DREAM TEAM TOUCHDOWN.

The SA ''Dream Team",Lucky,Nats family and friends,who set SA abuzz with JJ,has jetted home tonight from that memorable victory that had the racing fraternity on such a high.In SA racing history,this is a proud moment,and i have never witnessed so many followers posting on websites,ABC was humming with the verdict on Sunday morning,bravo once again,i bet that sleeping at home in your own bed will be as special,and im sure Lucky will be a busy man,as people would like to interview him on touchdown.Bravo Poulouie.

When I read the heading of your post I thought that the entire Arsenal squad had landed in your home town and went to your cafe for a meal.

After Mondays performance they would not even get a plate of chips at my cafe.Rather pull off the belt and tan their arses mate.

So who is with JJ?

Sure Lucky went with JJ to Dubai, seen the airport interview on Tellytrack with Nats, Hennie, Connie and Strydom, excellent stuff

Missed that interview.

Zoro you could probably see it on tellycrap now since there no local racing, I saw it earlier again

Nice article on JJ,on Saturdays column written by Striker in the citizens,racing section,did give us chicken flesh.

4-Legged jet-setter in Dubai for next race
'Ugly' yearling may yet become SA's most successful racehorse
Dec 18, 2010 8:18 PM | By KAREN VAN ROOYEN
JJ The Jet Plane was a small, ugly horse with "very skew legs" when he was bought as a yearling for R70000 four years ago because nobody else wanted him.
Current Font Size:

*
* Share

RIDING HIGH: JJ The Jet Plane and jockey Piere Strydom after winning the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint race
RIDING HIGH: JJ The Jet Plane and jockey Piere Strydom after winning the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint race

quote 'My bloke gave me everything and we got there on the line' quote

It was an "absolute bargain" considering he has now become his owners' million-dollar baby, and possibly South Africa's most successful racehorse.

JJ - the offspring of a champion sire, Jet Master, the 1999/2000 horse of the year - has earned owners and friends Hennie du Preez, Thea Boyens and Coenie Strydom, as well as co-owner and trainer Lucky Houdalakis, R12-million in prize money since 2008.

At his most recent race in Hong Kong last Sunday, JJ became the first South African-bred horse to win the Cathay Pacific Sprint in what was described as an "epic" by the commentators. The prize money for the race was over R8-million.

After the victory, jockey Piere "Strike" Strydom, who has ridden more than 4000 winners, said: "My bloke gave me everything and we got there on the line."

Said Houdalakis of the purchase of the horse: "He wasn't really a champ, but I could see straightaway he had the ability. You never know, because they just keep improving.

"Over time he matured into a lovely, big horse. His legs are still skew but, for some reason, they don't bother him. Who knows? A lot of other horses with skew legs pick up injuries but nothing's bothered him."

Last Sunday Houdalakis was halfway up the grandstand, watching the race on a monitor with the sound drowned out by the riotous fans, and saw JJ beat Rocket Man by "just a margin", according to commentators.

Said Houdalakis: "It was a tight finish, but I knew he'd won as he hit the line. I could see he got his head down. The whole experience ... I still can't explain it. I don't know if it's sunk in yet."

The breeder named JJ the Jet Plane after his granddaughter's favourite an animated TV series.

Houdalakis said the horse spent three months in quarantine ahead of last Sunday's race - first in Europe and then Asia before arriving in Hong Kong two weeks beforehand. It was a long and expensive journey, costing more than R500000.

The trainer said: "I wasn't 100% sure, but yes, I did think that we could win or else I wouldn't have gone."

This week, he left JJ - who is usually based at the Vaal Race Course and Training Centre in Viljoensdrift, near Vanderbijlpark - in Dubai, where the jet-setting horse is being prepared for March's Dubai World Cup.

Houdalakis said he contacted Everisto Nyambo, JJ's groom for the past two years, every day.

Although the trainer misses the horse, "in South Africa the prize money is minimal compared to the global stage".

JJ has won six races, but Houdalakis said last Sunday's was his biggest, "money-wise", raking in R8536000.