Please note: South African Quartet Pools with fractional betting offered at Aintree and Wolverhampton (UK) – 10 April 2026.

David Thiselton

Siboniso “Bo” Ngcobo regards his first winner, Lightning Jimmy, as the official start of his professional training career as he had operated with just a couple of horses for a whole year before that and as Lightning Jimmy won on 17 March 2024 it means by Bo’s yardstick it took him just two years and a couple of weeks to land the first stakes winner of his career.

That first stakes winner was also his first Graded winner and was also his first ever runner outside of KZN as the Clifton Stud-bred colt Better Never Ends caused a massive 40/1 upset in the Gr 2 TAB SA Nursery over 1160m at Turffontein Standside on Saturday.

Bo can add two more feathers to his cap as he became the trainer of the KZN-based stallion Declarationofpeace’s first stakes winner and he also achieved the rare feat of winning a Gr 2 with a maiden.

That is not bad for a yard that currently only boasts a string of ten horses.

The race only had four runners having cut up for the probable reason that the R3 million Race Coast Slipper to be run this Saturday at Hollywoodbets Greyville provided an attractive alternative for some of the better two-year-olds around.

Nevertheless, Better Never Ends seemed a bit out of his depth having had six runs for two second places and two fourths in Maiden Juvenile Plates, while he had been comfortably beaten, although without being totally disgraced, in two Futurity Plate races.

However, Bo went into the race quietly confident and revealed, “He had been starting to mature and was starting to do things right. He is a November foal and initially taking him to the track had been quite a mission. But he was starting to know what was going on.”

Bo said he would not have transported him up to the race had he not believed in his ability.

He continued, “His track work had been outstanding before we took him to Jo’Burg. I knew he had the ability, but I was just worried about his maturity, although I knew the penny had been starting to drop”

The win was particularly rewarding for more reasons than one.

Bo explained, “My son Qiniso, who has just been licensed by SAJA to ride in races, has been doing a great job with him at track and he has built up a good understanding with Better Never Ends.”

He continued, “So I was more confident than ever before going into a race, but on the other hand there was just that little bit of doubt that he would act up being at a new track and I was concerned he might spook at new surroundings.”

However, the race panned out perfectly.

The 5/10 favourite was Gimme A Vodka, who was coming off a fine 1,70 length second to the biggest talking horse in the juvenile ranks, World Attraction, a Mike and Mathew de Kock-trained One World colt who has won both of his starts in effortless fashion.

The 9/4 second favourite was the Buffalo Bill Cody colt, the Bronx Bull, who won second time out and the form of that win had worked out exceptionally well.

The 25/2 third favourite in the small field was also a maiden, the United States gelding Kudikaran, but his 3,20 length place finish in his only start was behind the exciting prospect Turn It Up, a half-brother to Gr 1 winner Proceed, although admittedly he had received 3kg from Turn It Up.

In the race on Saturday Better Never Ends had the advantage of the standside draw.

There were a few other factors which had buoyed Bo’s confidence.

Firstly, the horse was wearing second time blinkers and had run well in them first time out in a 1400m event at Hollywoodbets Greyville,  finishing a 3,90 length fourth.

Secondly, Bo had run Better Never Ends often and he had always returned sound as a bell,so he had not had to do much with him at home and he knew he was a very fit horse.

Thirdly, he asked the physiotherapist Paige Janse van Rensburg, who works on his Hollywood-trained horse Eventidor, to do some work on Better Never Ends.

He said, “I noticed she had been doing  very good job for Hollywood, so I asked her to do some of my horses as well. She did physio on him and put tape on him to help with his blood circulation.”

Better Never Ends jumped superbly in the race and Muzi Yeni had him nice and relaxed.

He just sat on him and would have been pleased to see Gimme A Vodka and The Bronx Bull going eyeball to eyeball in front of him and it got better as Kudikaran then tracked inward to join them.

Better Never End got a beautiful tow and was going easily through the halfway mark of the 1160m contest.

Bo said, “The moment Muzi took him to the outside rail and he started running on I knew it was race over.”

Gimme A Vodka and Kudikaran were spent forces and while The Bronx Bull rallied he clearly did not have as much in the tank as Better Never End, who surged forward to win by a comfortable 0,90 lengths.

Bo will now give him a deserved rest and then aim him at the Gr 1 Gold Medallion.

However, he feels he will get better as he goes further and thinks he will get at least a mile.

Better Never Ends is out of four-time-winning Hussonet mare Endearment, whose first four foals were all winners, including five-time winner Phaka Imali (Var), five-time-winner Acacia’s Blossom (Flower Alley) and three-time-winner Agrado (Global View).

Bo landed him at the August National Two-Year-Old Sale for R360,000 on behalf of owner Dladla Family Trust (Nom: Mr Q J Manoko).

Bo said he always placed importance in the eye of the horse and he said at the Sale Better Never End’s eye was full of intelligence.

The Dladla Family Trust also own the promising Alson Ndzilana-trained Nightshine (Rafeef), who has finished second in both of his starts to date.

Bo has had an interesting working career, first managing his father’s business then working as a fireman and as he was a qualified mechanical engineer he worked in various positions in that field “just to check it out.”

However, his love lay with horses and he had held a chairmanship in the sport of rural horseracing before deciding to join the professional circuit.

He started with Tony Rivalland on March 1, 2015 and after four years with him joined a couple of other yards to gain further experience. He worked for  Nathan Kotzen for a year and then worked for Peter Muscutt for a year, before returning to Rivalland for one final year.

He then felt confident enough to start out on his own and has sure done a fine job with such limited numbers.

He has had eleven wins and 33 places and that includes getting now fewer than six wins out of the Elusive Fort gelding Eventidor, who is still competitive at the age of seven.

He hopes the Gr 2 win will help him expand to 20 to 25 horses and what is particularly exciting at present is there could soon be a father/son trainer/jockey partnership in KZN.

Soccer10 Friday 10 April 2026. ADD – INN R200 000. Estimated Pool: R 2 Million. Pool Closes at 19h00. Sport 7 and Pool 1.

Score10 Friday 10 April 2026. ADD-IN R10 000. Pool Closes at 21h00. Sport 9 and Pool 1.

Soccer4 Saturday 11 April 2026. ADD – INN R25 000. Estimated Pool: R 100 000. Pool Closes at 13h30. Sport 19 Pool 1.

Soccer10 Saturday 11 April 2026. ADD- INN R200 000. Estimated Pool: R 2 Million. Pool Closes at 15h00. Sport 16 and Pool 1.

Soccer Any 13Xtra Saturday 11 April 2026. Carryover R100 000. Estimated Pool: R400 000. Pool Closes at 13h30. Sport 13 and Pool 1.

Soccer13 GUARANTEED JACKPOT Saturday 11 April 2026. R23 Million (If only One 13 of 13 Winner). Pool Closes at 15h30. Sport 11 Pool 1.

 Score6 Saturday 11 April 2026. ADD-IN R5 000. Pool Closes at 16h00. Sport 6 and Pool 1.

Soccer6 Sunday 12 April 2026. ADD-INN R75 000. Estimated Pool: R 500 000. Pool Closes at 15h00. Sport 4 Pool 1

Soccer10 Sunday 12 April 2026. ADD- INN R200 000. Estimated Pool: R 2 Million. Pool Closes at 15h00. Sport 8 and Pool 1.

• SPLITTHEEIGHTS: 109 to 116
• ONE EYE ON VEGAS: 106 to 115
• RADIO STAR: 95 to 107

• SCARLETT HEART (third): 91 to 108
• DAISY JONES (fourth): 106 to 108