Mike and Pat Riley

Anyone remember Mike and Pat Riley?

Geez those names bring back some memories , 2 of the shrewdest in the game , pulled some coups in there time :woohoo:

Craig Pienaar wrote: Geez those names bring back some memories , 2 of the shrewdest in the game , pulled some coups in there time :woohoo:

Yes they did, Pat's son was his assistant for a while, not sure if he is still in the game.

Craig Pienaar wrote: Geez those names bring back some memories , 2 of the shrewdest in the game , pulled some coups in there time :woohoo:

Cyril Naidoo was their assistant before taking out his own licence.

They knew how to land a coup........

When I read these names I cry. I cry because I was once In a position to deal with these 2 geniuses weekly. What I observed and recorded was a degree in racing. I learnt so much from them both just by visiting the yards and talking on the phone.

Many many jockeys rode winners for them but I was privileged to represent their main go to guy for a long time. It mattered not who phoned, the rides were secure , sometimes we would drive down to scottsville for 2 rides and a winning double .

Like I said tears, fondness of the 2 Riley brothers and Rene Bonham all missed in my beloved sport.

They had a horse called Marrakesh Express who won many races in Bloemfontein.

When Mike Riley raided Bloemfontein from either Durban or Jhb the trucks carrying his horses had multiple winners.. add to this Brett Warren coming from Jhb and Stanley Greeff from P/e ... good racing days and very competitive .very seldom did Mike go home without a winner...

Len Sham wrote: When Mike Riley raided Bloemfontein from either Durban or Jhb the trucks carrying his horses had multiple winners.. add to this Brett Warren coming from Jhb and Stanley Greeff from P/e ... good racing days and very competitive .very seldom did Mike go home without a winner...

Lucky Houdalakis won many races for Danie Burger in Bloemfontein with lot of coups landed. His Nibs won its Maiden in Bloemfontein and later in its career won the Greyville 1900. His Nibs was the ride of Gift Funeka who became the first black jockey to ride in the July. Well Judged was another top division horse that won its maiden in Bloemfontein.

Don't forget jockey Swanepoel and Zaki raiding...pulled the greatest coups.
Vee moodley and I were in school together and we would say "Bloem, is strictly for the business"
caught many a bets on a Thursday by just following raiders as opposed to form.

another memory being roy curling going there to land a graft.
and I think Roy was known as the God Father ...if he was on something you better be careful, and Stel ,a bookmaker from field street tipped this horse to me...but he didn't open for Bloem, so scrambled all over Durban looking to back this horse eventually taking ridiculous prices at the end.
But in that era...the confidence was well founded....you actually started working the tax before the race...when the money was down

I had a share in a horse that Pat trained many years ago. Broke the class record time one night at Greyville. A month later I received a letter stating that the filly had tested positive for Testosterone and had been disqualified.

Enough said.

more importantly Gajima...was the money banked