Charl Pretorius

Legends of the Turf Volume 2: Rare Profiles from South African Horseracing History Charl Pretorius

Publisher Marketing: HERE is the long-awaited second compilation of personality profiles from South African horseracing history by Charl Pretorius, a read that brims with fascinating articles and insights from his column, Legends Of The Turf, which ran for seven years in Johannesburg's morning daily, The Citizen. There's something in here for everyone - the story of Syd Laird and Sea Cottage; former Champion Jockey Andrew Fortune's battle with drugs and his incredible journey back to the top; the forgotten champ Raymond Rhodes and his association with the wonder horse Hawaii; training greats Peter Kannemeyer and Stan Greeff, and many others. Legends Of The Turf Volume 2 includes a number of vintage photographs that will bring tears to many eyes; four bonus profiles, including an interview with veteran jockey Felix Coetzee by Equus Award winner Robyn Louw, as well as Charl's absorbing account of an afternoon at the Lost City spent in the company of visiting Frankie Dettori, the flamboyant global superstar. Charl has dedicated much of his work in racing to preserving the memory of individuals (and horses) that served the sport with distinction. As always, his passion for his subjects captivates, enlightens and entertains. Contributor Bio:  Pretorius, Charl CHARL PRETORIUS (43) is South Africa's most accredited horseracing journalist and an award-winning writer in mainstream journalism. In a stretch of over 24 years in newspapers, magazines and electronic media he has served on most major dailies in Johannesburg. He started his career at the Afrikaans Newspaper Beeld followed by stints at Sunday Times, Business Day and The Citizen, where he was instrumental in launching the popular tabloid, Racing Express as founding editor in 2003. Pretorius also edited Computaform, contributed to SA Horseman and still writes on occasion for its successor, Parade Magazine. He played a pioneering role in the advent of SA horseracing's major websites in the mid 2000s, launching mikedekockracing.com in 2004, seantarryracing.co.za in 2006, freeracer.co.za in 2007 and racingweb.co.za in conjunction with the Moneyweb Group in 2009. Pretorius is known for his controversial articles, some of which have landed him in hot water. At the time of going to print he is facing two charges of "bringing horseracing into disrepute," lodged by South Africa's National Horseracing Authority (NHA), something he describes as "disgraceful, humiliating and being executed with a flagrant disregard for Freedom Of Speech." The ruinous aspects of officialdom have not stifled this racing hack's love for the sport of racing and his deep admiration for its many heroes, too many of them unsung.