DURBAN: IN RECENT years, the “biggest disaster” horse trainer Candice Bass-Robinson has been saddled with was when she ate a bad yellowtail dish, at a restaurant, during a yearling sale.
Since that awful experience, seafood entrées, which used to be the 42-year-old Bass-Robinson’s favourite, are no longer palatable.
However, few things ever break her stride in life. That’s because this mother-of-one is “competitive” by nature, and it drives her to settle for nothing less than a win.
Her latest, sizeable win, arrived last week. The occasion was the Vodacom Durban July Handicap, and the Bass-Robinson-trained 4-year-old gelding Marinaresco scampered to victory in the epic event at the Greyville Racecourse.
The current 2016/17 racing season is Bass-Robinson’s first as a fully fledged trainer, which made Marinaresco’s grand gallop at Greyville extra special.
Apart from the celebratory hugs and kisses, downing a few glasses of champagne, and the numerous Facebook friend requests afterwards, Bass-Robinson will be remembered for ever as the first female trainer to win the race.
Her father is the legendary Mike Bass.
As a trainer, he landed a long list of feature race winners including three July Handicap victories. But when he was hit by a sudden bout of illness in August 2015, which eventually resulted in an amputated leg and waist-down paralysis, Bass-Robinson was forced to replace her wheelchair-bound father.
And the results have been impressive. With three weeks remaining in the season, Bass-Robinson’s stable has already bagged 83 wins, 329 placings and nearly R17 million in stakes for her patrons.
But all her achievements, including her July triumph, have done little to alter her “conservative” outlook on life or her disciplined approach to horse training. On Monday, she was back at her Cape Town stables, preparing for racing the next day. Bass-Robinson has 120 racehorses in Cape Town and another 25 in Durban, handled by her assistant, Robert Fayd’Herbe.
“This is a very stressful and pressurised job, clients spend a lot of money on their horses, so it requires a certain kind of dedication and application in caring for the animals. There are no short cuts in horse racing and the horses are not machines you fix when something goes wrong.”
But, fortunately for Bass-Robinson, she’s been associated with horses and training since childhood and is familiar with the nuances in their body language.
After moving from Somerset West, Bass-Robinson spent much of her early years in Milnerton where her father’s stable was based.
“My whole life was spent around the stables and horses. I rode horses, did ride work and learnt much about training in that time. At age two, I knew the names of all the horses in my father’s stable. Our lives revolved around horses. Family holidays usually meant trips to Durban, in winter, for the July.”
Bass-Robinson was an accomplished show-jumper and made the Western Province team on numerous occasions. These days she prefers dressage events.
“I’m a very competitive person. At Rustenburg Girls’ High School, apart from riding, I received provincial colours in athletics, played first-team hockey and swam.”
But her fondness for horses has always taken centre stage in her life and grew to such an extent that, through intuition, she’s able to tell whether they’re having a good or bad day.
However, straight out of school, Bass-Robinson opted to work in the corporate world, starting with the National Horse Racing Authority and later an interior decorating company, among others.
But, in the early 2000s, Mike Bass’s stable began to boom and he needed his daughter’s assistance and expertise. She returned and has had no regrets since.
“Taking over from my father when he fell ill was huge because there was nobody to talk to. He was in a coma for two weeks; doctors had given him a 5% chance to survive.
“I never doubted my ability and I never felt like I was treading water, but felt very confident. Even stepping into the July for the first time never overwhelmed me.”
Bass-Robinson said working with an excellent support team, which now includes her brother Mark, who handles marketing matters, has been key to her success.
“And I’m also grateful Dad’s still with us. I consult with him every day.”
Given her stable size, Bass-Robinson said: “I don’t know how I juggle being a wife and a mother.
“My hubby (Connell) is not a horsey person. He’s got a normal job and loves golf.”
Her son Nicholas, 9, prefers birds to horses. “The horses are a distraction and irritation for Nicholas because it takes me away from him.”
Her day at the stables starts at 6am. By 11am all her morning training work is done and she then heads off to ride her own horse, fetch Nicholas from school, more training in the afternoon, shopping and preparing supper, before passing out on a couch by 8.30pm.
Saturdays are usually spent on the racecourse and, on Sundays, she gets to sleep in.
Alone time is often with a good book, but Facebook has been eating into that time, or cooking, she said.
Socialising with friends is another favourite pastime. That’s when she gets to sip on champagne or sauvignon blanc white wine.
But being around horses is what she enjoys most.