'Horse nut' Gary Player still living his racing dream through 60 years

Every ounce of Gary Player’s frame is inhabited by a vigour for life, yet racing still has the ability to get him enthusiastic.

The peripatetic South African icon has been spending a few days in Cape Town this week, popping in for viewings at the Cape Premier Yearling Sale, looking forward to an interesting runner on Saturday’s card at Kenilworth and, unsurprisingly a spot of golf.

Decorated with every award and title imaginable, from his multiple Major championships to his country’s 'Sportsman of the Century' and extraordinary charitable contributions, he still seems particularly proud of being the breeder of Broadway Flyer, the smart middle-distance performer for the late John Hills in the mid-90s, and recalls his career with perfect accuracy.

"I don’t know what I like more, horses or golf," says Player.

"But I’ve been in the horse business since 1964, that’s 60 years, and I’ve bred some Group 1 winners. I’m the only South African breeder who had a horse who ran in the English Derby, and won a Group 1 in America, that was quite an honour, and finished second in the St Leger, the oldest Classic in the world, and won a couple of Group 3s, so I’ve had a lot of success."

Player is not a breeder to the same extent any more but has continued to take a big interest in ownership.

"I had one of the most beautiful farms in the Karoo [Rietfontein] – we sold it – but now I’ve got 50 horses in training at the moment, I do lot of partnerships and have some of my own, and I’m a horse nut!" he says.

"It’s that old saying which I love that we keep hearing, the outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man. It just does something particularly for young girls who look after horses, it’s a wonderful thing if you’ve ever got a child who has a problem, just get them going to horses and you’ll get through their problem.

"What I like is if you look at the situation it does with employment, this country has a massive problem with unemployment, a dangerous problem, so anything we can do to eliminate that is great. Two things, golf and horses, they create so many jobs and we’ve got to be aware of that."

He continues: "It plays a vital role in our economy, in people’s lives, charities, it’s a fantastic sport. They don’t call it 'the sport of kings' for nothing. It goes beyond our opinions, back in history, the vital role the horse has played in history and our society."

Player, who recently turned 88 and is clad in his trademark black even on a morning off on the sales ground, really is as astonishingly youthful looking as is frequently documented, a legacy of healthy eating and a fearsome daily exercise routine.

He still has racing ambitions left, including the Durban July, in which a Mike de Kock-trained horse he has a share in, Dave The King, went close last year.

"I would love to win . . . I’ve had a second in the Durban July [with homebred and co-owned Superwood in 2004] but it has gone off with me now," he says. 

"The handicapping system is terrible, in the Durban July they’ve got to change it. They will change it one day. So I think for me, the King’s Plate or the Met would be the race I’d like to win most."

Closer to hand comes the third race on a keynote card at Kenilworth this weekend, the Grade 3 Schweppes Politician Stakes, in which the three-year-old Holding Thumbs takes a step up in class on only his third career start

"I have a horse called Holding Thumbs and a horse called Flag Man," says Player.

"Watch Holding Thumbs on Saturday. He’s a puppy running against experienced horses but he won his last race, he’s a Vercingetorix out of a Fort Wood mare, he’s got a chance . . . but we never get too excited about horses."

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