The South African racing community were saddened by the death yesterday of one of the sport’s most loyal servants and passionate owners, Benji Jonsson.
His funeral on Monday is sure to be attended by many jockeys as Jonsson was revered by them during his many years as Chairman Of The Jockeys Academy.
“He was like a father to them, he was held in such high regard,” said his great friend of decades standing, Bill Lambert.
Jonsson served as a local executive of the Jockey Club, now known as the National Horseracing Authority (NHA), and also as a head executive of the Jockey Club.
Bill said, “He was always highly regarded as a man with absolute and total integrity and was very fair in all of the decisions he ever made in this capacity.”
Jonsson’s love of horseracing included riding in amateur races in the 1940s.
He rode at such venues as Lions River Karkloof, Hilton Road, Greytown, Isipingo, Mooi River and Maritzburg.
He won a few races and extracted much enjoyment from this pastime.
He also never missed a professional racemeeting as a spectator and loved to have a flutter.
In the 1940s he kept a carefully compiled register of every bet he ever took and also recorded the gate fee in the accounts record.
In his latter years he would still attend virtually every KZN meeting.
He was by this time quite a prolific owner together with his son Nick.
Benji founded the successful company Jonsson Workwear, which is now owned by Nick.
Jonsson Workwear have also become loyal supporters of South African racing and among the races they sponsor is the prestigious Grade 1 Garden Province Stakes, which is run on Vodacom Durban July day.
Benji is going to be sorely missed by everybody in racing as a man who remained humble and approachable to the last and his love of horseracing never waned.
A saddened Bill Lambert summed it up, “He was a wonderful, wonderful man … this is just too much.”
Condolences to his family.