Greg Cheyne. In SA to stay
Cape rider Greg Cheyne’s brilliant 200 to 1 double at Kenilworth last Wednesday once again underlined the benefit that overseas riding experience brings to the package that is the modern day professional jockey.
Cheyne brought the unfancied Lane Frost home in the second race for Piet Steyn, and rode a pearler in an end to end win aboard the Adam Marcus trained Souk in the eighth race at Kenilworth.
He showed outstanding judgement of pace on Souk, and his confidence is obviously at an all time high.
The 37 year old Cheyne has always been in the top echelon of his profession and describes his 2009 Vodacom Durban July win aboard the ill fated Big City Life as a career highlight.
While he and wife Claire are comfortably settled back at home in Cape Town after their return late last year from a stint in Hong Kong and Singapore, he quietly slipped out of South Africa a few days before the sun set on 2013 to ride the winner of the RM1 million Malaysian Group 3 2013 Magic Millions Classic over 1200m in Penang.
Cheyne won on the Johnny Lim-trained Mystic Power and was back race riding at Kenilworth on New Year’s Day.
Following the publication of an old article with a skewed time frame, there was some confusion as to whether Cheyne would be riding in South Africa.
In an interview last week, Cheyne said that he was definitely back in South Africa to stay and that he was available for rides.
“I have been fortunate to enjoy some wonderful support from good yards since I arrived back. I am stable jockey to the powerful Alan Greeff yard in Port Elizabeth, but am riding freelance in Cape Town. Joey Ramsden has a powerful string and has given me some nice opportunities . Adam Marcus is a young trainer with a very professional outlook and approach and I really enjoy riding for him. “
Cheyne does not use an agent and may be contacted directly for rides.
