The Pocket Power Tribute Issue - PARADE MAGAZINE

EDITOR’S LETTER
am ignoring the recession, economic doom and gloom, politics, petrol prices and
I everything else that makes us miserable on a daily basis, to focus on a horse that
has changed lives and made us all genuinely proud to be South African horseracing
fans. This issue of Parade is dedicated to the brilliance of Pocket Power. It is now
well documented that he recorded an astounding hat-trick of L’Ormarins Queen’s
Plate and J&B Met doubles when storming away from his field on 31 January 2009
and I cannot but wonder at the manner in which human nature somehow conjures
up an almost nonchalant acceptance of historic milestones and greatness. No talk of
honouring him, no talk of statues and still no hall of fame. Sad, I say, because we are
really unlikely to witness a similar achievement on a racetrack in our lifetime.
One only needs to digress for a moment and consider the past fifty years or so and
all the things we take for granted today. For example, it is hard to believe that the
41st anniversary of Professor Chris Barnard’s first heart transplant operation on Louis
Washkansky was celebrated on 3 December last year. Since then Groote Schuur
hospital has seen over 550 heart transplants and these days we probably all know
somebody who has had one. Old hat really. The world’s first ATM machine went
on line the same year that Barnard performed his god-like surgical procedure and
it was two years later that Apollo 11 landed on the moon and Neil Armstrong took
‘one giant step for mankind’. Once again moon visits these days don’t even make the
news and 1969 is almost something that never happened. Fax machines changed
our lives in the 1980’s and in the 21st century they have been annihilated by the
wonders of the internet and cellular technology. Let’s face it, only our grandmothers,
with all due respect to them, lick postage stamps and still use writing pads to write
letters.
Back to the magnificence of Pocket Power. Mike Bass has admitted that he has never
trained, and is unlikely to ever train, anything quite like him again. Owners Marsh
Shirtliff and Arthur and Rina Webber have said that he has changed all of their lives
inexorably forever. Marsh, a man huge in stature and huge in success in business,
has shed tears of emotion and joy. Arthur Webber has admitted that a pig-farmer’s
life will never be the same again. Then there is his breeder Dan de Wet, his groom
Boyboyi Jevu, Candice, Connell and Nicholas and Mark, Marie and Trevor and
Danny and the rest of the gang. A family of winners in every sense.
I am proud to say that I was there on that beautiful Kenilworth Saturday in January
when he had the crowd in raptures as he destroyed the unique talent of the grey
Snaith flyer Dancer’s Daughter. Time stood still as I hugged Carol Bass and watched
as brothers Bernard and Robert Fayd’Herbe embraced. It was a moment that I will
never forget .
Let’s not take this moment for granted.
Lance Benson
Durban, South Africa
March 2009
Showcasing South African
Horseracing & Betting
Parade is published on behalf of the South
African thoroughbred horseracing industry
and showcases thoroughbred horseracing,
breeding and tote (pari-mutuel) betting in
South Africa.
Views expressed in Parade are solely those
of the writers and the organisation
they represent.
Editorial enquiries:
Lance Benson . Editor
Tel: 031 314 1599
Email: lanceb@goldcircle.co.za
Robert Garner
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Nosi Dlamini
Tel: 031 314 1786
Email: nosid@goldcircle.co.za
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