Do not throw in the towel; use it for wiping the sweat off your face. – Unknown
Adversity cause some men to break; others to break records – William A. Ward
Teamwork is the fuel that allows common people to produce uncommon results – Unknown
No steam or gas drives anything until it is confined. No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated, disciplined – Harry Emerson Fosdick D. D
If you train hard, you’ll not only be hard, you’ll be hard to beat – Herschel Walker
It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get back up. – Vince Lombardi
A lot of sports motivational quotes are centered around sentiments of being knocked down and getting back up again, of persevering against the odds, of suffering physical and psychological deprivation and learning emerge on the other end stronger and more resilient.
Surely no sportsperson epitomizes these hardships as completely as a jockey. They are expected to be exceptional in every way – exceptionally small, exceptionally light, exceptionally strong, exceptionally dedicated, exceptionally disciplined and exceptionally skilled – and that’s just to cope with the horses. To survive the minefield of trainers, owners and industry officials they need the eyes of a hawk, the tongue of a diplomat, the patience of a saint, the courage of a lion, the instinct of a killer, the timing of a cobra, the skin of a rhino, the stomach of a mouse and the hands of a Renaissance painter. And of course, the smile of good old Lady Luck.
So how is it that such quite frankly fabulous individuals are so overlooked in the world of serious sport ? Most professional sportspeople become household names in a few seasons. It is therefore baffling that jockeys can be out there competing (and winning) into their 50’s, and yet remain relatively obscure outside their chosen profession. A great illustration is Tony McCoy, currently at short odds to win the 57th BBC Sports Personality Of The Year award. He has ridden over 3000 winners in his career (including the 2010 Grand National) and has held the title of champion jump jockey every year since 1995/96. Yet in its 57 year history, guess how many times the award has gone to a jockey? Exactly none. Odd considering England is the original home of the English Thoroughbred and so steeped in the history of the Sport of Kings.
Judging by the volume of books and discussions on the subject, the work of a gifted rider transcends skill and falls more within the realms of art. I’ve had horses most of my life and would be comfortable pegging myself as ‘competent’. I have lessons, I practice, I work on my position, my balance, my hands, etc. It is a constant battle and, if I work really hard, I might one day reach the heady heights of ‘average’. So when I watch a jockey hurlting by on the gallops sans stirrups and perfectly in balance and control in only a snaffle, I could cheerfully hurl something at them !
Trying my hand at amateur racing many years ago gave me an undying respect for the guys who do this several times a day, most days of the week – and worse still, look good doing it!! Jockeys and their riding style are often hotly debated, with many people having a personal favourite. If you enjoy watching, analyzing and comparing riding styles, then you must be looking forward to the International Jockey Challenge as much as I am.
The Home Team
The South African team comprises Anton Marcus (current SA champion jockey, team captain and freshly back from captaining the Rest Of The World Team at the Shergar Cup), Felix ‘The Cat’ Coetzee (three time SA champion jockey), Anthony Delpech (twice SA champion jockey), Pierre ‘Striker’ Strydom (I think we’ve run out of races he hasn’t won), Andrew Fortune (2008/09 SA champion jockey) and Muzi Yeni, who was on our young rider’s team last year and has graduated to the senior team for 2010. Gavin Lerena (who won last year’s victor ludorum) is our reserve rider. In the spirit of ‘knowing our enemy’ I have taken the liberty of doing a little background research on our visiting team.
The Challengers
Our international challengers are Christophe ‘Super Soumy’ Soumillion (captain), Kieren ‘The Assassin’ Fallon, Halis ‘The Wizard’ Karatas, Umberto ‘The Record Breaker’ Rispoli, Martin ‘Alvin’ Garcia, and Hayley ‘The English Rose’ Turner.
