S’manga Khumalo – in Hong Kong late last year
With less than eight weeks left in the current season, S’manga ‘Bling’ Khumalo is just ahead of rival Gavin ‘Speed-Dial’ Lerena with 163 wins to 161, making this year’s race for the Champion Jockey title a thriller.
Khumalo and Lerena have quite a lead on Greg Cheyne, currently in third place with 142 wins. Making up the current fourth and fifth places are Anthony Delpech and Piere ‘Striker’ Strydom with 138 and 136 wins respectively.
The Champion Jockey of the year will be officially announced on Tuesday 11 August at the annual Equus Awards, known as the “Oscars” of South African horseracing, where those who have achieved exceptional results during the racing season will be recognised and awarded by Racing. It’s a Rush!
Last year Khumalo, who at 15 was spotted by a talent scout who visited his school in Kwa Mashu in Durban, made history by being the first black jockey to walk away with the Champion Jockey title, which he won with an impressive 185 wins from 1 381 rides.
As of Monday this week, Khumalo has currently ridden in 1 025 races to date this season.
While both Khumalo and Lerena felt that that the race for the championship was wide open a few weeks ago, it certainly looks like there may only be two contenders for the very prestigious Champion Jockey title.
