Donavan Mansour
Donavan Mansour is moving from Johannesburg to Cape Town and he rides at Kenilworth on Saturday for the first time since his apprenticeship days, writes Michael Clower.
He goes to scale at 51,5kgs, and has five rides – three of the four for Joey Ramsden are owned or part-owned by Markus Jooste. Indeed it is at the suggestion of the latter’s racing manager that Mansour is coming south.
“Donavan is a good rider and I told him that there is a great opportunity for a lightweight jock in Cape Town at the moment,” says Derek Brugman while stressing that there is no commitment.
Mansour, a member of the Peters commentating family (Sheldon is a cousin and Craig is his uncle), calculates that he has ridden some 350 winners and rates this year’s Senor Santa Handicap on Dollar Dazzler his biggest win so far.
Now he has to reacquaint himself with the often-tricky Kenilworth course: “It was years ago that I rode here. The meeting was partly rained off but I had a winner for Basil Marcus. I also rode at Durbanville once and rode a winner there too.”
He should give Ramsden, 47 on Thursday, a belated birthday present with Hard Day’s Night in the Solid Doors Maiden because this colt has looked a certain future winner on both his starts. He is well drawn and looks nailed on.
Mansour also has a good chance on Capstone Von Kluh in the Buco Divided Handicap and this one is worth an each way interest if you can get anywhere near the 7-1 quoted in the TAB sheet forecast.
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