Expatriate South African trainer Mathew de Kock’s decision to quit Australian racing more than four years after he arrived may have come as a shock to many, but it shouldn’t be a complete surprise.
De Kock, a 33-year-old father of two young children with his wife Monique, cited family reasons for his return to South Africa in a note to owners sent by he and training partner Robbie Griffiths this week.
It was a position de Kock reiterated in the media on Wednesday, confirming that he will reunite with his father Mike when he returns home early next year.
Moving closer to his family is understandable, but given the recent disparity between Australia’s and South Africa’s racing industry, such a decision would have been unthinkable over the past decade.
But there is newfound optimism about the future of racing in South Africa after years of negativity and industry and political unrest.
It’s this turnaround which provides de Kock with extra incentive to join forces with his father in the New Year.
Well-known Kiwi thoroughbred auctioneer Steve Davis, who holds the gavel at New Zealand Bloodstock, Magic Millions and Bloodstock South Africa horse sales each year, has witnessed first-hand the increased participation in racing in South Africa.
“The sales this year had a 95, 94 and 92 per cent clearance rate. And the figures on two of the sales were up 30 per cent on last year,” Davis told The Straight.
“The BSA (Bloodstock South Africa) sales have gone bloody well. There is no question of that.
“There is a lift and it is all domestically driven, although there is that perception that down the line, with the opening of the borders, they're going to be able to trade these horses (internationally).
“There's renewed confidence there.”
In March, authorities announced that the export of horses from South Africa directly to the European Union would be reopened for the first time in 13 years, a major milestone and boost to the local thoroughbred industry after more than six years of lobbying to governments to overturn the ban that was implemented due to the ongoing outbreak of African Horse Sickness.
Organisations controlling racing in South Africa, including parimutuel totaliser betting, Phumelela Gaming and Gold Circle, have also experienced major financial troubles.
Phumalela Gaming, which ran racing in Johannesburg and seven other provinces, went broke about two years ago. South African billionaire Mary Slack, a prominent owner, has effectively saved racing in that region while Hollywoodbets and Greg Bortz, another significant South African industry figure, have taken over racing in the Cape from Gold Circle.
The sale of Gold Circle, which still runs the industry in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, to Hollywoodbets is on the verge of being completed.
KwaZulu-Natal is home to Greyville racecourse where Africa’s biggest race, the Durban July, is staged.
Gold Circle chief executive Michel Nairac is also optimistic about the future of racing in South Africa under the new regime after enduring years of financial hardship.
“The injection of capital from Hollywoodbets has given a lot of positivity to the business (of racing),” Nairac told The Straight.
“The yearling sales have been fantastic the last two years. Then, in South Africa, there’s been the (election of the) Government of National Unity, which has also brought a lot of positivity into the market.
“People have got like a spring in their step and I think the combination of all these things has racing on the up.”
De Kock’s imminent return follows leading South African horseman Justin Snaith, who has some of the nation’s wealthiest and biggest owners on his books, committing to his home country’s racing industry by knocking back an opportunity to join the coveted Hong Kong training ranks about two years ago.
It also appears that de Kock’s champion trainer father Mike has abandoned plans to relocate to Australia.
From the time Mat de Kock linked up with Griffiths in 2020, there were murmurs that it was only a matter of time before his father Mike would be joining his son in Victoria.
De Kock Sr, an imposing training figure on the international stage who has 141 Group 1 winners to his name since taking out his licence in 1988, had announced in August 2019 that he would be opening a satellite stable at Cranbourne to be run by Mat.
Matt Stewart
But the opportunity for his son to partner with Griffiths took precedence and Mike de Kock has continued to operate his stable in South Africa, most recently from the Summerveld Training Centre near Durban.
Griffiths and Mat de Kock have trained 244 winners, nine of them at black-type level including last Saturday’s Flemington Listed winner Rey Magnerio.
Mat de Kock is also upbeat about the sport in South Africa.
“It's actually going very, very well. It's in a good place; there's a lot of investments happening and the sales this year were record highs, so there seems to be a buzz around South African racing and our quarantine protocols have eased,” de Kock told Melbourne radio station RSN927 on Wednesday.
“We had two runners at the Breeders’ Cup (at Del Mar in America) over the last week from South Africa so it's really looking bright for the future.”
De Kock also reiterated that the importance of family had been behind much of his “really hard” decision.
"When (now wife) Monique and I moved over to Australia we were just a single couple, not sure what to expect coming on an adventure, and since being here we've had Liam, who is two-and-a-half years old now and Olivia, who is four weeks old," he said.
"It just became increasingly difficult to be away from family, and the family are not looking like they're coming here, so we had to make the decision.
"It was a really hard one, but I think it's what's best for us as a family."
Griffiths, whose partnership with de Kock will end on December 31, said it would be business as usual for his Group 1-winning Cranbourne-based stable.
"The extension of Mathew and Monique's family has contributed to their decision to return to South Africa and raise their young family, uniting with their parents and siblings," a Griffiths Racing statement read.
"While we are sad to see Mat, Monique, Liam and Olivia return to South Africa, they have our understanding and support in their decision."
