Local jockeys good enough for world league

It was a joyous occasion when the KwaZulu-Natal Champions Season cavalcade got rolling at Greyville at the weekend.

It marked operator Gold Circle’s first race meeting under the new ownership of Hollywood Sportsbook, the saviour of horse racing in the province. Appropriately, Gold Circle boss Michel Nairac, wearing his horse owner hat, led in a feature winner in the shape of the redoubtable Gladatorian.

There were plenty of other positive aspects.

For example, Justin Snaith declared the present three-year-old crop the best he’d seen – minutes after two of his star sophomores, Sail The Seas and Eight On Eighteen, had completed the Exacta in the WSB Guineas (Grade 2) and sounded a warning that the champion trainer’s raiding party from Cape Town would be formidable opponents over the next few months.

The excellence of jockeyship was another feature of the day.

Muzi Yeni wins on Sail The Seas

Local jocks have been guilty of all sorts of silly behaviour lately, but most of them remain, on the whole, very good riders of racehorses. As has been proven many times, South African jockeys can hold their own anywhere in the world and the best of them are the equal of anyone in a saddle.

In the East Coast Cup over 2000m, underrated Serino Moodley showed off his good judgement of pace and conditions in bringing Mascherina from near the tail of the field, in heavy going, to win going away up the inside rail.

Next, it was Sean Veale with a well-timed challenge on Gladatorian, nabbing highly rated See It Again in the last strides of the Drill Hall Stakes. Then champion jockey Richard Fourie was at his hard-driving best in landing the WSB Fillies Guineas on Mon Petit Cherie.

Perhaps the ride of the day came from Muzi Yeni as he kept Sail The Seas sailing to hold off determined challenges from Eight On Eighteen and Cosmic Speed – two of the exemplars of Snaith’s golden crop of three-year-olds.

The wealth of talent in South African saddles was pulled into focus by the announcement of an international jockeys’ super league that will start next year.

The 12 riders signed for the new global competition are superstars: Frankie Dettori (Italy/UK/US), Ryan Moore (UK), William Buick (UK), James McDonald (New Zealand/Australia), Joao Moreira (Brazil/Japan/Australia), Zac Purton (Australia/Hong Kong), Christophe Lemaire (France/Japan), Mickael Barzalona (France), Yutaka Take (Japan), Irad Ortiz Jr (Puerto Rico/US), Flavien Prat (France/US), Vincent Ho (Hong Kong)

Top SA jockeys

South Africa, a relative global racing backwater, would not have expected representation in such company. Yet they wouldn’t have been outclassed.

The likes of Michael Roberts, Douglas Whyte and Jeff Lloyd flew the flag with honour in the past, while Luke Ferraris, Warren Kennedy and Ryan Munger are current emissaries.

Organisers of the new league plan up to 10 fixtures of six-race contests, with Ascot and York in England, Leopardstown and the Curragh in Ireland and Longchamp and Chantilly in France mentioned as possible venues.

“The franchise-based league structure allows a range of commercial and investment opportunities to be progressed and we firmly believe the concept we’ve developed with our foundation jockeys can help revolutionise global horseracing in the coming years,” said Lachlan Fitt, one of the founders, adding that other jockeys will be drafted into the league as it develops.

Female jockeys will probably be the first additions. South African racing fans wouldn’t be deluded in thinking of their sole female rider Rachel Venniker as a candidate.