OFF THE RECORD #39

Gimmethegreenlight:  Capturing Hearts and Collecting Titles

Above:  Gimmethegreenlight on his arrival at Varsfontein Stud in 2012

Gimmethegreenlight was a thoroughbred racehorse of extraordinary ability who transformed into a stallion of unparalleled quality. Before reaching his 17th birthday on 1 August, he had already cemented his legendary status in the South African thoroughbred breeding industry. He was crowned National Champion Sire for the third time and, for the second consecutive year, led the rankings as the top sire of both three-year-olds and two-year-olds. This remarkable feat, unmatched since at least 1953, may make him the first in history to achieve such a distinction.

As the season concluded, Gimmethegreenlight's progeny amassed a record-setting R30,732,600 in stakes earnings, further enhancing his already impressive legacy. Already a sire of sires, his roster of top-level runners expanded over the last two seasons with stars including Gimme A Nother, Lucky Lad, Sandringham Summit, Proceed, Green With Envy, and VJ’s Angel. Despite recently having to face the challenges of laminitis, the life-threatening hoof disease, the King of Varsfontein Stud continues to thrive. With a carefully managed book of mares and the support of dedicated professionals, he may enjoy several more successful seasons.

Gimmethegreenlight was destined for greatness from the day he was born. He looked in a class all of his own when he was consigned as a weanling to be sold at the 2009 Magic Millions Sale. The eyes that spotted him first belonged to Sue Snaith, matriarch of the Snaith racing family and an accomplished horsewoman in her own right, known for her ability to select top horses from any given young crop.

In racing, they say, “the good horses find you, you don’t find them!” This certainly rings true in the story of Gimmethegreenlight, to which one could add a quote from business author T. Harv Eker: “It’s not enough to be in the right place at the right time. You have to be the right person in the right place at the right time!”

Sue can attest to this. She described her chance encounter with the young colt, later named Gimmethegreenlight, as wholly unexpected and almost eerily unlikely. “My husband Chris and I were members of Snaith Racing’s travelling party to the Magic Millions Sale on the Gold Coast in Australia. We stayed for a few weeks looking for good yearlings for our clients. The (late) Hassen Adams was in our group of buyers and our bloodstock consultant was James Bester.”

And then, by fortune’s fate, Sue took an unplanned walk. “I have a keen interest in swimming and one day I took a stroll from the barns to the network of waterways adjacent to the sales complex where horses are allowed to swim. My eye caught a horse float being driven into a loading area some distance away. When the float’s door opened, a lively weanling bounced from it, held on a rope by his handler. The little colt was absolutely gorgeous and athletic. I was stunned by the way he moved. It looked like he was walking on air.

“When they eventually came walking by, I asked the handler where they’d come from and who the weanling was. But the man was rude, miserable and of no help after what turned out to be a testing eight-hour road trip. The youngster was quite a handful. I followed them to a stable and got a closer look. He was well proportioned and had beautiful eyes. He calmed down and I fell in love with him, right there and then.

“After a visit to the sales office and a return to his stable to retrieve the number written on the stable door, I established that this was a weanling colt by More Than Ready out of Yes She Can Cancan by Canny Lad, from the draft of Vinery Stud. The youngster was bred in New South Wales by veteran horseman David Bentata. My inquiries about More Than Ready revealed that he was the leading sire of two-year-olds in 2008 and expectations about him were high.”

The rest of the Snaith party were hard at work in the yearling barns when Sue approached them to look at the weanling. However, it wasn’t going to happen immediately. They understood her request but felt their time would be best spent looking at yearlings, the primary purpose of their visit.

Sue said she managed to drag a hesitant Hassen Adams away to the weanling stables, where his eyes almost popped out at the sight of the young colt. Soon, Chris Snaith was persuaded to have a look, James Bester also came. Coolmore manager, Peter O’Brien, gave his blessing and Adams decided that he would raise his hand in the auction ring. The weanling grew on all of them and on the day of the sale the group convened ringside to wait for bidding time.

Sue recalled: “Hassen was with us for a while and then he disappeared, he was nowhere in sight and my heart sank. Our prospect entered the ring and because of his good looks there was a lot of interest in him. The bids went up and reached $100,000 and higher, up through $120,000 and eventually he was knocked down to a bidder way out ‘at the back’ for $155,000. To our delight, the quiet, unseen bidder was our own Hassen Adams!”

Above:  Team Gimmethegreenlight - Sue Snaith with Rayaan Adams (left), the late Hassen Adams, and Jonathan Snaith

Adams had partnered with Kia Ora Stud and soon named their purchase ‘Gimmethegreenlight,’ after John Legend’s 2008 chart-topper ‘Green Light,’ one of his favourite songs at the time. Adams initially planned to leave the colt to race in Australia, but he changed his mind, and Gimmethegreenlight was shipped to South Africa, where he arrived at the Snaith family’s farm across the road from the training centre in Philippi in mid-2009.

Sue recalled: “We broke Gimmethegreenlight in on the farm. He was a little nervous to start, but he settled down and gained his confidence. When a new group of young horses join us there are always one or two that stand out. They are different in stature and demeanour, just more intelligent than others. We’ve had a number of top horses in our stable and almost without exception all of them had those traits. Gimmethegreenlight was noticeably more intelligent than his peers. If I think of one to compare him to, I’d say our recent champion Do It Again was similar in the way he stood out from the bunch.”

