Ever so stylish
This outfit, created by Nasreen Paruk (Durban University of Technology, left, for the Vodacom Durban July Young Designer Award, presented by Durban Fashion Fair, is modelled by Pinkie Mthiyane. 40 YEARS IN THE GAME:
ROY and Gladys Meaker, owners of the Vodacom Durban July racehorse Mr Winsome, have been in the horse racing industry for more than 40 years.
Their last horse to run was Ice Machine in 2015, and Secret Rites was a July favourite in previous years.
Come Saturday, Mr Winsome will be the couple’s fifth July runner and their seventh Durban July race. In March Mr Winsome won the 2 400m Pinnacle Stakes at Scottsville.
A friend introduced them to horse racing and the Meakers have now owned more than 100 horses over the years.
Gladys chuckled when she referred to having “quite a few hundred horses”. She could name a few of their horses, but not all of them. “There were too many,” she said.
Some of them included Ice Machine, Gigantic, Bahadur and Fighting Fit.
The Durban-based owners reminisced about their first horse, Jest, which had broken a record at Clairwood Racecourse, a record which he held for many years. This led to them buying more horses, some of which have taken part in the Vodacom Durban July.
“Gigantic and Bahadur are the ones that went for the July, four times,” said Gladys.
“Gigantic ran four times, and we had Secret Rites, then we had Ice Machine and now it’s Mr Winsome.”
Won
The Meaker’s best horses have won a number of competitions over the years, including the Sun MET, Holiday Inn’s and various Derbies. Winning the Durban July would be a dream come true for them.
Gladys hopes that Mr Winsome wins the main race. If the Meakers had to place a bet on who they think could win, it would be on Mr Winsome, Al Sahem or Marinaresco.
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