Dutywa horses excel in Berlin

An old adage goes “united we stand, divided we fall”. This is also the mantra that delivered a whooping R100 000 to Dutywa after two horses from the small village emerged overall winners at the Berlin November horse racing handicap at the weekend.

Andazi scooped the MTN Wafa Wafa finale in the thoroughbreds section, while Mhlabangulo was first to cross the finish line in the traditional horses final – walking away with R50000.

With more than 100 horses from all over South Africa and neighbouring Lesotho, many followers of the sport may be asking themselves just how did Dutywa take it all.

Owners of the two triumphant horses have since revealed their secret weapon as horse owners in Dutywa – unity.

“After years of struggling in races as people in Dutywa, we, the horse owners, decided to work together and share expertise and advise,” said Nkunzi Ntantala, who owns Andazi.

Mhlabangulo’s owner Gwempe Vanya concurred, saying this was but the beginning of Dutywa’s domination in prestigious horse racing events. More will still come and Vanya has since vowed to have at least two horses in the competition next year.

The prize money next year is set to rise to R200000 to be split in half for both categories, according to race founder Luthando Bara.

“Nothing beats working as a unit, exchanging ideas on how you can get better every day because many heads will always be better than one,” said Vanya of Dutywa’s clean sweep. But for Mhlabangulo, the advantage is the relationship the jockey has with the horse.

Asavela Vanya, son to horse owner Gwempe, is the rider of Andazi.

And Asavela, just 14 years old, is said to have a very strong bond with Andazi.

“The young man is one highly disciplined jockey with his incredible passion for horse racing having started when he was just 10,” said Vanya senior.

“He loves Mhlabangulo and not only does he show up to ride him, but he assists me in feeding the horse and in the training every day when he comes back from school.”

Asavela, who is currently in Grade 6 at the Tswelelitye Junior Secondary School, will be the 100% beneficiary of the R50000 loot.

His father said the winnings would go towards his son’s education.

Asavela will be the talk of the town among his peers for emerging tops against all the other jockeys who were riding at Berlin, some twice his age.

Bara said he was happy for the winners and humbled by the overall success of the event.

“The popularity of traditional horse racing in the Eastern Cape has been proven. Berlin November is indeed South Africa’s premier traditional horse racing event,” said Bara.

“The beneficiaries of this event are the horse owners and jockeys who have won a combined R550000 in prizes. Horses came as far away as the kingdom of Lesotho, KwaZulu-Natal, Northern Cape and Free State. We would like to thank all attendees and our partners for the support.”