter as preview shows for all meetings are also done in Zulu.

He said, “I give it more time now and I study more colours. I follow the horses all over the

country to make it easier when it comes to the Champion’s Season, because there are raiders from Cape Town and from Jo’Burg, so you have to follow racing in the whole country. I also know the colours from around the country now.” In the 2025 July he once again emphasised the name of the winner in the closing stages. He rattled off the top five in the running at the 200m mark and correctly called the first five past the post, The Real Prince, Eight On Eighteen, Selukwe, Royal Victory and Madison Valley, despite their being some small margins between some of them. Sanele emphasised the name of the winner in true Zulu soccer-style commentary fashion, a deep guttural roar that makes it very exciting for the listeners. He said about this year’s Hollywoodbets Durban July, “I think it went well this year, it was for the second time and yes I had to improve. There were two good horses battling each other in the finish, so it was a very nice race to commentate.”

Sanele is fast becoming an institution in KZN racing with his commentaries on Gallop TV for

every meeting and other platforms for the big ones. He has become one of the most recognisable faces in KZN racing and is going from strength to strength. He looks to be a fine role model and there are sure to be some potential future commentators who have been inspired by his exciting calls.