Andrew Nienaber raises his arms in victory
The first UAE meeting of 2014 took place last Thursday, 2 January with a 6 race card at Meydan. Carded aboard the 7yo Paschendale from the Musabah Al Muhairi yard, was Cape jockey Andrew Nienaber. A little after 21:40 Gulf Standard Time, he steered Paschendale to a 3 length victory.
Not only was it Al Muhairi’s 4th win of the afternoon, Paschendale was coming off a 280 day layoff, was lugging top weight of 60kg and was sent off at a starting price of 20/1. And just to add an extra bit of gloss, it was Andrew’s very first start in the City of Gold. The race replays show a visibly thrilled Andrew punching the air just after the line, his delight so obvious that it drew comparisons with Mickael Barzalona’s win on Monterosso in the 2012 World Cup. The Dubai Race Club tweeted his winning pic with the caption “We think he might be a bit chuffed”!
Who is Andrew?
Andrew is one of life’s perennially cheery and sunny characters who can always be relied on to give you a wave and a cheeky smile in the parade ring. However, under the affable exterior lies a quiet determination.
26 year old Ian Andrew Nienaber (known as Andrew – Ian is his dad’s name) was born and bred in Cape Town. After three years at the Academy in Durban, he rode in Cape Town and Johannesburg, finally settling back home to be close to family and the rich Cape fishing waters (although not necessarily in that order!). He’s been plying his trade in Cape Town and Port Elizabeth ever since.
“I think if you’d ever asked me back then where I wanted to be or where I wanted to race, Dubai would have been the answer. It has truly been a dream. I couldn’t call it a goal, because goals are achievable. Dubai was too big to be imaginable, it was a dream.” But Andrew has been quietly knocking on the door for some time. During his apprenticeship he finished 2nd on the apprentice log in Cape Town and was second in Joburg two years running. The young man didn’t escape the eye of the canny Joey Ramsden, who assigned Andrew to work riding duties on dual Horse of the Year, Variety Club leading up to his 2013 Queen’s Plate victory.
Andrew is very quick to add “It has always been Anton’s ride obviously, but I love working him and when Variety Club went on to win the Queen’s Plate and qualified to run in the Breeder’s Cup Mile, I went straight to Mr Ramsden and asked ‘If Variety goes to America can I go with him?’ Obviously things didn’t work out that way, but in October Mr Ramsden phoned me to say the colt was going to Dubai and would I like to go? All the alarms and bells and whistles went off in my head and I just said ‘when do I leave?’ Everything happened really quickly after that. I had my last ride on the 29th of November and on 5th December I was in Dubai.”
What’s Dubai like?
“We’re staying in the World Trade Centre apartments and there are lots of racing people here and people from the UK and South Africa and stuff, so it’s not too bad in those terms. I thought it would be a lot more strict, but it’s quite relaxed. But you can’t just cruise around, you’ve got to have a proper job and someone sponsoring you to get here.
“Mike de Kock is sponsoring me. I’m working with Trevor Brown and Mike is here at the moment as well. We learn a lot in the Academy, but it’s a lot of basic things. The amount I’ve learnt here is just amazing.
“I understand why Mr de Kock is where he is because he really is as good as he’s made out to be, if not better. He’s hand-picked the best people in the world. I almost feel out of place because I feel I got here because of a horse, but it just gives you confidence and makes you feel good that you’re good enough to work with people like this. It’s a real honour to be working in that yard.
We start at 5am. Our lists are done so we know what horses we’re doing. What we’d call a string at home is called a lot. We have a stable of 48 horses and we have 12 riders, so basically we have about 3 lots a day – that takes up the morning quite easily because we groom and saddle up our own horses. You don’t always get the same horses, but I ride Variety every day – he’s my baby.
“There are a set of training tracks and then we work on the Tapeta as well, which worked out well for me last week as I knew where I was on the track. We ride 3 lots either the back track or the main track. We finish at about 10:30 or 11, start again at 3 and finish at about 5:30. The afternoon session is just doing general stable work – either walking horses, checking tack and just generally pitching in wherever necessary. We’re all focussed and working together to the same goal which is to get these horses to win as many races as possible. The knowledge and horsemanship of the people I’m working with is just incredible – you absorb knowledge without even trying.
