Jayson and Preshalin Murugasa realised their long-cherished ambition of owning a Grade 1 winner when Haute Couture (Callan Murray) defeated Rich Man’s World in a scintillating finish to Saturday’s R1.75-million Grade 1 Gold Medallion over 1200m at Hollywoodbets Scottsville.
The build-up centred heavily on a potential showdown between two promising juvenile stars and, having prevailed in such a fiercely anticipated contest, made the Murugasas’ long-awaited Grade 1 breakthrough even sweeter.
Preshalin Murugasa explained that the family’s ownership journey began in 2017 when his father, Jayson, played a round of golf with trainer Brett Crawford and decided to test the waters by joining Advocate Koos Pieterse’s Cigar Syndicate. Their horse was Gimme A Cohiba, a colt by Gimmethegreenlight.
After Gimme A Cohiba had won three races, father and son decided they would derive greater enjoyment from racing horses under their own banner and began assembling a team to carry the Murugasas’ green and blue silks.
They have raced near 60 horses since, enjoying a fair measure of success along the way, but it took almost a decade to finally break through at the highest level.
“We won the Betway Summer Cup Consolation with Alladin’s Lamp on Summer Cup Day in 2025, and then Splittheights gave us a real taste of top-level success by winning the Grade 3 Got The Greenlight Stakes and Grade 2 Gauteng Guineas before running third in the Grade 1 SA Classic,” said Preshalin. “The feeling was that our big day was coming, and eventually it did. It was incredibly exciting for us.”
They now have 40 horses in training with Mike and Mathew de Kock at Randjesfontein and Summerveld, and Preshalin noted that there will be more talented youngsters coming through the ranks. “We are waiting for a few other good ones to step out. Haute Couture’s win may have opened the floodgates.”
Mike described the Murugasas as being “loyal, with hearts of lions” and there were emotional scenes as the team and owners celebrated in the winner’s enclosure.
Haute Couture cost R2-million at the Bloodstock South Africa National Yearling Sale and, according to Mat, had been a priority target from the outset. “He was a striking individual and sat right at the top of our shortlist. Preshalin was at the sale and Jayson was on the phone. We went hard to get Haute Couture because we really liked him, and they supported us every step of the way.”
Mat confirmed that Haute Couture would be rested for the remainder of the 2025/2026 season.
“With a horse like this, you have to target the Grade 1 races everyone wants to win, races like the Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas,” he said. “Haute Couture is still young and immature. He now has his Grade 1 on the board, so we can afford to be patient. We’ll probably follow the Graham Beck Stakes–Dingaans route into the Guineas.
“He still has to prove that he is effective beyond 1200m, but he has a good mind and settles well, which is already a major advantage when you start stretching them out over further.”
Haute Couture is by Ridgemont’s super stallion Rafeef (on whom Callan Murray won the Grade 1 Computaform Sprint) out of the one-time winning Var mare, Isle de France (from the family of Ilha Da Vittoria) and was bred by Wilgerbosdrift & Mauritfontein.
Preshalin commented: “We enjoy studying pedigrees and following the progress of our runners, but we leave the training side entirely in the hands of Mike and Mathew.”
Preshalin himself was captivated by racing after attending the Cape Town Met in 2016.
“I loved everything about the spectacle of the day and that was when it became my dream to win the Met one day. My dad’s ambition is to win the Hollywoodbets Durban July. Hopefully, one day, we can win both.”
While Preshalin is deeply involved in the family’s Gauteng-headquartered businesses, Jayson now spends much of his time at their farm near La Mercy in KwaZulu-Natal.
The family works alongside Smith & Nephew in the distribution of medical technology products across South Africa and also owns the Core Capacity Training Academy, which specialises in BBBEE education and skills development initiatives.
“I live close to Randjesfontein, so I get to see the horses often and spend time with Mat and the team around the braai,” said Preshalin. “The racing life is good!”
Photo credit: Candiese Lenferna