Tales of Jet Master, Guinness Records and Gymkhanas

Mick Goss enjoys a moment with Ben Jonsson
(Photo : Hartford House)

“IT’S A SMALL WORLD INDEED”

Among many anecdotes to have emerged from the Jonsson 80^th birthday celebrations, were these two. According to the Guinness Book of Records, there is only one other set of living triplets who are slightly ahead of the Jonssons, the threesome having chalked up 93 years. The Jonssons trail by just 13 years, but knowing their history of longevity, it’s a good bet our “triplets” still have a good bit of wind in their sails. Either way, it’s a remarkable story of triumph against the odds, and it’s our bet the Guinness Book is in danger of having its pages rewritten. For the record, an elder sibling Hugh, was the breeder of Jet Master greatest South African stallion of all time, who’s just recorded his third consecutive Sires championship.

The second anecdote worth repeating is the connectivity in racing between Ben and the Goss family. As a young man recently out of school, Ben made his first investment in a racehorse, acquiring a colt from Mick Goss’s grandfather, Pat Goss Snr, in the mid 1940’s for the princely sum of £50, quite a bit of money in those days.

Legend has it that Ben had only £35 from his savings to spend, and had to borrow the remaining £15 from his employer, which he redeemed at £2 a month. Unable to afford the training fees, Ben leased the colt to the grandfather of David Pianel, famous for his association with the studs of the Rowles family (Ivanhoe) and Sydney Press’ Coromandel Stud.

For what its worth, Ben’s colt won two heats on the same day at the Lions River gymkhana, and then promptly suffered a heart attack which put him down. Prior to that he hadn’t been able to pull off a win at the major courses, hence his dispatch to a gymkhana meeting, though we shouldn’t demean gymkhanas too much, because they were quite competitive affairs in those days.

Either way, we’d like to think we’ve moved on at Summerhill!

Comments

[Deryk McBain]

Just browsing through this website brings back such wonderful memories of the many visits to Summerhill Stud and Hartford House. The group of guys that I took with me to absorb the unique ambiance and hospitality of this gem, would hardly have commited a thought - let alone collective cash - to invest in any of the many noble sires or offspring that we were priviledged to drool over, yet even today, after having emigrated to the USA ten years ago, my Durban buddies still rave about those annual visits we made to Summerhill Stud. Thank you Mickey Goss.

[Mick Goss]

Good Morning Deryk

How nice to hear from you through the blog. I’ve wondered where you’ve been, and now we know. It was really generous of you to say the things you did, and we just wish there were many more of you! Wonderful that you still have the interest in this country, and in particular in Summerhill, to visit the site. Let’s hope it won’t be too long before we see you here.

All the best to you, and let us know what you are up to and where you are.

MICK GOSS
SUMMERHILL STUD