The Air Mauritius International Jockeys’ Challenge takes place on the 18 and 20 November.
This year’s event will again be a double-header, with the first leg taking place at Fairview before wrapping up at Turffontein on the Sunday.
Frankie Dettori
The South African team will be captained this year by reigning champion jockey S’manga Khumalo, while the isitors will be captained by one of horseracing’s most charismatic characters in the form of Frankie Dettori, who is no stranger to our shores, having ridden in the first two editions of this challenge.
The remainder of the squad includes Robert Havlin, Pat Cosgrave, Aurelian Lemaitre and Hayley Turner, all four of whom featured in last year’s event, while Irish jockey Fergus Sweeney makes his debut.
Anthony Delpech – adds muscle to SA team
As far as the South African team goes, Andrew Fortune and Anthony Delpech earned automatic inclusion as a result of their position on the National Jockey’s Log at the end of last season, while Muzi Yeni was included after Anton Marcus was unable to confirm his participation.
In-form Gavin Lerena and Grant van Niekerk have been thrown into the mix as wild cards.
Since the inception of the competition in 2008, the South Africans have dominated, winning the competition eight times. The Internationals managed to reel off two successive victories in 2011 and 2012.
Teams for the Air Mauritius International Jockeys’ Challenge:
South Africa
S’manga Khumalo (c)
Andrew Fortune
Anthony Delpech
Muzi Yeni
Gavin Lerena
Grant van Niekerk
Internationals
Frankie Dettori (Italy)
Robert Hablin (Scotland)
Pat Cosgrave (Ireland)
Fergus Sweeney (Ireland)
Aurelian Lemaitre (France)
Hayley Turner (England)
