Gavin and Chesney Van Zyl
The National Horseracing Authority have advised assistant trainer Chesney Van Zyl to communicate any concerns he may have with regards to any ride in the future. This follows his comments in a post race interview after Chilli Pepper won at long odds on 19 April.
The Summerhill Stud bred 4yo had run just under ten lengths behind Celtic Legend on 5 April 2014 over 400m shorter, when ridden by Marthinus Mienie.
In the 19 April post race interview, Van Zyl had said that he felt that the horse had been given a ‘bad ride’ by Mienie.
In an article entitled ‘Burning Issues https://www.sportingpost.co.za/2014/04/punters-want-information-burning-issues/ , we asked the question why punters and the general racing public were denied access to vital information of this nature.
Marthinus Mienie
There is no reference to the reported concerns of a ‘bad ride in the Stipes Report of 5 April, and it is required of trainers to inform the Stipes accordingly.
An investigation followed and we were informed by NHRA Executive David McGillivray today that the matter had been dealt with.
The note in the relevant report reads:
Assistant Trainer C van Zyl acting on behalf of Trainer G H van Zyl was further interviewed with regards to Chilli Pepper’s performance on both the 5th of April and the 19th of April 2014. He explained that he was not entirely happy with jockey Mienie’s ride on the 4th of April. Mr van Zyl was advised that in future, if he has any concerns with regards to a ride, he needs to advise the Stipendiary Board as soon as possible.
