Two Oceans Racing – Global Destiny
I always describe my childhood as idyllic. Granted, it didn’t always seem so at the time, but looking back, I realise how lucky I was to grow up in rural South Africa in the era that I did. Both my parents worked and because we lived a good distance from ‘town’, we spent afternoons with friends until my parents could collect us.
School holidays presented similar difficulties, so we were usually dispatched to my grandmother’s farm. She was and is quite a formidable lady and her afternoon naps are an institution. Of course for young and restless children, there is nothing more tedious than having to lie down when there are games to be had and exploring to be done. After a number of arguments, she conceded defeat and I was allowed to entertain myself as long as I was quiet.
The only person still moving at that time of the day was Hannah. She’d be taking care of the domestic minutiae, while listening to her old black radio, perched on the windowsill. Radio Kontrei used to broadcast a daily afternoon soapie and if I didn’t make a nuisance of myself, I was allowed to hang around and listen to the stories, while folding napkins or helping bake ‘beskuit’ or any one of a million chores and so we whiled away many afternoons in each another’s company.
It turns out that the old black radio, powered by one of those great, big square batteries, which have since disappeared in the face of progress, would more than likely have come from a company called Lektron. The same company which is sponsoring the forthcoming Summer of Champions curtain closer this weekend and which is headed up by well-known racing personality, Keith Steinberg. As any sponsorship in racing deserves shouting about, I thought I’d find out a little more.
Keith Steinberg is the imposing, silver-haired gentleman often seen leading horses into the winners’ enclosure in his yellow and red silks. While he often seems to be carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, Keith always has a smile or a wave for you in the parade ring and frequently makes time to stop for a quick chat. In a rather refreshing change (from my perspective anyway), Keith is more than happy to make himself available to chat about himself, his company and his hopes and aspirations for his race day.
He relates that Lektron started as a family business as far back as 1946, which by his reckoning makes it one of the oldest electronics brands in South Africa. The business was built on products such as those old Lektron radios and their ubiquitous batteries, but has steadily grown and expanded and Keith bought into the business about 20 years ago. Lektron manufactures locally as well as abroad and has expanded its stable to include additional well-known local brands such as JVC, Telefunken and Russell & Hobbs amongst others.
The company has always maintained a commitment and loyalty to the people who helped them off the ground and strives to get the best quality products to the market for less, to keep them as accessible as possible. It is this ethos that prompted them to venture on-line and their internet shopping portal will launch this week. Keith explains that a lot of local internet shopping sites simply don’t have all their advertised products in stock all the time, resulting in delayed deliveries and disappointed, unhappy customers.
Lektron are aiming to keep their internet product base manageable and confined to what they have in stock to ensure efficient turn-around times and delivery. Those who are not that keen on shopping on-line will be pleased to know that you can still visit the main Lektron flagship store at the Shoprite Park in Parow.
So why racing?
Keith Steinberg
“I bought my first horse about 12 years ago – a horse called Majestic Sun. In his first year on the track he won 7 times. I thought ‘this is an easy game!’ We found it amazing – it gave us so much joy and then the bug bit and you know how it goes. i just bought more and more and became fascinated with the sport. I’ve never been a gambler, but I just love the horse like you cannot believe.”
And the passion has been rewarded with a number of good horses. Sun City proved a good staying type, Sage Throne lost the Derby in the boardroom – “unlucky” says Keith philosophically, “wasn’t meant to be”. But he gave them great excitement when he got a run in the July, finishing just under 7 lengths behind Pomodoro in 2012. His string currently includes the likes of Posh Boy and Keith also rates their Var filly, Caviar, as one to keep an eye on.
“I also started breeding in the last 4 or 5 years – mostly my fillies retiring from the track. It’s quite a thrill to race my own babies, but we’re still waiting for a big one,” he chuckles. He divides his breeding stock between Anton Shepherd’s Beaumont Stud and Terry & Annabel Andrews at Sorrento. I’ve had a long association with Sorrento and all my horses go there for holidays, spelling, etc.”
Indeed relationship building seems a hallmark of Keith’s and is what led to the establishment of Two Oceans Racing back in 2011. “I think we helped pioneer the culture of syndication because I believe you’ve got to do it with a bunch of people. Racing should be fun. When you win, you’ve got people to celebrate with and when you lose you have people to commiserate with. I believe we’ve brought a lot of new people into racing, which is nice.”
