SAHorseracing.com
SAHorseracing.com
Mauritian training great Henry passes on

The MAURITIUS Turf Club have paid tribute to its greatest trainer, Serge "Kiki" Henry who passed away this morning. The man who domined the island horseracing scene through the nineties had taken ill and sadly passed on. 

It is with great sorrow and sadness that we learned of the death of Serge Henry Kiki, which occurred this morning. On August 10 , he was on the track to greet his charges in what proved to be the last double in his rich career. Man To Man, winner of the Golden Supertote Trophy. 


After this magnificent double Serge Henry went to the island of Reunion for surgery. He returned to Mauritius after a few days but on Saturday, he had a fall , injuring his head. He was in a semi -comatose state and was never able to recover. He passed away early this morning at the age of 74.


Kiki Henry had a rich track record. He began his training career in 1983 and his first winner was Alla Turca . However, two seasons later, he distanced himself from racing before returning to the fold in 1992 and won the trainers title on eight occasions, including five consecutive times from 1996 to 2000, including nine classic victories.


We also note the many classic wins, including the big races Duchess of York,  Barbe Cup and Maiden Gold Cup wins.  He had numerous big race winners, the most remarkable is the classic double - winner in 1997, Alexei ( Duchess of York and Barbe Cup), also crowned Horse of the Year at season's end  as well as winners of the 1998 Maiden Cup and 1996 Maiden Cup,  Pine hurt and Villiers respectively.


During his long career , Serge Henry had in his service several jockeys who had successful careers at Champ de Mars. Of these,  undoubtedly Glen Hatt emerges tops the list , followed by Guillermo Figueroa, Stuart Randolph, Paul Whitmore and Gaëtan Faucon . He holds the record for most wins for a trainer at Champ de Mars, is 672 .

His Record... 

Trainer since: 1983 (Absent 1986 to 1991)
Stables: S. Henry and Lesur (1992 and 1993)
Record (as at 31st December 2013): 672 wins 
Best season: 1998 (52 wins and 68 placings for 269 runners)

© 2009 SAHorseracing.com. All rights reserved.