Newly-crowned KZN Champion jockey, and now a Winning Form-sponsored rider, Keagan de Melo broke the ice when he rode his first winner of the new term at Hollywoodbets Scottsville on Sunday.
It was De Melo’s first meeting of the 2022/23 season, and while his book of rides probably suggested a possible three winners, he will be happy to have come away with having gotten Dean Kannemeyer’s Cheeky Laddie home in a tight finish on debut.
Keagan de Melo gets the grey Cheeky Laddie up to beat Red Sail (Tristan Godden) and Lazy Guy (Calvin Habib) in a rousing finish to the second at Hollywoodbets Scottsville on Sunday (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
The beautifully-bred R2,8 million National Yearling Sale purchase was relatively unfancied but showed his class.
David Thiselton writes on www.goldcircle.co.za that de Melo is another title contender in what is going to be an intriguing season.
He was suspended for the first week of the season. He was on holiday last week because yesterday’s Hollywoodbets Scottsville meeting was his first meeting of the new season.
He has to date ridden 139 winners this calendar year i.e. from January 1, which was the second most in the country, just one behind champion jockey Warren Kennedy’s 140.
That shows just how lethal he has been since winning support from a number of good yards around the country.
Hollywoodbets Durban July-winning jockey S’Manga Khumalo is having a three week holiday in Gqeberha and Cape Town, so has only ridden at Fairview plus one meeting in Cape Town so far this season, but he will be back riding in KZN on August 21 (next Sunday) and in Jo’burg from the 23rd.
Top-notch Smanga ‘Bling’ Khumalo (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
Nevertheless, he has ridden eight winners this season already, all of them for Alan Greeff, who will be making a bold bid to wrest the East Cape Trainers Championship away from Gavin Smith.
Greeff has had nine winners so far this season, which is level with Paul Peter’s number of winners and he is narrowly behind the latter in stakes.
Greeff has won 15 East Cape Trainers Championships in all and had won it for eight seasons in a row before Smith won it back last season.
Smith had a slow start to this season, but kicked in to gear on Friday with a treble, to take his tally for the season to four.
The pair of arch rivals always have an influence on the national jockeys championship and both have had to seek new stable jockeys this season, with Greg Cheyne departing for England and Warren Kennedy set to emigrate to New Zealand.
Also now sponsored by Winning Form, Richard Fourie has landed the job for Greeff. Khumalo has just been helping out for August.
Fourie hasn’t ridden this season yet and is currently suspended until the 24th of this month.
However, he should make a bold bid to land a first national championship.
JP van der Merwe looks favourite to take over from Kennedy at the Smith yard, as he looked to be second choice last season.
He was medically indisposed for ten days following a fall at the Hollywoodbets Greyville polytrack on August 3, but was back riding at Hollywoodbets Scottsville yesterday.
He was off with a precautionary medical suspension and returned at Hollywoodbets Scottsville on Sunday. He has not had a winner this season yet.
Muzi Yeni leads the championship so far on eleven winners, but is currently sitting out a two week suspension until the 25th of this month.
Muzi Yeni – always competitive and is desperate to win the title after some near misses (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
Importantly, six of his winners have been for the Paul Peter yard. The position of first call rider is up for grabs at the championship-winning yard considering Kennedy is likely departing. Yeni has got a shoe in the door with those wins.
Khumalo is in second place on the national log on eight winners and in joint third on seven is Gavin Lerena, Kabelo Matsunyane and Calvin Habib.
Richard Fourie is probably the most sought-after jockey in the country.
He has landed the Greeff position and together with the support he will receive from big yards all over the country, he must be the favourite to win the title.
