Pooe, who has a holiday home in Inchanga and divides his time between his business in Gauteng and the Valley of 1000 Hills, said he looks forward to enjoying close access to his stallion. Pooe said: “I loved Purple Pitcher as a young horse, before he even raced. He was always special to me. I want to be able to visit him when I am in the region. Also, there is too much competition among stallions in the Western Cape.  His own sire, New Predator, was moved to the Western Cape before his unfortunate death, and this is my tribute to him. Purple Pitcher has given us much joy and I trust there will be more highlights at stud.”

Cathy Martin of Hadlow Stud described Purple Pitcher as a strong, athletic individual with a calm demeanour, and expects that he will get the support he deserves, especially as his covering fee has been set at R5000 live foal, with the added bonus of sending an extra mare for free.

Pooe said that he has one more talented son of New Predator in training. Now three years old, Copper Eagle won his two-year-old debut last June and went straight into a handicap for a close second to Tommy Shelby. “Copper Eagle has just been gelded. We didn’t want him to become as heavy as Purple Pitcher did. His trainer Robyn Klaasen thinks a lot of him, so we’re hoping he can be just as good as Purple Pitcher was on the racetrack.”

Pooe’s rags-to-riches story is marked by the same guts and perseverance so beautifully displayed by Purple Pitcher. Born in Charterson, a small ‘location’ near Nigel on the East Rand, his mother was an orphan, and Pooe himself grew up without a father during a period of political upheaval and extreme hardship for people of colour.

The Pooe family was forced to resettle to the township of Duduza, 30km away from Nigel, because Charterston was considered by the government to be too close to a white town. ‘Duduza’ means ‘comfort’, but conditions were all but comfortable and in later years this became one of the most highly active townships in South Africa in the struggle against apartheid.

On the brighter side, there was ‘bush racing’ in the area, much enjoyed by the township folk. This is where Pooe first came into contact with horses and betting. “The kids loved going to a bush race. We took small bets among each other on which horses would win and this was exciting.”

The family was forced to move again and ended up in the small farming town of Matatiele in the Eastern Cape, where Pooe managed to complete his secondary education with a matric certificate in 1976. With no job opportunities, he returned to the East Rand and started digging gold like his grandfather did, mainly on the mine dumps scattered on the outskirts of towns like Brakpan, Boksburg and Benoni.

Pooe eeked out an early living with a hammer, a chisel a carpet to filter sand through water so he could get to particles of gold dust, using old sewage pipes to channel some water for his activities. But he started to prosper, selling grams of gold dust, then ounces. He drew some of his friends into his venture and can justifiably be called, the ‘father’ of the original Zama-Zamas – by its official meaning, people who work illegally in abandoned mining areas and mineshafts in order to retrieve metals or minerals.

Pooe said: “I have to say that being a Zama-Zama was something to be very proud of in the 1980s and 90s. There weren’t many of us, our only objective was to earn money to survive and we worked long, hard hours in awful conditions. We were friendly with the police, we helped them to protect cables and catch the cable thieves. There were no criminals among us.”

With some cash on hand, Pooe started attending race meetings, mostly at the old Gosforth Park and Newmarket tracks, in the 1980s. He discovered a knack for picking the right outsiders and cashed out big money, often.

With a new government in place in 1994, Pooe applied for a mining licence. He battled for several years, but the licence was eventually granted in 2000. This led to the establishment of his company, Copper Eagle Trading, near Brakpan. He employs 12 workers.

Pooe is happy investor in the racing industry, enjoys helping smaller stables and said: “The racing industry, like most others, is linked to the country’s economy. People do not have money to spend. Our government needs to fix the economy and create jobs. This will get the industry to flourish again. Racing is popular still, people love it. They’ll come back the moment they have jobs and earn money. “Our government needs to licence mining activities for individuals, followed by strict control and policing of the industry. There is plenty of gold all over South Africa, enough for everyone for at least the next century. The only thing a worker needs to start a business is a chisel, a ten-pound hammer and a big towel to use as a filter. They can all make money.”

“I grew up at Summerhill Stud where my parents worked,” she says. “Weekends were for helping with the horses. Even though I dreamed of becoming a doctor, something about the horses stayed with me. It grew inside me, and I started enjoying and loving them.”

That early spark eventually became a full time calling. Beauty began working with horses permanently in 2011 under the guidance of Annet Becker. “She always made sure we knew what we were doing,” Beauty recalls with admiration. “It’s been 14 years now, and I still carry with me what she taught me.”

In 2016, Beauty enrolled at the Summerhill School of Equine Management Excellence, a year she credits as pivotal in her career. “I wasn’t great at theory and my classmates and friends were very helpful, and I returned the favour in that I could help my friends with the practical side. Mark Naidoo and Catherine Zolner helped me through as well as my managers Thabani Nzimande (all of the aforementioned working at prominent farms overseas) and Taryn Liebenberg (working at Drakenstein Stud), and together we ended up as the top students,” she says proudly. That same year, she was awarded a National Stud scholarship. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t go due to visa issues – but just receiving it meant so much.”

Today, Beauty is the supervisor at Bloomhill Stud, a role she treasures. “Working at Bloomhill is more than a blessing,” she says. “I’m so grateful to Mr Goss for making it possible, and to Lance and Sandra Trethewey for trusting me with this responsibility as Supervisor of Bloomhill Stud. I wake up happy all day every day at Bloomhill.”

She has a soft spot for foals, despite the sleepless nights and extra care they demand. “I love working with the foals and I love yearling preparation too.” As for advice to anyone thinking of entering the stud industry? “Love the horses. Pay attention. Treat them like your own and enjoy everything you are doing.”

At Bloomhill, Beauty has helped usher in winners from the get-go, many of whom followed her from her Summerhill days – names like Rabada, Wysiwyg (voted KZN Breeders Broodmare Of The Year in 2022 and the dam of Bohica and Bartholdi) and now her winning son Wyzeact, trained by Corne Spies, who’s currently enjoying a break at Bloomhill in Mooi River. “I follow all of our horses on the track. It’s part of the joy to watch them run.”

“In future I wish I could get a chance to go overseas and get more experience, I would love to help people who want to work in this industry.”

When asked about career highlights, Beauty doesn’t point to a single race or title — but to the people, the horses, and the opportunities that have arisen for her.

Sandra Trethewey, owner of Bloomhill Stud, shares high praise for Beauty’s contribution:
“Beauty is an asset to our farm, a real gem. We are very proud to have her heading up our team at Bloomhill Stud.”

A familiar face at sales and always ready to assist during viewings, Beauty and her team at Bloomhill are now preparing for the foaling season, a time of fresh beginnings and long nights. As the racing season draws to a close, the next chapter begins on the stud farms, with new life arriving from 1 August. For Beauty, it’s not just a job – it’s a purpose, and the story is still being written, one foal at a time.

Thank you to Anneke Akal Kitching for the photos.

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Thanks to Anneke Akal Kitching for the photos.

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Thanks to Pauline Herman Photography for the pictures.

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Thanks to JC Photos for the pictures.

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Thanks to Anneke Akal Kitching for the photos.

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Jingleberry was a 2024 National Yearling Sales graduate, going for R1.9 million to Form Bloodstock.

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