Louis was born into a racing stable, his late father, Danie having been many times Champion Trainer in the Eastern Cape, after his weight caught up with him as a jockey. Whilst riding, Danie was extremely competitive. He rode Wendy House to victory in the inaugural Eastern Cape Derby and Danie also rode all of the winners of the jackpot on the day. The silverware in the Goosen cabinet bears testimony to the late Danie Goosen’s many achievements and championships as a trainer before his untimely death in a motor accident in 1977.Louis started training in 1994, after a spell as Assistant Trainer to Chris Erasmus, then based at Newmarket. Louis still remains on good, friendly terms with Chris, for whom he has real respect and who is, in his opinion, a vastly underrated trainer.

The late Buddy Maroun was a longtime friend of Louis the friendship really grew from 1996 onwards once Louis rounmoved his string to Randjesfontein. There, Buddy became a mentor. Buddy’s death on 18 February 2008, whilst in Argentina, left Louis devastated. Buddy can never be replaced and will remain a GREAT to Louis.

Piere “Striker” Strydom was married to Louis sister, Beaty and remains a close friend. Arguably the greatest jockey of all time on South Africa’s Turf, Piere has ridden more than 5000 winners in more than 22000 races. Piere has won every single Grade 1 race on the South African racing calendar at least once. On more than one occasion, Piere has ridden 7 winners on the same day and he has ridden in Hong Kong, UK, Dubai, Mauritius, Zimbabwe and Australia. Over the years Piere and Louis have formed a firm bond, which transcends the day to day politics and fickle aspects of racing. This bond has grown steadily since 1988, when Louis was instrumental in bringing Piere up to Gauteng from Port Elizabeth to ride for Trainer Brett Warren. Piere and Louis’ accumulated racing experiences have left both in no doubt of the fact that racing is, at its core, a common sense industry and nothing else. To Louis, Piere remains what he has always been- the best jockey in South Africa by far. Piere’s honest, no nonsense, accurate and commonsense feedback after riding a horse remains the jewel in the crown of any stable for whom Piere rides.

Louis approach to racing is simple:-

• Buy well, buy value.
• Remove risk when buying horses.
• Give every horse the time it needs
• Don’t run a livery yard, don’t just fill stables for the sake of training fees.
• Once racing, horses must run, regularly. That’s what they are bred to do.
• Only the very best grooms, feed, bedding and supplements will do.
• Without owners, a racing yard is useless. Respect for owners and their needs, regular communication and nothing but 100% effort and honesty are vital, at all times.