Philip Fourie
The diminutive Philip Fourie is a familiar face in the racing and breeding community, as well as earning a certain amount of notoriety on the internet for his cheeky Facebook posts!
Philip is the type of person who can’t help helping others, so it was great to hear that the universe has seen fit to bless him with a bit of good fortune. Philip is a Durbanite by birth and was an apprentice jockey from 1972-1976. He didn’t finish his time because he got too heavy and admits impishly that he was ‘probably a bit too naughty’.
The Greys Inn tattoo
After serving his time in the Defence Force, he got a job in horse transport, driving for Ken Hall of Horse World and also did a stint as stable employee to the late James Lightheart. Philip tried to give up horses and drove commercial trucks for a year or so, but was soon back in the horse business, driving trucks for Mark and Dorrie Sham at New Turf. He spent several years at Rosedene Stud, where Greys Inn famously relieved him of his right thumb. In typical Philip style he says “It was entirely my fault for taking my eye off the ball. It was early June 2010 and we’d had a sudden surge of cold weather. I took blankets down to the stallion camps and Greys Inn was standing at the gate with his head over the fence. I was just standing there stroking his head and the next thing I knew my hand was in his mouth – it really happened that quickly. He took my thumb and crushed my right pointer finger. So I had Greys Inn’s name tattooed on my right arm – I figure he owns it!”
After another stint for New Turf, Philip became the manager at Dr Marianne Thomson’s Ambiance Stud outside Worcester in July this year. He also finally became the owner of his very own broodmare, purchased from the 2014 Cape Mare & Weanling sale at Kleinplasie. “Broodmares are just a thing for stud managers and having your own one acts as a kind of an annual bonus and an incentive. You look after the flock that much better when one of your own is running amongst them. And it’s just really nice to have one. I went with Dr Thomson to the Keinplasie sale. You Belong To Me was actually the second mare that I bid on and was the under bidder on – both mares were knocked down to Rennie Price. Dr Thomson went and spoke to Rennie and said ‘this is the second mare you’ve outbid Philip on, won’t you be prepared to negotiate?’ Rennie, being the gentleman he always is, replied that if I was prepared to pay the R15k sale price, I could have her. Dr T lent me the money, I signed for her and that was it !”
You Belong To Me and her Bold Silvano filly
“The mare belonged to Sheikh Mohammed’s Al Adiyaat operation and was consigned by Zandvliet. I knew her from Rosedene, because she used to board there and she always threw such beautiful foals. She’s an imported mare, she was bred at Vinery in Kentucky and is by End Sweep, the same sire as Trippi. She cost a fair amount of money as a yearling and won a few races over here. I bought her in foal to Bold Silvano. The day after the sale, I was bragging about her to Liesl King, who looked into the pedigree. It turned out that the catalogue page had been incomplete and she was even better than I thought. Her best offspring is Villa Del Largo, who is a 4-time winner for the Snaith yard, but she’s got a Jet Master colt in training with Mike de Kock that should come out soon and a few more inbetween.”
‘Khaleesi’
Philip’s friends have been following the journey with him and at 1am on Tuesday, 4 November, You Belong To Me produced a filly. “I guestimate that she’s about 50kgs, so she’s a nice, big foal. I’ve named her Khaleesi from Game Of Thrones – it’s my favourite show and she’s my favourite character. If I’d got a colt, it would have been Daenerys. I don’t name foals after the sire or dam, I feel they’ve each got their own character, so I’ll find something suitable. She’ll have a special name. I’ve got the mare booked to Jackson next, so we’ll see.”
“This is the very first mare that I can say is truly mine and I just want to thank Dr T for fronting me the money. Without a boss like this, you’ve got no chance. She’s been so busy with the foaling season, that I hardly ever see her, so she leaves the farm to me and doesn’t interfere, which is really what you want. And she really looks after me and is always making me dinner and making sure I eat. She knows us bachelors are lazy!”
