Sangoma quits profession after betting on wrong horse

Durban - After predicting the "wrong" winning horses for the Vodacom Durban July for the past two years, sangoma Makhosonke Msomi has called it quits and says "getting it all wrong" is an insult to him and his ancestors.

 IOL news reported that Msomi, who hails from Denny Dalton in Zululand, but lives in Clermont, alleged that the organisers altered the race, "so they do not lose business".

"If they let the horse I had predicted win, they wouldn't make a profit, because all the people who would have bet on it would walk away with all the money," he said.

Msomi said he was confident that the prediction "from his ancestors" was accurate and, as a well-known sangoma in his community with a proven record on spiritual matters, he feared his name would be dragged through the mud if he continued his July race predictions.

Gold Circle spokeswoman Gill Simpkins said the race had been run fairly and had not been a set-up, as Msomi alleged. "The horse that crosses the line first wins the race. There were no problems and it was a fair win."

Simpkins said the sangoma tradition was not to be scoffed at.

"You do not take the sangoma as a joke. Maybe one year a sangoma will be correct."

Simpkins added: "Horses are athletes - just like soccer and rugby players, they can have good days and bad days."

In a pre-race event at the traditional July Gallops, Msomi had tipped Weiho Marwing-trained Wylie Hall as the winner of the R3.5 million main race, with Futura coming in second, and French Navy third.

But on Saturday, the Stuart Randolph-trained Power King was the winner, leaving the sangoma's followers disappointed.

Msomi, who had been paid R400 for his participation, said it brought him problems when the horse he had tipped did not come first.

"When I point out a horse, it is certain that it will come first. I think before the race starts, the jockeys are told who should come first, second and so on," he claimed.

He said before leaving his house on the day of prediction, the ancestors had told him the first and second horses, Wylie Hall and Futura, and only when he was at the racecourse was he told of the third one, French Navy.

Msomi said before the race he had vowed that if his prediction did not come true, he would cut ties with the race.

"They will have to look for another sangoma," he said.