“And it’s not just the people, I’m also working with some of the best horses I’ve ever sat on. I’ll ride one and be thinking “this is a Machine”. Then I’ll work another and think “this is even better”! You get so spoilt, because you only have good horses underneath you. In SA the best horses generally come out in the first string. Here Variety Club, Heavy Metal, Apache, Soft Falling Rain – those are the 3rd string! But you can’t really tell the difference because you’re only working with the best. The class of horses is the best and it’s just such a pleasure to work with them.
“I’m here as a work rider for Variety Club, not as a race rider. The chances of being able to get rides here was pretty small as each stable has their own stable jockey, but I really wanted to get my papers. If someone asked me if I could ride I wanted to be able to say yes. I asked Mr de Kock if he minded my getting a license and he said “carry on!”
There’s obviously not a lot of spare time, but I thought I’ll just do what I did at home and go ride work for other people, so on one of my days off I rode work at the Al Muhairi yard. Basil Ferreira’s wife is the assistant there. She put in a good word for me and that’s how I got the ride. The horse was coming off a 280 day rest, so there were no expectations – they had 2 other runners in the race and basically just wanted to see how I rode.
What was the actual race like?
Andrew Nienaber and Paschendale
“To be able to race here and under the lights – just to walk out of the jockey room, knowing I was going to race was already a dream come true. The grandstand here is amazing, it’s the best in the world. Just the lights and the crowds and the atmosphere – I’ve ridden on Met day & July day and this was just … better! But once you get into the pens as a jockey, you know it’s race on and you’ve got a job to do and you just focus on winning.
The pace here is different – a lot faster than home. If you’re not fit enough, you’re going to be found out. It’s race on from start to finish. They go much faster the whole way and still quicken at the end. I bounced my horse out of the gate and was still half a length slow! You’ve got to be on the ball because there’s no time for second guessing. But it’s fun. My instructions were to sit mid-field and ride from there. I was drawn 3, so it was easy to get him placed nicely on the rail. There is no false rail, but I know horses do roll up the straight, so I was waiting for a gap to open and made sure I was ready. There was another rider waiting for the same gap, but he saw it a little late and I got it. With 100m to go I just knew I had it. I’m living a dream just racing here.
Living the unbelievable dream of winning on the course AND it being my first ride – it was the greatest moment in my life. I’m still high. I can’t even explain it – that’s how good it is. As a kid, you have a dream, but you don’t ever expect it to happen and this is better than the dream. My whole life and career made a turn on that one night and that one ride.
My brother has been there right from the start and is probably the biggest supporter in my life. We often chat and have a joke before a race meeting as he’s usually off fishing when I go racing. The best days are when he catches yellow tail and I ride a winner. On Thursday I phoned him and the first thing I asked him was “did you catch a yellow tail today?” He said ‘Don’t talk rubbish?’ I said ‘By three!’ It was such a big moment for me, I had to hold the tears back I was so happy.
Variety Club
Obviously there is a lot of interest in Variety Club and I ask how the big colt is getting on. “He’s an utter gentleman. Because of how things worked out and the quarantine and stuff, March 2013 was the last time I rode him. Back then he was still young and a little coltish. When I first started riding him here, it was the same horse, but it’s like he’s grown up. He’ll still try and bite if you tickle him in his box or walk past and aren’t paying attention, but when he gets down to work, he’s a professional.
“That’s his real strength. He was a little behind compared to the other horses fitness wise, but he’s coming on nicely and he’s taking it all in his stride and taking his work well. I think he’s going to do very well here. There’s no reason he shouldn’t. He was a good horse in SA and he’ll be a good horse anywhere else. With me riding him every day I know he’s being looked after and riding him is just a joy. He’s just one of those horses that I get along with. I talk to him and have conversations with him. It’s almost like we’ve done the journey together and we’ve come a long way. He’s the reason I’m here. He’s made my dreams come true – him and Joey of course.
“When I switched my phone on on Thursday, one of the first messages I got was from Joey and he was so happy for me. He’s literally supported me all the way, even before I left SA. Knowing you have support from someone like that – it means a huge amount. You want to do even better than your best all the time.
Where to next?
“I’m riding again this week, but it wouldn’t matter if I didn’t race here again – I’ve already achieved my dream. I’m actually most excited to see our horses run. To see the results of all our work and preparation and everything we put in out on the track – that’s really what it’s all about and why I’m here. Other than that, I’ve been through tough times but I’m one of those people who always believes there’s a reason. And last week it all came together. Those tough times all helped prepare me for that moment. It’s made me believe that I can actually do it. I think I’m going to dream a few more dreams now, but they’ll have to be pretty big to beat the one I’m living at the moment!
– Robyn Louw
