Life wasn’t easy for the young apprentice rider son of a Bookmaker. Three decades on, former jockey Rael Zieve reflects on one of the best jobs in the world – and how he misses being involved directly in horseracing.
Crowned champion apprentice in 1987 and Zimbabwe champion jockey in 2001, the young Zieve could ride. He loved horses and was a natural sportsman.
Rael Zieve – keen to get involved again
He joined the SA Jockey Academy in January 1985 at the age of 15.
“Being the son of a bookmaker you can imagine that came with its own incredible stigmas. But thankfully in a small place like Harare, I proved to the racing fraternity that the relationship between myself and my father was a personal not professional one! He never asked about the horses I was riding, and I never discussed the odds,” he says.
Rael stares out of the window as he tells us that Zimbabwe was an awesome place to live and ride.
“Between Borrowdale and Ascot, we had some of the best courses as well. In August 2001 I left and came to ride in the Western Cape, where I had my fair share of success thanks to some good support.”
Rael stopped riding in May of 2010.
This happened after a trip to his old hunting ground at Borrowdale Park, where he had a very bad fall and broke his wrist.
“While I was lucky in respect of only suffering a broken wrist, I know it affected my mental approach to riding thereafter. I wouldn’t say I was scared, I just was not 100% confident anymore. I think any jockey will tell you that you have to be completely relaxed and at home on all the horses you ride, and I just wasn’t there anymore. It was a very tough thing to admit to myself,” he adds ruefully.
Since then, Rael and Julia have had their third child.
“Our travel and tourism business has allowed me to be a stay-at-home Dad and spend the time I think necessary with my young kids. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it and I’m very grateful that I could be in this position, but I have really missed being involved in horse racing.”
Rael tried his hand in the training yard.
Eric Sands
“I spent 3 months with Eric Sands and learnt a huge amount from his vast knowledge of stable management. It was really a good time for me and although Eric is a tough task master, his underlying ‘motto’ is that he always does the best for the horse and owner. During my time there, I worked out that, as much as I would like to train, the practicalities and numbers just didn’t work out for me. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you how hard it is to get up and running and then build a clientele etc,” he said scribbling sums on a busy doodle pad.
He then decided to look more towards the Racing Manager side of things, and after many emails and telephone calls to different people, he managed to land a job with Two Oceans Racing.
“It seemed like a step in the right direction and I was really enjoying what I was doing. However it didn’t last very long. Two Oceans Racing was already heading towards financial problems, which I didn’t know at the time,” he says.
He is steadfast in his belief that the Racing Manager concept is set for growth and will become more popular in South Africa.
Rael and family – a few years back
“I believe horses make trainers and jockeys . And , let’s face it, not all horses suit every kind of trainer or jockey. With respect to all, there are just certain horses that could benefit from the opportunity of perhaps being in another yard, ridden by another jockey – or even raced in another centre. So while I understand that trainers want to keep every horse they can for business reasons – perhaps they bought the horse at the sales- I don’t think that it’s always the best solution for the horse.”
Rael is currently a level 1 CFA candidate and wrote his first exam last Saturday.
“It’s quite a jump for someone that just got past a couple of ‘O’ Levels while still an apprentice. But go big or go home, I always say. The exams are going to be hugely difficult to get through, but win or lose, I’ve learnt a lot in the last 7 months of study.”
While he concedes that there are not many avenues an ex-jockey can follow to put something back into the game, he says that he is excited about the future and feels that he still has a lot to offer the sport.
“Good things come to those that wait, so I will keep plugging away!”
Rael can be contacted on [email protected]