“We’ve got nearly 50 horses and a number of different syndicates made up of a variety of people from all walks of life. The beauty of racing is that whether you own 10% or 90%, you still get the same thrill out of it. Generally I’ll give certain trainers mandates to purchase horses for us at sales and then we put them together. We have horses with a number of different people across the country. We have horses with Louis Goosen up in Joburg, about 20 horses with Colin Scott (who is just recovering from a kidney operation) in KZN and in Cape Town we have long-standing relationships with Shane Humby, Riaan van Reenen, Harold Crawford and Patrick Kruyer. Patrick is a real gentleman and has a very good eye for a horse. And of course Mr Millard takes quite an interest in the yard, so he has a hand in my horses in a sort of non-executive way!”
And it’s not just lipservice
The commitment to inclusiveness and sharing and uplifting as wide a demographic as possible is evident in Keith’s racing endeavours too. Lektron is very proud to have been the sponsors of Andrew Fortune the year he won the jockey championship. “It was the most incredible feat – Andrew is an absolute lunatic, of course, but for a guy his age to travel the way he did – that was pure dedication. Apart from everything he’d overcome to get where he was, he was riding 7 days a week all over the country – it was just incredible. We’re very proud to be associated with him.”
After Andrew, Lektron sponsored an up and coming young rider by the name of Grant van Niekerk who rewarded their faith by establishing himself firmly on the Cape racing map. “We were very happy to see him move onwards and up to be sponsored by Kuda (with who we insure all our horses) and we now sponsor Bernard Fayd’herbe. I can say without a doubt that Bernard is the finest rider in this country. He’s one of the absolute gentlemen of racing and we love him to bits. Apart from all his other achievements, the one that I think stands the test of time is that he’s the Pocket Power man – I can’t see that record every being broken in our lifetime.”
And the race day sponsorship?
Keith candidly admits that he was rather in two minds about the first one. “There was quite a hard sell from their side and my arm was twisted quite hard, but seeing how successful the day was and the exposure we got for our brand, this year I didn’t even think about it. A lot of people talk a lot, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to put your money where your mouth is, don’t you? Racing is my passion. And it’s thanks to Lektron that I’m able to be involved to racing. I get a lot out of it and I feel this is a way I can make a contribution. They say what you put in you get back tenfold, so I’m doing it.”
Why this particular day?
“The thing about this day is that it marks the end of the season. It leaves an impression. People remember the last day of the season. Despite featuring two Gr3’s, it’s always been just another day at the races – it’s never been sponsored and now we’ve made an event of it. I’ve always had stayers, so I’ve always been interested in the stayers races we’ve got a nice balance with the test of stamina in the Lektron Chairman’s Cup and a speed challenge for the fillies in the Two Oceans Prix du Cap. They’re both Gr3’s and this year each comes with a stake of R250k.”
“Above all, we want to make it a day out for the whole family. Racing used to have thousands of people flocking to the course and we seem to have lost those crowds. This is our contribution to try and get folks back again. Entry is free, we’ve got the huge prize giveaways and of course the prawn festival for the adults which was such a huge hit last year that we had queues 3 deep! We’re going into this year a bit more prepared and organised and hopefully it will be even bigger and better. We’ve got loads to keep the kids entertained including jumping castles, water slides, entertainment and free popcorn, candyfloss and ice cream.”
“We know that the big race days like the Met are somewhat out of reach for your ordinary punter, so this is our way of acknowledging the end of the season and giving back to the people who have supported racing all year round. Plus of course it’s the last meeting before the horses all head for Durban. It feels right to mark it somehow and what better way than with a festive race day with lots of people on course with their families, all having fun and enjoying some top class racing.”
“Racing is a sport and I’m in this game for the fun of it. It is sadly too often seen only as a business and I think when you lose sight of the fact that this game is about having fun, is the moment you need to get out of the game. It’s about having fun and we want to bring people back to racing to have fun. Having horses, and earning big stakes is great and it helps pay the bills, but at the end of the day the most important thing is enjoyment.”
I’ve certainly come a long way from racing ponies in the river during school holidays to watching the best horseflesh in the country vie for top honours at our premier track, but isn’t it fun that Lektron have been with me all the way?”
– Robyn Louw
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