That wave! Grant Van Niekerk
The backers and connections of Glen Kotzen’s smart Silvano filly Omaticaya may have enjoyed jockey Grant Van Niekerk’s ‘come and get me’ gesture at Kenilworth on Saturday, but the salute has not impressed the Stipes, it seems.
Van Niekerk, who has a fantastic strike rate for Kotzen, was streets ahead of his opposition in the third race, when he turned around and waved his arm in a challenging fashion.
We are guessing that the gesture was directed at Andrew Fortune who was going up and down on the fancied Tigeress Dance, who ran second.
The Stipes reported:
Jockey G van Niekerk signed an Admission of Guilt for the contravention of Rule 62.2.2 in that he, as the rider of OMATICAYA, rode this filly in an unprofessional manner when he turned around and made a celebratory gesture for a number of strides passing the 50m. He was fined R1 000.
The 22 year old Van Niekerk, who became a fully fledged jockey in February 2012, is loaded with talent but is the uncut diamond of the SA riding ranks.
Van Niekerk was suspended for a weighing in irregularity on the Glen Kotzen trained The Which Doctor on L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate day this year. The Lake Coniston filly had run second but was placed last after Van Niekerk weighed in more than a half kilo below weight.
Salute! An elated Grant Van Niekerk steers Gifted For Glory to win the Gr3 Winter Derby recently
Van Niekerk also found himself in hot water at Durbanville last year when he was blamed for nearly causing a serious incident, given a fortnight’s suspension and had the race taken off him.
The Racegoer’s Michael Clower reported at the time that the young rider had made a dive for the rails on Jack Flash.
Golden Enchantment was forced to swerve violently as he struggled to stay on his feet and Glen Hatt (“my horse’s hind legs went underneath another horse and his backside was on the ground”) was lucky not come off hot favourite Stars And Stripes.
Jack Flash passed the post a fifth of a length in front but the Stipes objected and the race was awarded to the strong-finishing 9-1 shot Destiny’s Tale who paid almost twice that on the Tote. Van Niekerk was promptly called back into the boardroom and suspended.
Senior stipe Ernie Rodrigues said: “We had to ask ourselves if the second lost ground as a result of the incident. The answer was yes, a length and a half. Two jockeys were in severe danger, Glen Hatt almost fell off and we gave Grant Van Niekerk two weeks for careless riding.”
Van Niekerk reckoned he was unlucky, saying: “I wanted to be on the rails and I thought I’d got there when my saddle suddenly slipped.”
Are the Stipes stifling freedom of expression and needle by fining the young man for what was obviously a triumphant rush of blood in the heat of a competitive moment?
We think so, particularly if one considers the bigger issues.
Like the ineptitude of the KZN starter, who amongst other things, had to be prevented from jumping the first leg of the Pick Six at Scottsville on Sunday, a few minutes early, by commentator Craig Peters!
