Dave The King has taken Gary Player to an long-desired spot at the top of the South African horse racing tree. The four-year-old gelding, trained by Mike de Kock, was named Horse of the Year at the 2024 Equus Awards ceremony in Cape Town on Thursday evening. Dave The King was bred by Gary Player Stud and the golfing legend is a co-owner of the horse – along with other prominent racing figures Larry Nestadt and Kathryn Ralphs.
Two victories at Greyville during the KwaZulu-Natal winter season – in the Grade 1 Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge in June and the Grade 1 HKJC Champions Cup in July – clinched the title. Player – one of only five winners of golf’s modern Grand Slam – has been a thoroughbred enthusiast for decades, breeding many successful horses at his erstwhile stud farm in the Karoo and racing some of them himself. ‘Deserving’ of the honour He is not always mentioned among the wealthy people who have kept South African racing alive in rocky times, but he has been a stalwart with considerable investment into the game over many years and is one of those who might be said to be “deserving” of such a major honour.
The name Dave The King might have something to do with Player’s good friend Dave King, who is best known for owning Rangers Football Club in Glasgow and for his battles with South Africa’s Receiver of Revenue. King is less known for being Player’s occasional caddie – giving the golfer good material for some hilarious anecdotes and inspir.