OFF THE RECORD #46

Legacy of the Swallows
The Lasting Influence of Racing’s Nomadic Powerhouses

The term 'Swallows' was coined in the 1950s to describe wealthy travellers from abroad who spent their holidays enjoying the South African summer, particularly in Cape Town. Theo De Klerk, champion trainer in the Cape at the time, was especially popular with the early groups of Swallows. Theo’s list of owners included the leading lights of South African society, but there was always a member of the English racing aristocracy among them.

Bloodstock consultant John Freeman said that the Swallows have played a significant role in South Africa’s racing and breeding industry. While one swallow may not make a summer, the collective contributions of these international racing enthusiasts have undeniably transformed South Africa’s racing landscape, creating a lasting legacy that continues to shape the industry today.

There are several examples of nomadic benefactors, including Alec and the Honourable Gillian Foster, Martin Wickens and Gisela Burg, Neville and Pamela Isdell, Charles and Caroline Gregson, Ian and Mary Mavor, John and Jill Warner and of course Lady Christine Laidlaw of Khaya Stables fame.

Above: The Hon Gillian & Alec Foster lead in Gr3 Okapi Chairman's Cup winner, Doublemint

The Fosters originally came to South Africa on a cricket tour in 1977 and Freeman bought their first broodmare, Air Of Elegance. They have become owners and breeders of repute and are associated with numerous stars of the track, including a home-bred Gold Cup winner Cereus, a Guineas winner Tap O’Noth, and a Durban July winner, Belgarion.

More recently, the Fosters bred and owned the rising star Questioning (by Querari), out of Wheredowego (by Captain Al). Freeman noted: “The Fosters are very loyal to their trainers, keeping the progeny of mares acquired by a specific trainer within the same stable. Vaughan Marshall purchased Wheredowego and trained her runners, including Senso Unico and, of course, Questioning, who is now owned by Greg Bortz and his partners.”

Above:  Neville & Pamela Isdell with Jonathan Snaith

Neville Isdell was one of the most successful CEO’s of the Coca-Cola company. He and his father first came to South Africa from Northern Ireland in 1954 on the ocean liner, the Bloemfontein Castle, and fell in love with Africa. The Isdells have lived and worked in 11 countries on five continents, spending decades championing large-scale conservation in Africa and around the world. Among her host of philantrophic ventures, Pamela Isdell has helped support a broad portfolio of nonprofit organisations, especially The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and Peace Parks South Africa. Her current partnerships includes interests in smart three-year-old Please Be True and older handicappers Zapatillas, Salvator Mundi, Future Of Swing, Master Of Paris and Pacaya.

Trainer Justin Snaith commented: “It’s not often you meet people who make your life better, but this was the case when I met Pamela and Neville Isdell. Pamela loves her horses and all animals in general, supporting many welfare organisations, including the Western Cape Equine Trust, which caters to retired racehorses. They’ve had tremendous success in owning horses locally, and they’re a delight to train for.”

Above:  Jill & John Warner lead in Rio Querari

Professor John Warner is an Emeritus Professor of Pediatrics at Imperial College, London. His wife, Dr. Jill Warner, is an expert in allergic diseases and a sought-after speaker at scientific and clinical conferences across the world. They are both Honorary Professors in Paediatrics at The University of Cape Town. Avid racegoers, they spend their time between their home in Val De Vie, Paarl, and their home in Winchester in the United Kingdom. Their best runners so far have been the exported star sprinter, Carry On Alice, Computaform sprint winner, Rio Querari and the inaugural Gold Rush winner, Royal Aussie, all owned in partnership. They have also kept two of their Captain Al race mares for breeding at Klawervlei Stud.

Above:  Lady Christine Laidlaw leads in Gr1 Splashout Cape Derby winner, Green With Envy

The Laidlaw family – Baron Irvine Laidlaw and his wife, Christine - divide their time between a Monaco home and an early 20th-century estate in Noordhoek, near Cape Town. They are philanthropists, like the Isdells, and Baron Laidlaw is Chairman of the Laidlaw Foundation, set up to aid the advancement of education, especially the education of deprived young people.

