I learned to ride in Lusaka (Zambia), where the riding school and livery stables for non-racing horses were built right by the racecourse and showgrounds - all very convenient for everything equine. We were allowed to exercise our horses and ponies on the track as it only raced once a month and had a very poor grass cover (this was in the 1950s60s). So we kids used to see the racehorses at work while we rode around the showgrounds, and then used the course ourselves afterwards. We could also sneak into watch the racing proper, so I guess I was going racing from the age of around 10 - none of those "you must be accompanied by a responsible adult" rules in those days!
The Zambian (technically, Northern Rhodesian) and Zimbabwean racehorses were brought up on the 4-day steam train ride from South Africa, as there were no studs in either country then. The SA horses in those days all traced their pedigrees through imports who counted the Hyperion and Nearco lines in their blood. Some were 2 y.o.'s, unraced, and others had had a couple of starter races in SA and then been sold speculatively to the Rhodesias.
My parents and I were on leave in England in 1956 when I picked out PETITE ETOILE for a racing-mad uncle, who had a little tickle on her, and wished he'd had more. I picked him out a couple more top winners while we were over, and he rewarded me with a whip owned by Edgar Britt (that'll tax some memories!), which I kept for many years after. He had spent a very 'hectic' week travelling around with a group of jockeys, all heavy drinking and smoking, and Edgar had given him the whip.
My second horse, GLENSIL, was retired from racing, but well bred (GLEN ALBYN - SILVER BIRCH) and anyone who follows SA racing can look up GLEN ALBYN and see he won the Durban July Handicap in the 1920s. My fourth horse, bought straight out of a middle distance race mainly for my Dad to ride, was called MAMMON (JANUS - GOLD DIGGER II) and a trawl through the pedigree shows some very nice names. By then, South African studs were really doing very well breeding the South African 'type' - a speedy animal, more wirily built than many UK counterparts. The accent in SA, due to the ground being generally Firm, was for lightweight, quick-actioned sprint types. Heavy-actioned horses tended to break down too easily on the going, whereas a daisy-cutter wouldn't be a problem, since the ground rarely got to Soft.
Thus, early moochings around the racehorses - I used to sit for hours outside their stalls, talking to them - meant an early interest, not one that ever led to what could be called a punter, but an interest particularly in conformation, its effect on action, and action's varied effectiveness on going. The mechanics of racing, if you like. But, more than anything, it engendered a love for the TB and its rich heritage.
