Steinhoff probe out to corral Jooste’s bolted horse
● The country’s top racehorse is embroiled in a financial dispute prompted by the implosion of Steinhoff, the retail giant which owes hundreds of millions of rands to South African banks.
Horse of the year Legal Eagle was one of many thoroughbreds co-owned by former Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste via a company called Mayfair Speculators.
The horse was sold earlier this month to another retail tycoon and racehorse enthusiast, Braam van Huyssteen.
The sale was concluded just days before Absa applied to the High Court in Cape Town to liquidate Mayfair Speculators and its holding company, which own about 350 horses, according to court documents.
Legal Eagle was voted horse of the year for the second year running at the Equus Awards in August and won the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate in January.
The six-year-old bay gelding is gearing up to defend the Queen’s Plate title at Kenilworth in Cape Town next month. It is in the stable of Sean Tarry, one of the country’s leading racehorse trainers.
The horse and others still owned by Jooste are under the spotlight in the highprofile liquidation proceedings lodged last week and due to resume on February 8.
In an affidavit submitted to court on