Hayley Turner
Hayley Turner, Frenchman Christophe Lemaire and Panamanian Eduardo Pedroza are among the stars who will take part in the international Jockeys Challenge against the South Africans in November, writes Michael Clower.
But the big surprise this time is that Kenilworth has been dropped from the list of venues which are now restricted to Turffontein and Fairview.
The organisers have had trouble attracting enough runners in Cape Town in the past but Racing Association chairman Larry Wainstein said yesterday: “We wanted to give the series a different spin this time and so Port Elizabeth has been given the opportunity. The idea is also to have some races on polytrack.”
Durban was dropped previously, at the request of Gold Circle, but the latest change will be a disappointment to Cape Town racegoers who enjoyed seeing the big names in action.
RA Chairman Larry Wainstein.
Wainstein, the driving force behind the event, hopes to have the remaining three international riders firmed up shortly but he confirmed that there will be no-one from Turkey. That country’s representative last year, Yasin Pilavcilar, attracted a lot of criticism and was described by Joey Ramsden as “absolutely appalling.”
Wainstein added: “We will ensure that we have a decent team this year.” The Fairview fixture is on Friday November 13 (hopefully not an inauspicious choice!) and the Turffontein one the following day.
Turner, who rode here in 2010, has been the most successful female Flat jockey in Britain and she retires at the end of the year. Lemaire’s major triumphs include the 2011 Melbourne Cup and Pedroza has been four times champion in Germany.
Gavin Lerena will captain the home team which is also expected to comprise S’Manga Khumalo, Greg Cheyne and Anthony Delpech plus two still-to-be-selected wild cards.
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