Born in Harare, Zimbabwe, Brett Crawford has trained in South Africa for many years. He became an assistant trainer at age 17 and, following experience with Eric Sands, Dennis Drier and Mike de Kock, Crawford became prominent owner Sabine Plattner’s private trainer in 2001, before taking out an open licence in 2010. Crawford’s first win was National Beaut at Kenilworth in 2001. He has won over 1,400 races in South Africa, including the Durban July in 2023 (Winchester Mansion) and 2024 (Oriental Charm). He has also won the Cape Town Met three times – 2003 (Angus), 2015 (Futura) and 2017 (Whisky Baron) – and trained top talents Captain America, Make It Snappy, Run Fox Run and Northern Superstar. In South Africa, Crawford struck up an association with Karis Teetan and the pair won a string of Group 1 races before Teetan’s departure for Hong Kong. In recent times, Crawford has trained in partnership with son James, who now runs the South African operation solo.
