‘Field Marshall’ Fenix was larger than life
PROMINENT Eastern Cape businessman and race horse breeder “Field Marshall” Peter Fenix, a former provincial cricket, rugby and polo player, has died.
A larger-than-life character and natural leader with a tough demeanour and soft heart, Fenix, 77, founded and ran a successful financial investment brokerage, Optima Brokers, from his Bay home, and a successful race horse stud, Villa Felice, with his wife of 50 years, Val.
Among a mountain of wins, Villa Felice won the national breeder of the year trophy in 1995-96, the same year their La Fabulous took the J&B Met and the Gilbeys Sprint, putting Bay racing squarely on the map.
Fenix’s death on Wednesday following complications after a heart operation prompted an outpouring from friends and colleagues who praised his honesty and mentorship, his love for his family and his wicked sense of humour.
Fenix was one of the first South African cricketers to be offered, in 1956, the year he matriculated, a deal to play English county cricket.
He never took it up, however, because his magistrate father wanted him to go to university to develop his natural talent for maths.
Having spent a challenging stint at Wits where he “majored in partying” and played U19 rugby for the then Transvaal, he became “a qualified box-maker”, working for a packaging firm in King William’s Town.
He was at the same time “a man from the Pru”, selling policies parttime for Prudential. With that experience he launched Optima Brokers with several partners in 1966, the same year he married Val.
The two met at Dale College where Val’s father was the headmaster.
They met again in 1964 when he was playing for Border and she was studying nursing in East London and the players arrived looking for partners for a dance.
Fenix was still playing cricket and in 1966 he became the first Eastern Province player to score 100 against the touring Australians in a momentous game at St George’s.
He and friend Peter Henderson then formed South City Brokers and the “terrible twins” criss-crossed the Eastern Cape visiting farmers and small towns drumming up business.
Determined to build the business, they used to get up at 3am and the habit never left Fenix in a lifetime of hard work.
At the same time he was playing inter-provincial polo and Val, a woman of many parts to match her husband, used to exercise his horses, garnering several awards for best string of ponies.
Fenix and Henderson parted ways in 1988 to allow Fenix to become more involved in Villa Felice and Optima Brokers was resuscitated and quickly grew from strength to strength with clients around the country.
On October 12 2001, the little Heatherbank stud achieved what was hailed as a world record in horse racing circles as they won five races on the same day with the same jockey and trainer and all the horses were owned and bred by Villa Felice.
As a cheeky young businessman, Fenix fashioned his “Field Marshall” moniker to get through to bosses being shielded by overprotective secretaries.
A Gauteng racehorse, named Field Marshall Fenix in his honour, has had five runs and three wins.
Fenix leaves his wife Val, and son Bazil, daughters Jean, Claire and Catherine, 11 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.