The Race Card Department in the Western Cape has gathered information that may provide an interesting and useful insight for punters over the next few weeks.

Trainers at the different training venues experienced different patterns in the progress of the illness and also different levels in the severity of the symptoms. As stables have their first runners over the next few weeks, trainers will give a general overview of the effect of the flu-enforced break on their yards, which will be carried in the race card and disseminated, to the media. It is important to note that not all trainers' yards were infected and racing enthusiasts may find it interesting to be aware of the locations of the stables and read the trainers comments.

 

• Mike Stewart – trains at Private Facilities at Noordhoek NO HORSES INFECTED BY EQUINE FLU. No horses were affected by the outbreak of flu but were taken out of work for two weeks towards the end of December. Horses have been back in full work since 4 January, the majority of whom have had one grass gallop and are ready to race.

 

• Glen Kotzen – trains at Private Facilities at Agter Paarl NO HORSES INFECTED BY EQUINE FLU. During the course of the outbreak the yard was under self-imposed quarantine and was fortunate to have avoided infection. The horses work was eased off during the vaccination period but all are fit and should run true to form.

 

• Brett Crawford – trains at Private Facilities on the West Coast NO HORSES INFECTED BY EQUINE FLU. To alleviate any concerns with regard to the equine flu, the yard is happy to confirm that no horses were infected and all have been in full training.

 

• John McDonald – trains at Kenilworth NO HORSES INFECTED BY EQUINE FLU. Horses were taken out of work for a week when the outbreak began in Cape Town but the virus did not reach the stables at Kenilworth Racecourse. Work was eased off over the vaccination period, all are back in full work but have done no grass work.

 

• Alan Higgins - trains at Philippi. Being Philippi-based we were fortunate not to be that severely affected by the Equine Flu. The younger horses contracted the virus but with the exception of just one or two, the older horses were unaffected. All the horses were out of work for 12 days after which they were brought gradually back into full work.

 

• Ronnie Sheehan – trains at Philippi. The younger horses were affected by the virus but recovered quickly. Only two of the older horses showed any sign of infection. The entire yard had 12 days off work and began building up slowly again thereafter.

 

• Reza van Reenen – trains at Philippi. When the Equine Flu broke out in Cape Town all the horses were taken out of work as a precautionary measure. Only the juveniles showed clear signs of having been infected and are only going back into work late January having had extra time to recover after their second vaccination. The 5 older horses in the yard were not affected at all but were taken out of work for about a month over the vaccination period.

 

• Heather Simpson – trains at Philippi. Two of the fourteen horses in the yard did not contract the virus. Of the affected horses the majority recovered quite quickly with only three needing longer to recuperate. The yard is now back in full swing and the runners are as fit as can be expected after a break of this nature.

 

• Gary Collins – trains at Philippi. Only two of the juveniles showed any symptoms and none of the older horses were affected. The stable is confident all are fully recovered.

 

• Stephen Page – trains at Philippi. One of the last stables to contract the virus, horses had been inoculated immediately and seemed to have built up some resistance during the 10 days prior to the yard being infected. Despite this, some were very sick and the majority showed some symptoms. Most horses resumed light work on 6^th January and full work on 14^th January. Today’s runners have had one grass gallop.

 

• Stan Elley – trains at Philippi. As with other Philippi yards, the stable was not too badly affected. All horses 4 years and older remained healthy missing only 10 days work as a precautionary measure. Younger horses generally ran temperatures for 4 to 6 days, had nasal discharges and coughed. All have made complete recoveries. Light work started towards the end of December and full work around 14 January. Most of today’s runners have had 1 grass gallop.

 

• Justin Snaith – trains at Private Facilities in Philippi and has stables in Philippi Training Centre. Sixty percent of the horses in the Snaith yard had mild cases of flu but all the horses were taken out of work as a precaution. They began work again about 4 weeks ago and are now back in full work.

 

• Andre Heyns – trains at Milnerton. All horses were infected by the virus, the juveniles showing the most severe symptoms. Every horse was given a break and responded well. The horses are racing fit and the stable is pleased with the progress but none have had any grass work.

 

• Andries Steyn – trains at Milnerton. The yard was hit by a variety of mild and severe cases but all horses were out of work for about a month. The majority of the string made a speedy recovery and have been back in work for three to four weeks being built up slowly. The runners for February 8 have not had a grass gallop but runners for the upcoming meetings will have been to the grass.

 

• Paul Denysschen – trains at Milnerton. The entire stable was infected with the virus within the first couple of days, had temperatures for two or three days then really recovered quickly. During this recovery time they took long walks and started light work at the end of December building up gradually. All will probably be in need of their first run.

 

• Izac Cronje – trains at Milnerton. The horses in the yard were sick from around 13 December, the younger horses being worst affected but with 4 older horses showing no symptoms at all. 90% were back in light work from January 5 and 98% of the yard is now in full work. 5 of 7 runners for February 8^th have had a grass gallop, the exceptions being Cleo Lane and For All Time. The stable is happy with the recovery of the horses but feels they may need their first run.

 

• Joey Ramsden – trains at Milnerton. All horses bar two, contracted Equine Flu. The older horses, without a doubt, were not as severly affected as their younger generation. The smaller, weaker fillies and two-year-olds, were hardest hit. Since 1 January the horses have been in some level of work. All horses that will run in the first two meetings, will have had a racecourse grass gallop. It is the stable’s opinion that it will take one more calendar month from the 1st of February to get most of the horses back to their original fitness levels prior to the outbreak of Equine Flu. Despite this, with the ability levels of some of our horses in the stable, it is hoped that more than one or two are capable of winning a race, prior to that date.

 

• James Lightheart – trains at Milnerton. All horses were affected to a similar degree. Some light work has been done since December and all have been prepared for the early start but have done no grass work. The stable is happy with the horses’ preparation and recovery.

 

• Mike Bass – trains at Milnerton. Horses have been in work for about 3-4 weeks and have all had one gallop on the grass. Older horses are perhaps a bit more advanced than the 3-year-olds. Most of our horses are running short of their distances and will probably need the run with perhaps the exception of Casino Queen, Laredo Gold and Uaintseenothinyet.

Gill Simpkins
Communications Officer