S’Manga Khumalo
Life has changed dramatically in the space of under a month for the talented S’manga Khumalo. A fortnight ago he became the first black jockey to win the Vodacom Durban July and this past weekend he jetted off to Kenya to add to his impressive haul of recent winners.
It was a weekend to savour for the outstanding jockey. He rode five winners at Turffontein on Saturday, including the four legs of the Jackpot, and then registered another four successes at Ngong on Sunday. That amounts to a total of 12 winners in six days, if one includes last Tuesday’s Vaal meeting.
Khumalo went head to head with Kenyan champion jockey Lesley Sercombe in the final Ngong meeting of the current season and a large crowd turned out to enjoy the entertainment. Facilitated by Kenya Jockey Club Director Tom Fraser, who is a friend of Khumalo, Gilly Fraser and Joe Karari pooled their resources to fly the high riding South African in. As the Kenya Jockey Club’s John Mutua summed it up:
“Single malt whiskey. Horse racing. Sunny Sunday afternoon. Tote betting. Great jockeyship. Does an afternoon get any better than that? Between the racing and the sips of fine whiskey, the Starehe Boys Ban were on hand to spice up the afternoon with some brass tunes to cap it all.”
Khumalo has had remendous previous success in Kenya, winning the 2011 Kenya Derby on Lazerin(saf) by Bezrin. In 2012 he won the Kenya St Leger on Pasha Sultan (saf) by Requiem. Khumalo has been a licensed jockey for eight seasons, achieving a highest mark of 85 winners ridden in 2010/11. He has ridden the winners of three of South Africa’s four richest races in a glorious season. And with Super Saturday still ahead of us, who knows what magic he is yet to conjure up?
An astute judge of horses and jockeys, champion SA trainer Mike De Kock commented on Khumalo’s rise to fame on his blog earlier this week: “It is evident that the South African racing industry has come a long way along the path of transformation over the last 20 years. The Jockey Academy continues to produce world-class riders who now count members of the black, coloured and Indian communities among them. S’Manga aside – Muzi Yeni, Nooresh Juglall, Randall Simons, Grant van Niekerk and a few others can hold their own in any company.
S’Manga should be recognised and promoted as one of South Africa’s top black sportsmen, with sponsorship packages to match the kind of celebrity that goes along with becoming the first black jockey to win the Durban July. It was encouraging that the national newspapers and some radio stations gave prominence to his historic July win.
In closing, I’d like to encourage S’Manga Khumalo to go for the National Jockeys Title next season. With his ability, temperament, work ethic and the right demeanour he has four of five boxes ticked. The fifth will be his willingness to travel, because if he doesn’t make a consistent attempt to secure good rides around the country, he’ll never write the title behind his name.”
