South African-born jockey Barend Vorster was awarded his first John Letts Medal as part of the Racing South Australia Industry Awards function on Saturday.
The South African collected the prestigious award with 66 points, to narrowly beat out Kayla Crowther (62) with Paul Gatt and apprentice Ben Price dead-heating for third (41).
The winner is decided by a scaled voting system that allocates points to jockeys who produce the best performances at each metropolitan, provincial and country meeting in South Australia.
For Vorster, who has been in Australia for three years, the achievement obviously means a great deal. The South African expat had spent fifteen years in Singapore before making South Australia home when brought out as stable jockey for Tony McEvoy in 2019, and has chosen to remain there despite the lure of moving to Victoria when the McEvoy stable made Victoria its sole base.
According to racingsa.com.au, Vorster, who won by four votes from Kayla Crowther, said, “An achievement like this is very special. It really means a lot. I’ve been fortunate enough to have consistency, health and good horses on my side. I’m very grateful for that.”
Vorster was also crowned Champion South Australian Metropolitan jockey, with 51 of his seasonal 96 winners earned at city level.
- Breeding & Racing
