A SPECIAL EVENING WITH MICHAEL ROBERTS AND BASIL MARCUS

Mick Goss with Basil Marcus and Michael Roberts
(Photo : Alec Hogg)

"Legendary competitors in the saddle, fast friends today"

Alec Hogg
Graceland FarmLast week took me back to 1979 and my short spell at university in Pietermaritzburg. Money was tight, so any opportunity to earn was grabbed - tending the bar at Polo Tavern paid best. I also did my share of selling tickets at Woodburn Rugby Stadium.

That was the year when the racing bug took a strong hold on my young mind. Someone at the zoo we called William O'Brien Residence discovered that in horseraces where pace was key, your financial circumstances could be enhanced by having a bet on the kings of the turf, Michael Roberts and Basil Marcus. Particularly in races over 2000m or longer and especially either was riding a 6/1 chance. Have no idea what the precise record was, but the theory worked well enough for me to follow the formula as a matter of course.

Three decades and a bit later, and here we were having a spectacular dinner with these two legends. It was one of those special 'Hartford House' evenings hosted by my good friend, Summerhill's Mick Goss. This time it was to honour his VIP visitors, Australian racing personalities Vin Cox (MD of Magic Millions) and Rowena Smith (marketing boss at Aushorse). The Aussies were seated too far away for much talk-time. But with Roberts and Marcus close, it became an evening to remember.

First Michael, now 58 and one of KZN's top trainers. His relocation from the Karkloof to Summerveld has gone well. Verna Roberts tells me that although her husband leaves home at 4am every morning and often only returns at 6pm, he doesn't regard this as a hardship. The multiple SA and UK Champion Jockey loves his horses and having had years of doing a lot of the heavy lifting himself, really appreciates Gold Circle's services like tending Summerveld's tracks and daily removal of bedding. It's a happy yard. I've got the feeling we'll be soon seeing another big horse from Roberts.

Basil Marcus, who ten years ago made an immediate impact as a trainer with a string of top race winners including the legendary Jay Peg, returned from his Singaporean adventure a few months back and is delighted to be home in Cape Town. He is adamant that he won't be training again, preferring for now to spend time with his two Rhodesian Ridgebacks. That they cost R170,000 to bring back home from Singapore gives some idea how close they are to this former ace jockey.

Basil remembers a radio interview we had four years back, which was part of a series to enlighten the public about the attraction of buying racehorses. A bit like his one time boss Herman Brown Snr, Basil says he will be quietly in the background helping his 20-something son Adam who is now the family's licensed trainer. He remains a class act. Despite ample opportunity, he refused to point any fingers or even discuss a Singaporean campaign that didn't work out the way everyone hoped. He is proud, though, at the way the horses he took there have performed - four of his former inmates are among Singapore's top 10.

Given Marcus's global brand value, obvious intellect and engaging personality, it would be a terrible waste for him to drift off into early retirement. His unique insights into the Far East (6 times Hong Kong Champion Jockey) could be invaluable for this country's efforts to participate in the potentially explosive growth of Chinese racing. Apart from adding star appeal, Marcus would in my view have plenty of good ideas for Peter Gibson's Racing South Africa team. He should be roped in. Like last week.

What will stay with me most about the evening, though, was the way these great rivals in the saddle have remained such fast friends. Apart from banter about the other's waistlines (both claim to be impressive 32cm), good-natured stories about times together speak to a long, deep friendship.

Extract from www.gracelandfarm.co.za

Hartford House
Home of good conversation, fine wine and classic horses.

For more information please visit :
www.hartford.co.za

WHAT'S LIFE WITHOUT A LITTLE LUXURY?

Dinner on the Hartford Verandah
(Photo : Cooked in Africa)

HARTFORD HOUSE
"The home of good conversation, fine wine and classic horses"

Alec Hogg
Graceland FarmWhat's life without a little luxury? And if you want to indulge, well, what's better than Hartford House?

Being close friends with Mick and Cheryl Goss has a lot of upside. My braaimaster skills and his red wine have produced some memorable Graceland evenings. Mick's got the sense to know that whatever his cullinary abilities they would pale next to the master chef Jackie Cameron who runs the kitchen at Hartford House. So his reciprocation is often an invite to a dinner at the only five star boutique hotel housed on a major stud farm. Especially when interesting guests grace our district with their presence.

Last week was one of those memorable evenings. Remgro's top duo Thys Visser (CEO) and Jannie Durand (CIO) were convinced to overnight at Hartford by their fellow Rainbow Chickens director Bill Lambert. Although I've known and admired Thys for years, this was the first time I'd met Bill Lambert, former Gold Circle chairman and, as you might expect, another infected with the horse disease. It's a pity, Bill is as articulate as he is charming - and judging by what Jannie Durand explained, deeply loyal too, a trait to admire.

Jannie, a Rhodes Scholar and former CEO of Venfin, was having his first visit to the Midlands. He promised to return soon. Hopefully Mr Visser will too. But I'm afraid despite Mick's best efforts - which included a personally guided tour and a close-up look at a covering - neither Thys nor Jannie opened their wallets to invest in our wonderful sport. Not yet, anyway.

The occasion was brightened by the inclusion of newcomers to the district, Cape Town asset manager William Meyer and his wife Claire. They've relocated to a farm called Balenso's that's directly opposite Summerhill and share their new home with a handful of warmbloods and even more dogs than Graceland's five. The other new faces for Jet and I were Midlands icons Guy and Di Smith - he the golf course developer of Prince's Grant and, more recently, Nottingham Road's spectacular Gowrie.

Guy is the elder brother of the Natal and SA wicketkeeper batsman "Titch", a man who has dedicated his life to serving God and does it by putting together projects that help hundreds of vulnerable people in rural KZN. Quite a family. Look forward to meeting Titch as well one day. Much that was said last evening will stay with me. Especially Guy's impassioned speech about breaking the commercial mould - chucking away return on investment calculations and, rather, to, instead, create the exceptional. He did that at Gowrie and has invited us to come see what's called "Guy's Folly" - a spectacular, massively over-capitalised home that dominates the development. Can't wait.

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THE FINEST FOOTBALL STADIUMS IN THE WORLD

Moses Mabhida Stadium - Durban, South Africa
(Photo : Phil Muller)

"WILSON BAYLY HOLMES-OVCON LTD"

The FIFA World Cup has been the gathering ground for the world’s best football commentators, and we have been treated to a veritable feast of entertainment from these giants of the sporting spoken word. Almost to a man, they have proclaimed the stadiums in South Africa the best in the world, and that’s some statement coming from territories that’ve generally looked upon South Africa as the southernmost tip of the darkest continent. The man behind the building or the revamp of nine of the eleven venues, is Mike Wylie of Wilson Bayly Holmes-Ovcon Ltd, who together with his lovely wife, Wendy was a recent visitor to Hartford. They were on the pilgrimage so many businessmen take these days to Grace Land, home of Moneyweb's founder, Alec Hogg and his new bride, Jeanette.

You may well ask, in the context of a construction landscape which embraces the giants Murray and Roberts, Group Five, Grinakers and the like, where WBHO have sprung from. You need only study their annual reports from the last decade to know the answer.  In its own quiet way, this is a company which has stood up and been counted as much as any in its sector on the JSE when it comes to performance, and like Hartford House in the culinary world, they’re the log leaders.