Aldo Domeyer returned to South Africa this week after being crowned victor ludorum against all the odds in Tuesday’s PGI Jockeys Challenge South Africa in Singapore and said his experience out there had been different to anything he had expected.
He also reckoned he had turned the corner as a jockey and believes he can now compete against any rider without being concerned.
Team SA – Lyle Hewitson, Muzi Yeni and Aldo Domeyer
He said, “We see Singapore racing but we don’t hear about it. They are years and years ahead of us. Everything is efficient and disciplined and everybody is doing their bit to sustain the level. It is a different world, They are moving forward together and have a fluid way of running things.”
The Kranji turf course was in perfect condition with just a little bit of ‘sting’ out of the ground.
Domeyer said by common consensus he had the worst rides of any of the jockeys on the night.
He said, “Lyle (Hewitson) said to me ‘I know you don’t have the best rides but just try and beat a few home.’ I replied ‘I’m going to do some magic out there tonight.’”
Although his response was said in a jestful tone, inside he was determined not to be one of the also rans.
He said he had always loved riding in fast paced races on fast tracks and also pointed out his high rate of success in previous Jockeys Internationals. In his winning ride over 1200m his mount Safeer was always travelling well just behind the leaders. He then got the necessary extra out of him by riding him vigorously all the way to the line.
Out in Singapore all eyes are on the legendary Joao ‘Magic’ Moreira both on the course and in the stands. So it was no mean feat to have got the better of Moreira in that race, considering Domeyer was only on the fifth most fancied horse. However, he did admit having no weight of expectation on him had helped.
The win added to an earlier third place and that was enough to win the victor ludorum.
Domeyer spoke of mixing it with some of the best jockeys from around the world, “It is not everyday in one jockey’s room you have the like of Hugh Bowman, Joao Moreira, Kerrin McEvoy, Hayley Turner , Aldo Domeyer …”
“Magic Man” Joao Moreira
On a more serious note he commented on how all of the best jockeys both overseas and at home had a common demeanour. He used Hugh Bowman, the regular rider of the world’s best racehorse, Winx, as an example, describing him as so composed it was as if he was ‘floating on a cloud’.
This season Domeyer will be aiming to win as many big races as possible as he felt he had not yet left his mark on Cape Town as strongly as he would have liked to.
He then aims to start early next season and go for the championships as that is when “doors really open for a jockey.”
He said, “They say you need 10,000 hours before you start understanding your craft. I have been listening to my father (Andrew Fortune) for a long time and had been kind of getting it but also kind of not and last season everything just clicked. I think a lot of it is just trusting your instincts and listening to yourself. The last thing you want to be doing is questioning yourself. So now I am no longer thinking of the big names I’m riding against, I’m just riding against myself. It is all coming together and I know what I am doing.”
- www.goldcircle.co.za