It is a varied and colourful invitational team. Team captain ‘Super Soumy’ is the Belgian-born, French-based rider famous for his flamboyant and occasionally bizarre victory celebrations. His list of accomplishments is awe-inspiring. While some might prefer quality over quantity, he has both areas covered. He rode five winners in a day in April 2000, and repeated the feat in September 2006. His highest number of winning rides totaled 226 in 2006. He has won the biggest titles in France several times over, held the French Champion Jockey title 3 times and was the stable jockey for the Aga Khan. As if his accomplishments on the flat are not enough, he made his debut over hurdles in June this year and is already making a success of that. He also has an interest in trotting horses and is married to a former Miss France. In all respects, a worthy successor to last year’s visiting captain, Frankie Dettori !
Kieren Fallon hails from Ireland. He is rated by the Telegraph as ‘the most gifted horseman from an era of great jockeys’ and the fact that he has been the British Champion Jockey 6 times pretty much says it all. The famous floppy hair has recently been replaced by a severe crew cut and his blue eyes are intense and serious, even in his press photographs, lending credence to his nickname ‘The Assassin’. I believe he gives his mounts a trademark whistle as he picks off his rivals.
Halis “The Wizard’ Karatas is a Turkish national and has chalked up more than 3000 victories in a career spanning a quarter of a century, giving him a phenomenal 27% strike rate. He has piloted both THB and Arabian racehorses and has a wealth of international experience, including the Shergar Cup, the 2005 Cape Verdi, the Gazi Derby, and six Prime Ministry Cups. Halis was on the visiting team last year and is sure to give our guys a big run for their money.
Umberto ‘The Record Breaker’ Rispoli was Italy’s champion jockey for 2009 and is most famous for smashing the record for the most wins in one season. His victory on Sugarland in Pisa last November brought his total number of firsts past the post to a record-breaking 230. Not content to rest there, he went on to finish the season on a staggering 245.
Martin Garcia, nicknamed Alvin (after Alvin and the chipmunks) is a bit of an early favourite for me simply because I love his story so much. Originally from Mexico, Martin immigrated to the US in 2003 and found work at amongst others, a delicatessen in California (whilst simultaneously holding down a job at a restaurant and cleaning office buildings after hours). It took some convincing, but the horsey deli owner, Teri Terry, finally introduced Martin to a local trainer and the rest, as they say is history. Martin rode his first winner in 2005 and received a nomination for the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Apprentice Jockey in 2006. This year he partnered the Bob Baffert-trained Lookin at Lucky to victory in the Preakness.
The final member of the visiting team is English Rose Hayley Turner. Despite a rather grim start to her career (her debut mount, Markellis, broke a leg midfield and had to be destroyed), Hayley has stuck to her resolve and is slowly, but steadily making a name for herself. She was joint Champion UK Apprentice in 2005, became the first female jockey to ride 100 winners in her 2008 season and despite a bad fall at Newmarket which sidelined her for much of the 2009 season, she still managed a total of 60 winners. Hayley was voted Channel 4’s Racing personality for 2008, was the ‘Face of Derby’ for 2009 and is generally accepted as the golden girl of British racing.
The Competition
The competition comprises a total of 8 challenge races which will be run over a new 2-leg format. The first leg of 4 races takes place under the lights at Turffontein on Friday, 12 November. New for this year is the second leg at Kenilworth Racecourse on Sunday, 14 November, which I for one am very much looking forward to.
As trialed at the recent Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup, the competitors will be riding in team colours, with silks specially made up by sponsors Velotex. I think this is a particularly nice touch as the riders are very proud to be competing as a team, evidenced by the proposition of an individual award being turned down, with the riders opting for a group prize or nothing at all.
And while we’re talking sponsors, thanks must go to Citizen, Barloworld Fleet Marketing, Table Bay Hotel, Velotex, Equifeeds, WPOTA, Cape Breeders, TBA, PGE, Racing South Africa and of course all the hard working organizers (you know who you all are !).
I think it is best summed up in the words of Hassen Adams who said: “The world comes alive when you bring nations together, as we saw in the World Cup, and that is what this event is all about.”
So, if any of you have your gold and greens left over from the World Cup, why not bring them out of retirement in November ?