Lady Laidlaw, the racing fanatic, joined Dean Kannemeyer’s yard in 2008 and her success with Khaya Stables is well documented. She is assisted in her purchases by Form Bloodstock’s Jehan Malherbe and has owned dual Guineas winner Noordhoek Flyer, Durban July winner Power King, SA Fillies Sprint winner Real Princess and more recently Cape Derby ace, Green With Envy and star sprinter, Gimme A Prince. Lady Laidlaw has been instrumental in the success of the Cape Grooms Initiative.

Above:  Martin Wickens & Gisela Burg

Life partners Martin Wickens and Gisela Burg are both highly accomplished in the corporate world. Wickens was a high-ranking official at Rothmans International and Gisela was named Business Woman of the Year in the UK, in 1981, for her outstanding contribution to British exports, especially pro-audio equipment.

Long retired, Martin and Gisela enjoy summers away from their London home at Erinvale Estate in Somerset West, as both are keen on golfing. They started their racing interests with Joey Ramsden at Milnerton and have owned a long list of high-profile winners including Gold Cup winner Major Bluff, another prominent stayer Omaha Beach, the exported stakes winners Silver Mist and Liquid Mercury, as well as sprinters Golden Corn, Golden Reward, Shades Of Indigo and Catkin. Gisela is very fond of grey horses.

Martin and Gisela treasure their privacy away from the public domain these days, though for a while shared a suite at HWB Kenilworth with Ramsden’s Good Hope Racing. They love socialising with close friends on their afternoons at the track. They are not as active as they were, but still race with a number of trainers including Glen Kotzen, Greg Ennion and Vaughan Marshall. They are said to be “the warmest couple you’ll ever meet.” Sporting Post once described them as, “the epitome of decorum, who add their own touch of dignity and class to proceedings.”

Above: Polytrack star, King Regent

Their latest headline-hitting runner is the Glen Kotzen-trained five-year-old, King Regent, who won the first two legs of the 2024 Nelson Mandela Bay Racing Poly Challenge over 1200m and 1400m at Fairview, and is likely to go for the R250,000 bonus when the third leg is contested over 1600m on 18 October.

King Regent has never won over 1600m, but Kotzen felt he should have won the Gold Rush over 1600m as a two-year-old. “King Regent came from too far back and was beaten under two lengths by Royal Aussie and Dave The King. He’s classy, a proper sprinter who has beaten a Cape Met winner in Double Superlative and a Horse Of The Year in Princess Calla in respective races over 1250m. But he also stayed on well in his only 1800, start, so the mile is not a problem for him.”

Kotzen’s only concern is King Regent’s quirkiness at the pens. This has cost him a few times, and Kotzen said: “I wish we were allowed to keep the hood on him a while longer, but the rule was changed. The hood has to come off before they jump, so it’s ideal for him to be loaded last and jump immediately. Malan du Toit (equine behavioural therapist) has helped us. He’ll do another refresher course with King Regent before the third leg of the Poly challenge, but we’ll still need some luck at the start.”

Kotzen bought King Regent’s own brother, Crimson King, for a bargain price and said: “He had long pasterns and was overlooked at the sale, but he is a good horse. He won a few for us but he is a bad bleeder so now races mostly in Johannesburg. I liked King Regent when he came up for sale, but I had something else shortlisted. Martin and Gisela bought him anyway, sent him to us to train and he’s been a soldier for the stable. He’s had a few niggles, but we gave him a long holiday and he loved it, he’s come back sound and well and we’ve kept him on the boil.”

Both King Regent and the Foster couple’s Belgarion were sired by South Africa’s multiple champion stallion Dynasty, who was bought and owned by another ‘Swallow’, John Newsome of Fieldspring Racing fame.