SOUTH African racehorse owner Markus Jooste appears to be reducing his bloodstock interests following a financial scandal which has seen him resign as CEO of Steinhoff International.

Jooste is an active buyer at major international bloodstock sales, usually as part of the Mayfair Speculators group. His green and yellow spotted colours were carried by this year’s Derrinstown Stud Derby winner Douglas Macarthur.

Jooste is South Africa’s biggest racehorse owner and the leading owner in each of the past 10 seasons. He has over 150 horses in his own country and in recent years has spread his ownership to France, Germany and Ireland.

However, the South African racing authority is asking questions about Jooste’s racing interests following the near-collapse of Steinhoff International. Steinhoff’s retail operations include around 500 Poundland stores in Britain and 57 Dealz shops in Ireland.

Upon his resignation as CEO last week, Jooste emailed a letter to staff, saying: “I would like to apologise for all the bad publicity I caused the Steinhoff company the last couple of months. Now I have caused the company further damage by not being able to finalise the year-end audited numbers and I made some big mistakes and have now caused financial loss to many innocent people.

“It is time for me to move on and take the consequences of my behaviour like a man. Sorry that I have disappointed all of you and I never meant to cause any of you any harm.”

Financial websites and newspaper columns have had a field day ever since with allegations that profits and assets had been overstated. The company has delayed publication of its audited accounts (due last week), saying: “In addition the company will determine whether any prior years’ financial statements will need to be restated.”

Steinhoff has been a must-have share for investment managers but since the resignation the price has collapsed from R45.65 last Tuesday to R8.10 on Friday and pension funds have been hit hard.

The Public Investment Corporation, which manages South African government-worker pension funds, has a substantial stake in the company and the Public Servants Association has called for Jooste’s horses to be banned from the Sun Met at Kenilworth on January 27th.

Jooste’s Horse of the Year Legal Eagle is joint favourite with his Edict Of Nantes, the horse on whom Frankie Dettori won this year’s Cape Derby.

On Thursday Jooste resigned as a director of Cape Thoroughbred Sales.

If, as seems inevitable, Jooste is forced to cut right back on his racing interests the effect on South African racing will be devastating. Some of the top stables will be decimated and many of their staff will be out of a job, while the bloodstock industry (which he has heavily supported through his part-ownership of the country’s biggest stud Klawervlei and at the yearling sales) will take a serious knock.

In complete contrast to the financial allegations Jooste has raced his horses openly and honestly and his trainers are positively encouraged to take each other on with his horses.

Sometimes the wrong ones win but in my near-12 years in the country never once have I heard a racecourse punter complain about the way they have been run. And in a sport where accusations are bandied about as freely as losing betting slips (and often as a direct result), that speaks for itself.