JP vd Merwe

JP vd Merwe has made an instant impression on the racing world and if nothing goes amiss, his career looks to have a really big future. He is very intelligent and is very keen to know everything about racing and not only in SA. With his stated ambition to ride 200 winners while still an apprentice he is definitely a jockey to follow. We at Winning Form will follow his career with great interest.

What is your name and age? Juan-Paul van der Merwe and I am 20 years old.

Where do you live? My family live in Port Elizabeth.

Tell us about your family? My father’s name is Andre and my mother’s Dalene. I have a brother Riaan and a step brother Corne.

Tell us about your background-where you went to school etc? Went to school in Mooifontein, Johannesburg and then moved to PE where I went to Altona Primary Daniel Pienaar for 2 years and then on to SA Jockey Academy.

From day one when you started riding you appeared to be very at home on a horse. Had you done lots of riding before you went to the academy? No I had never ridden a horse except pony rides at fun festivals etc.

Apart from being naturally quite small what else decided you and your family that you should become a jockey? My passion for speed and my love for animals.

Were any of your family interested in horse racing? My father knew a bit about racing.

How did you become interested in horse racing? Because my father knew a bit about racing he thought I could become a jockey.

Who were the people in racing who had the biggest influence on you in your decision to make racing your career? I listened to stories of when my great grandfather’s brother was an amateur rider.

Before making your career in racing was there anything else which interested you and which you could also have gone into? No – possibly a civil engineer.

Who were the trainers you rode for after leaving the academy? Mr Michael Azzie and Mr Alec Laird.

Who were the people who took an interest in you and mentored you in the early part of your career? Both Mr Azzie and Mr Laird.

You have struck up a good relationship with trainer Mike Azzie. How did this come about? After winning on Golden Secret things got serious for us.

Which trainers befriended you and encouraged you when you started in the game? Mr Bulana gave me my first winner.

Which do you consider the best horse you have ridden thus far? Ilsanpiedro over ground and Two Tone over sprints.

What is your natural riding mass? 44 kgs.

What is it about your job which gives you the most satisfaction? Nothing beats the thrill of riding winners.

Which do you consider to be the best horse you seen in your career? JJ The Jetplane.

Do you find racing people trying to befriend you in order to get stable information from you? No – fortunately not.

Which of the apprentices you were at the academy with have become your long lasting friends? Tshwaro Appie.

What does your working day consist of? Up early in the morning and ride about 26 horses in work. Back to academy for breakfast. If racing that day leave at 10am for racecourse. If not racing then watch racing tapes. Have supper and bed by 10pm.

Has the success of Mike de Kock, in particular, and other SA trainers and jockeys overseas inspired you in any way and do you have any interest in perhaps riding Dubai or elsewhere overseas? Yes I would love to ride overseas. I am very interested in learning how other racing centres are run.

At this stage of your career what are your main ambitions? I would like to ride 200 winners before qualifying.

What is it about racing that makes you passionate about the game? Riding work and seeing how they perform on raceday. Seeing how good my judgement is.

Which are your favourite stallions? Jet Master and Western Winter.

Do you have a favourite racecourse in SA? Greyville because tactics can play a big part.

Do you ever advise friends or family to have a punt on a horse you really like? No.

Is there any senior jockey you have tried to emulate? No – I have tried to do it my way.

What is your preferred way to celebrate a big win? I like to spend time with friends.

What important lessons have you learnt about being a jockey in your short career to date? It is important to realise that there are ups and downs and one must keep trying as hard as possible.

Is there anything about being a jockey that really gets you down? Having a bad day at the races gets me down.

How do you like to spend your free time? Fishing or walking around a shopping mall.

Do you have a particular sport which you like to follow? Rugby – I am a Stormers supporter.

How much time do you spend studying form in order to make it easier to beat your fellow jockeys? I study the form as to where I am drawn and who my dangers are and think about how I can beat them.

You have not been involved in the game for a long time but In all honesty how straight do you think racing is? With modern technology – ie cameras etc and the rules which are implemented I think racing is straight.

What is your philosophy on the racing game? I have a simple philosophy which is to be the best I can be.

If you had one piece of advice for your fellow associates in the racing world what would it be? Treat everyone with respect!