He will be known forever as the partner of Hong Kong's greatest horse ever, the world champion Silent Witness. And if he was not known for anything else, that would sit very nicely on the shoulders of this affable South African horseman.
Coetzee has a calmness that is surely transmitted to his horses. He is 100 per cent horseman and understands the thoroughbred racehorse almost intuitively. Although he is now 46, he is riding with the verve of a man 25 years younger, and nobody takes him for granted.
Of all his great skills in the saddle, which have led to three premierships in South Africa and 500-plus Hong Kong winners, Coetzee's ace up the sleeve is his judgment of pace. Whether he is lengths in front or out the back in a race, chances are that is the ideal place to be to take full advantage of the tempo of that particular race.
Coetzee has won the last two Hong Kong Sprints on Silent Witness on international day, and the 2003 Hong Kong Mile on Lucky Owners.