Dean’s Golden Horse Is Flying

Close on a quarter of a century since taking the reins from his legendary Dad Peter, Saturday’s Gr1 Golden Horse Sprint winning trainer Dean Kannemeyer is going strong at 63.

He says great people and good horses, coupled with a deep love of the sport of kings, are what gets him out of bed in the dark mornings.

The Hollywood Syndicate’s Shantastic and Khaya Stables’ Silvano’s Timer are the Dean Kannemeyer Racing feature flagbearers on the Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge raceday at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Saturday.

The winner of the Gr3 Umzikhulu Stakes at her penultimate start, Dean says that Rafeef’s daughter Shantastic will be fit and ready for her run in Saturday’s East Coast Radio Gr2 Tibouchina Stakes.

“We can put a line through her WSB Gr2 Fillies Guineas effort last time. She was knocked out of the race. She will show us how good she is on Saturday. Don’t underestimate her,” he cautions.

On Saturday at Hollywoodbets Scottsville, Dean saddled Khaya Stables’ smashing 4yo Gimme A Prince to register his second Grade 1 win of the season.

“My late Dad loved quoting the old-fashioned pearls of wisdom. And they mostly still hold true today. He always said show me a good owner, and I will show you a good horse. Patience and trust are the key to getting the best out of good horses. Even if time is often money!” he smiles as he chatted to the Sporting Post from his Summerveld satellite base on Monday.

Talking about pearls of wisdom, he recalls the late Peter Kannemeyer also preaching that a trainer should ‘not overfeed a new man in the game as he might not be hungry next time’.

“What my Dad was trying to say was that a new  owner at his first sale shouldn’t be  thrown dead with stock. Give people time to find their feet and learn about the game slowly. Leave scope for him to come back to the sale next year. Mind you, I have adopted that approach and have woken up the next day to find everybody else feeding the new guy. But that’s in the nature of the very competitive world we find ourselves in!” he laughs.

The man who has trained three Durban July winners and a host of classic horses, including his first Gr1 winner Colonial Girl, who won the Gold Cup less than 12 months after he took over the family operation in 1999, suggests that the 2023 SA Champion sprinter elect is probably the best speed horse he has trained.

“While he had some issues early on, he was put away after the Gr1 Gold Medallion in 2021 and given enough time by his breeder and owner. Gimme A Prince has certainly rewarded Lady Chistine Laidlaw for her patience. I had the likes of top-class sorts like Honour The Guest and National Title earlier on, but I would say he is my best sprinter to date – and I believe he is not a one-dimensional sort and will go further. He settles and has a good turn of foot.”

Dean saddled Gimme A Prince’s dam Real Princess to win the SA Fillies Sprint at the same venue in 2016 under present day Hollywood Syndicate Racing Manager Anthony Delpech.

We asked how Saturday’s winner compares to his beautifully-bred dam.

“His Mom was a trojan and high-class. But he is better and he still has more to come,” he adds.

Dean explains that he had to start Gimme A Prince’s Champions Season campaign ‘somewhere’, and thus ran him from a wide draw in the IOS Gr2 Drill Hall Stakes over 1400m.

“He was in need of the run, took a few knocks in running and ran a smart second behind Trip Of Fortune.  I thought his effort on Saturday, when giving a Hollywoodbets Scottsville Gr1 winner 6kgs and a solid beating, was really pleasing. We will probably aim him at the Mercury Sprint now. And given what he has shown, who knows – maybe even a shot at the 2024 L’Ormarins King’s Plate in the Cape Summer! But we will meet with Lady Chistine Laidlaw and Racing Manager Jehan Malherbe of Form Bloodstock to plot and plan the future.”

He prefers a conservative approach and concedes he was a bit rattled when he heard Winning Form-sponsored Keagan de Melo’s confidence in an earlier post-race interview.

“I prefer to let the horse do the talking. But Keagan didn’t want to know about getting beaten on Saturday. Full marks to him!”

A man of enormous patience, Dean says that he won’t have a Hollywoodbets Durban July runner this year.

“I have never believed in entering horses for the sake of running them. We haven’t got anything that fits the profile or meets the standard, even though the stake of R5 million and the prestige of what is an iconic race has every owner, trainer, breeder and jockey wanting to be a part of it.”

He adds that he has some lovely young horses in his string but, no surprise, he won’t be rushing them.

“We have enjoyed some very successful buying trips to the various sales, but my 2yo’s are generally quite backward. So we won’t  be hasty – they will always tell us when they are ready.”

As to his numbers balance between his KZN and Cape yards, he says that he has never regretted opening a satellite base at Summerveld in 2015.

“The polytrack may have its detractors, but the fact is that some horses are very effective on the all-weather. And as a trainer one wants to give every owner the optimal opportunity to get the best results. That’s what our KZN base has provided – a wider spectrum of options. We will maintain a string here in KZN, but will head back to the Cape at the end of the season and do the housekeeping of vaccinations in August, before looking ahead to the Cape summer.”

Have a look at this clip following the passing of Kannemeyer superstar Dynasty:

 

And what about 63 year old Dean Kannemeyer and the future?

“You mentioning my age makes me sound like a veteran. As long as I am enjoying the support of high-quality loyal owners, then  I am happy to continue training winners, including Gr1 winners.  Jehan Malherbe says that I am not showing any signs of losing it, so I clearly still have my faculties intact. And who can actually afford to retire these days?” he laughs.