Above: Gimmethegreenlight on the beach

Sue developed a close bond with Gimmethegreenlight. “I worked with him every day, spent a lot of time with him. Whenever he saw me coming, he gave a deep and low neigh of approval. He loved it when I stroked him and blew softly on his nose. His neigh sounded markedly different, high-pitched around other people.”

In her capacity as assistant trainer, Sue often travelled to Durban with Justin’s raiding string. At the time they had Gimmethegreenlight in their care, visiting trainers were accommodated at the old Clairwood Park Racecourse.

Sue told: “Felix Coetzee, who was riding for us at the time, reported one morning after work at Clairwood that Gimme felt lacklustre. He wasn’t giving his best and seemed troubled. He was physically fine, but upon investigation we discovered that he was restless and bothered because he was battling to sleep at night. His stable was next to the grooms’ quarters where there was a bright light on the wall, connected to a main circuit control board. At night, the light could not be switched off independently from the other lights, so the grooms slept with blankets over their heads, but Gimme had nowhere to hide. That light bugged him to the extent that he was unable to sleep. His name was Gimmethegreenlight, but he hated the bright, white light. We had it disconnected, he started sleeping again and his work improved immediately.”

Gimmethegreenlight won six races from 1000m and 1600m. He became the first three-year-old in 40 years to win the Grade 1 Queen’s Plate in which he defeated the subsequent superstar and world champion miler, Variety Club. He retired to stud in 2012 and his first crop set new freshman sire records at the 2015 sales.

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Above:  The Dealmakers: (left to right John Freeman, Hassen Adams, Susan Rowett, Chris Snaith, Carl de Vos and Justin Snaith.

Studmaster Carl de Vos, who is celebrating his 36th year at the helm of the Kalmanson family’s Varsfontein Stud during its Golden Anniversary this year, said that Gimmethegreenlight is by far the best horse to have come under his care.

De Vos remembered the day Varsfontein secured the horse for the farm in a deal struck with Hassen Adams. “When we heard that Gimmethegreenlight had reached the end of his racing career with a niggling injury, Susan Rowett (Kalmanson) and I drove out to the Snaith racing stables. We loved what we saw because he was, and of course still is, a striking specimen. We got bloodstock adviser John Freeman involved and arranged to meet Mr Adams that very day.”

Freeman added, in good humour: “Hassen was typically difficult about selling Gimmethegreenlight, who was always a horse close to his heart. We all met in his office and discussed a deal, but it needed rounding off so we went out to lunch at the Bistro Bizerca in the square below the office, where we enjoyed a top class meal. It took a series of subsequent meetings at the Table Bay Hotel to dot the I’s and cross the t’s. Per agreement, Varsfontein bought a block of shares to secure the standing rights. The remaining shares were syndicated to top breeders who have enjoyed healthy rewards.”

With many so many of Gimmethegreenlight’s best progeny at the peak of their powers last season, Varsfontein enjoyed its best-ever performance on the national rankings in respect of a third-placed finish on the log, also its highest number of stakes winners and wins in a season.

De Vos said: "Gimmethegreenlight is a special horse, and incredibly intelligent too. For instance, ever since he developed laminitis and we've been treating his front feet, he's stopped rearing up on his hind legs, something he used to do frequently. It's as if he instinctively knows he needs to relieve pressure and avoid hard contact on his front feet."

Laminitis in horses is an inflammatory condition affecting the laminae within the feet—the tissues that connect the pedal bone (the central bone in each foot) to the hoof wall inside the hoof capsule. De Vos explained: "Gimmethegreenlight has Equine Cushing's Disease, a hormonal disorder stemming from the pituitary gland at the base of the brain. The overproduction of hormones leads to various symptoms, including a long, curly coat and the development of laminitis, a potentially life-threatening condition that can recur after the initial onset."

With patient care De Vos, veterinarian Dr Deon van Tonder and farrier John Gatt have Gimmethegreenlight’s condition under control and De Vos elaborated: “He gets x-rayed often and Deon monitors the position of the pedal bone. Jaco Erasmus has him on a special diet and John has fitted him with 3D shoes, custom made with a soft padding of gel underneath the pad. This relieves pain and serves to spread the weight on his feet more evenly.”

Gatt commented: “One cannot always go by the book or by what is recommended by veterinarians. When Gimmethegreenlight was fitted with the standard support for laminitis, he didn’t like it. His condition did not improve and we had to put our heads together to help him. The padded 3D shoes have made a big difference. I check on him often and the shoes are replaced every five weeks.”

Because Cushion’s Disease also affects fertility, Varsfontein has cut back Gimmethegreenlight’s book of mares from 125 to 95, with more cuts likely in coming seasons. “His fertility was actually very good last season, in the high 90s despite his problems. But we’ll reduce his book even further. We won’t be taking outside bookings, he’ll only be serving mares that belong to his shareholders,” said De Vos.

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Sue Snaith, who hadn’t seen Gimmethegreenlight in the last few years, recently visited Varsfontein alongside Bjorn Nielsen, the yard’s prominent South African-born patron who lives in and conducts his business from the UK. She told Nielsen that Gimmethegreenlight would recognise her after their long spell apart and he said, ‘no way that will happen!’ and dared her to prove what she’d said.

She noted: “When we approached Gimmethegreenlight he lifted his head and there was a moment when he seemed to be in some thought. Then, he gave that deep, low neigh he always reserved for one person and walked forward to greet me. I kissed him on his cheek, blew on his nose and he put his head in my neck. He remembered, alright!”

Above:  Gimme with Sue