Mathew Thackeray

 

Mathew Thackeray graduated from the SA Jockey Academy as part of the same class as Callan Murray, Tristan Godden, Brandon May and Shadlee Fortune.

For young riders finding their feet as fully fledged jockeys, it can be tough out there, but Mathew is tackling the bull by the horns and putting in the hours – and the air miles – to improve month on month, scoring 7 wins, including two nice doubles, in the last two weeks. A genuine light weight at 50kgs, likeable and hard-working, he is quietly getting on with the job of honing his craft.

About Mathew

The quietly spoken young man who is still a few months shy of his 21st birthday, hails from Henley on Klip. His father actually applied to be a jockey in his time, but was unable to meet the weight requirements. Mathew explains that he was always a sporty type at school and being small, when his parents asked whether he would like to apply to the Academy, he said yes. “We’ve always been into racing, so it was always something I would end up doing. I got through all the interviews and they accepted me and that’s basically how I got into it,” he says matter-of-factly.

His first ride under rules was aboard Nitro Nori for Alyson Wright at Clairwood on 15 September 2013 and he notched his first win on 1 February 2014 at the Vaal for Erico Verdonese on Fun City. Asked to describe his progression through the ranks so far, he says, “Losing your claim does make a difference, but your experience improves with it and the more you lose your claim, the more you have to improve. When you’ve lost your claim, you just need to crack a winner to show trainers that you don’t need the claim anymore and that’s really the main thing.”

Future Racing Star

Mathew was selected by SAJA to represent South Africa in the Longines Future Racing Stars in 2015 which is something he considers one of his career highlights so far. “A week or two later I went to Poland to compete again. It was nice to see how they race in France and to ride Arabs in Poland. It broadens your perspective on things and shows you there’s a whole different world out there to learn about.” Is riding abroad something that’s on his agenda for the future? “I’ll see how it goes,” he says thoughtfully. “You can’t put all your eggs in one basket. If a good offer comes along, you can’t turn it down, but at the moment I’m focussing on trying to keep things going well here.”

Having completed his time at the Academy in January this year, he is living at home again and enjoying the support of his family. “When you come out of your time you can earn good money, but you still have to buy a car, pay for petrol, etc, so I’ve moved home so that I can save up and get back on my feet again.” Is it hard living back home again? “My family have always been really supportive of my riding. They know if you’ve had a bad day that you’re going to be a little grouchy and it never really gets them down. Being my agent, my mom knows what I go through. She does all my flights, my bookings, rides and so on. She’s like my admin. But the support’s always there and my parents used to come to the track to watch me race, although it’s harder now that I’m travelling. I’m lucky to have good family support. It gives you that little boost you need.”

Asked if he has a girlfriend, he is characteristically serious. “I’m too busy right now, so will keep it for later in life. I spent five years in the Academy and just need to get myself established for now.” While one has to work pretty hard as an apprentice, you need to work twice as hard once you’re fully qualified as you’re up against established riders with many years more experience. “If you enjoy what you do, it’s worth it, particularly when you can look back and see what you’ve accomplished,” he says.

South Africa currently has a very likeable group of young riders progressing through the ranks and they all seem particularly supportive of one another. Is it all as friendly as it looks on social media? “Everyone jokes and there’s always fun going on. These are people you see every day of your life at the Academy and then when you leave, you’re still seeing them every day. You’re on the plane together, at races together. On the track, no-one is friends, obviously, but in the jockey room, it’s family.”

Carving a niche

So how is his first season going so far? “So far so good. I’ve employed my mom as my agent and she’s the one doing all the hard work phoning for rides.” Riding is almost as much a matter of confidence as it is a matter of skill and having an agent gives one the all-important distance you need from the ups and understandable downs of asking for and being rejected for rides, which can be difficult to deal with. He agrees. “Confidence is definitely the biggest player. When you’re riding with confidence, you’re not shy to do what you need to in a race, but if you’re riding horses with little chance of winning, your confidence does run low. The only thing for me when coming out of my time was getting started again. I did hit a slow patch, but recently my form is starting to come back again. The thing is you have to keep working every day and show that you’re there to do your job and want to ride.” Is he still enjoying it? “I love it. I wouldn’t give it up for anything,” he says sincerely.

Life as a jockey is notoriously trying on the nerves and the resolve. Asked how he pulled himself through the slow patch, he is pragmatic. “I started travelling to get more rides. With more rides, will come more experience and more winners, so that was the main thing I did. I’ve always ridden in Kimberley, but now I’ve added in PE on Fridays and Mondays, which adds to the racing, so I’m racing almost five times a week. I don’t really go to Durban at this stage, so my only day off is Wednesday and Sunday if I don’t go to Zimbabwe.” It’s a punishing schedule and he admits that days off are spent trying to recuperate and regroup for the week ahead. “If you don’t travel, you’re not going to get the rides or the experience you need to keep the winners and rides coming.” The strategy seems to be paying off. While his overall statistics are still fairly conservative, closer inspection reflects a steady month by month improvement.

Mathew is currently freelancing and primarily focussing on Kimberley, Joburg and Port Elizabeth as well as riding in Zimbabwe and is lucky enough to receive support from a variety of yards in each centre. While travel is expensive, he is philosophical. “If you can get 5 or 6 rides on a day, it’s no problem. That will cover your airfare and anything else is profit. Since my mom has become my agent, it’s opened up a few doors for me in PE with Tara Laing and Dorrie Sham and I’m getting more opportunities in Joburg as well.”

Does he have a favourite track? “At the moment, Turffontein would be my best because things seem to be clicking for me there, but I don’t really have a favourite. It depends on the horses and how they run and which course they enjoy. Horses suit courses, for example a horse that can’t go to the front and stay a mile at Turffontein because of the uphill, will be able to do it at the Vaal, so it all depends on what horse you’re riding.”

Focussing forward

Is he happy with his first season? “Looking back I’m happy with what I’ve achieved. Obviously going forward I’ll be looking for a better season next year, so I’ll push on and be looking for more winners and try and keep it rolling. It all comes down to your support, basically. You need to be in owners’ and trainers’ good books. If you don’t, they will look for someone else. Obviously things don’t always go to plan, so you have to have a Plan B, but if you know your horse and all its ins and outs, you just have to use that to help it run its best race. It all comes down to relationships. As long as I can keep my trainers and owners happy, they shouldn’t have a problem giving me rides and putting me back on horses and that’s the main thing I’m trying to work on for now.”

Mathew is fortunate to walk around at 50kgs and is easily able to ride at bottom weight. “I’m really lucky and don’t have a problem with what I eat and so on. I just hope it stays that way!”

What gets him up in the morning? “Winning,” he says without hesitation. “If you have a winner, you wake up at 3am and wait at track for the horses to come. That’s what drives you and builds confidence. That’s what makes you wake up in the morning.”