Dayalan’s rainbow nation in the winners’ circle on Classic Day

If a divided and fractious world is getting you down, spend a short while observing the winners’ circle at a racecourse and your mood might be lifted.

Saturday at Turffontein provided a good example of this therapeutic effect, with people of all colours and peculiarities united in joyous celebration of the deeds of horses. For a moment, it was a microcosm of what some dreamers imagine this troubled land could be if it weren’t for its devious, greedy politicians.

At the centre of it all was Dayalan Chinsammy, whose red and black silks were carried to three feature wins on Classic Day, one of Joburg’s most important race meetings.

So besotted with racing is Chinsammy that he wants everyone to share in the fun and has assembled many large owner partnerships for the dozens of horses he owns in various parts of the country.

Not all the names listed in the race card apply to all the horses, but there is plenty of overlap and, in his elation at victory, the kingpin is keen to mention as many individuals and their connections to the enterprise as he can.

Owners and connections

Co-owners are dead keen to get on the telly, too – to the consternation of a TV presenter trying to stick to protocol and time schedules. “It’s like a scrum in here! But they’re a lovely group of people…” spluttered Lyall Cooper at one point on Saturday.

Listing all the score or so owners from the weekend might bore readers, but names like Jonathan Blumberg, SS Pooe, Trevelen Pillay, Roger Coppin, Bafana Ncube, Marlon Naicker, Willie de Koker and seemingly half the Nassif family of Joburg give an idea of the slice of rainbow nation paying the horse feed bills.

And, lest we forget the main players, the big-race victors were Charming Cheetah in the Listed Storm Bird Stakes, Fiery Pegasus in the Grade 1 Wilgerbosdrift Fillies Classic, and Confederate in the Grade 1 TAB SA Classic.

The horses are trained by Robyn Klaasen, Joe Soma and Fabian Habib respectively; all are young and could go on to even bigger things.

Got The Greenlight

Dayalan Chinsammy bought his first racehorse about 18 years ago, having been introduced to the game years earlier by his uncle Satch Mathen – another man infected by the racing bug and one who now serves on the board of the National Horseracing Authority.

Chinsammy, who has a good business in the telecoms arena, has tasted the fruits of his massive investment into thoroughbred bloodstock, with a handful of Grade 1 successes prior to this week’s momentous top-level double.

To date his best runner has been Soma-trained Got The Greenlight, who was runner up to Belgarion in the 2020 Durban July and third to Kommetdieding in the same race the following year.

It is very early days, but Chinsammy wouldn’t be human if – in the midst of the hubbub – he didn’t have a quiet thought about one of the above trio bringing him the ultimate prize in South African racing.

All three showed enough authority and ability to suggest they could take on the very best in the near future.