Justin Vermaak – new racing manager for the Maine Chance team
Maine Chance have announced the appointment of Justin Vermaak as the new racing manager for the Maine Chance team.
John Slade says they are delighted to have someone of Justin’s calibre on board. Dr Andreas Jacobs is very keen on local racing and wants to become more closely involved, and they feel Justin will fill a gap in forging closer communication links with clients, trainers and key industry players.
Justin arrives with an interesting and impressive CV. Originally hailing from Durban, Justin says it was his dad’s odd flutter on weekend racing that sparked his interest early on. Family friend Owen Heffer added further fuel to the fire, giving Justin a subscription to the Sporting Post for his 6th birthday. The interest soon grew into a passion and when he reached high school, Justin got a holiday job for Durban trainer, John Fox. Dylan Cunha joined the Fox yard as assistant trainer and when they decided to open a satellite yard in Johannesburg, Justin joined as the assistant and was part of the team when Strategic News won the Summer Cup in 2007.
He has been a freelance jockey agent to Glyn Schofield, Anthony Delpech and Felix Coetzee and also spent a year in the NHA’s handicapping department.
Handicapping and Merit Ratings are Justin’s area of specialty and he has advised trainers on placing horses and planning runners’ careers. Justin relocated to the Cape in late March. He hit the ground running with the CTS Book 2 sale and has been in the Maine Chance racing manager driving seat since 1 April.
He says it’s all very well having successful horses on the track, but with the industry becoming ever more competitive, it has become vital to have an effective and efficient PR and marketing facet as well, so his key goal will be to raise the profile of the stud and streamline Dr Jacobs’ racing experience. We wish him every success.
