There has been a steady changing of the guard in recent years, although 2025 seems to have seen an acceleration in that process. It is one of the constants of South African racing that one generation hands over to the next and the sport is healthier for that.
When Mike Bass handed over to his daughter Candice in 2016 she struck gold immediately, winning the 2017 Durban July with Marinaresco. Michelle Rix, then joining forces with her father Harold, followed suit with Kommetdieding in 2021. Both lady trainers are now established under their own names.
There’s also Lucinda Woodruff, daughter of five-time South African champion Geoff, who is carving out her own path rising through the training ranks, while sibling Timothy is an assistant to James Crawford.
A year ago James joined his dad Brett, and in their first meeting, the Crawfords saddled a Grade 1 winner in Fatal Flaw. James has now also gone solo, and Brett is enjoying a stint in Hong Kong. During 2025 the De Kocks – dad Mike and son Mat – have also teamed up, while in Gqeberha, Dean Smith has taken over the stable duties following the untimely passing of his father Gavin.
This list goes on, and racing is one of the few sports where the family names live on through the generations.
You can add Elbert Steyn to the roll call, the son of the decorated Piet who in 1981 became South Africa’s youngest licenced trainer at the age of 22. As part of the handing over the baton, they joined forces and got on the board with a first winner in Prince Of Tibet, at Hollywoodbets Durbanville in October.
“We’ve only really changed in name,” Elbert says ”because on a day-to-day basis we’re still working like we have been for a few years. My dad is an integral part of our stable’s operation and I’m very fortunate to be able to continue learning from such a brilliant horseman. We share the same responsibilities, but it was obviously a milestone when Prince Of Tibet won, as it was our first as an ‘official partnership’. But for me every day remains a learning process and my dad continues to teach me everything I know.”
The Steyns still have a relatively small string of 20 horses in their yard, but as Elbert says, “we’re always on the lookout for more. There has been some interest among younger owners in joining us and Cameron Braun, son of Etienne, is an example. Dad built this yard over the years and he had many champions come and go. I’m hoping to do justice to his legacy in the years ahead but for now it’s an ongoing privilege to be able to work alongside him.”
Over the years the stable has managed to churn out the champions, and yet such is the manner they manage to fly under the radar – either by design or circumstance. In 2020 Katak won his first two races at 25-1 and 10-1 and then went on to follow the great Pocket Power and win all three legs of the Cape Winter Series before being exported unbeaten.
In 2022, Gem King won two legs of the Winter Series – beating subsequent Hollywoodbets Durban July winner Winchester Mansion in the process – and is still producing strong form at age seven, winning two races this year at odds of 100-1 and 66-1. What was that about being under the radar?
Last season Garrix won two legs of the Cape Winter Series and was beaten a short head by Otto Luyken in the third.
It’s a remarkable string of successes and shrewdies will notice the trend and also be taking another look at Pay The Palace for this season. He’s won once in nine races, which doesn’t stamp himself in the class of the three above-mentioned, but a closer inspection shows he has twice beaten the highly-rated Better Man and has been less than a half-length behind the likes of Absolutely Yes, Good For You and Randolph Hearst.
“He’s better than one win in nine runs suggests,” Elbert says. “We didn’t gallop him as a youngster and started racing him over 1000m. We ran him twice over five furlongs and then in his third run he was a length behind Malmesbury Missile over 1200m. He and Garrix are definitely the two from our stable to watch over the next few months.”
Interestingly, the first winner for the new Steyns partnership came via the MR 63-rated Prince Of Tibet, a five-year-old who, along with Katak and Pay The Palace, are all by Potala Palace – who is clearly a lucky stallion for the Steyns.
“Potala Palace is an underrated stallion who hasn’t had that many chances it seems,” says Elbert. “He throws nice looking horses, well put together and with nice actions. The colts have nice temperaments and his win rate is impressive.” There’s a message for prospective owners somewhere there. If you are looking to buy a Potala Palace offspring, give the Steyns a call because they have proven experience with his progeny. And, as Elbert says, “there’s always room here for one more. That’s the next phase of our growth – to get more horses and continue building on what my dad has created.”
By Gary Lemke