Tshwaro Appie (photo: supplied)
Tshwaro Appie is another proudly South African jockey plying his trade abroad and the 28 year old makes his race riding debut in Macau on Sunday, 12 May 2019.
Have Saddle, Will Travel
Tshwaro has been travelling on and off for the past four years and has spent the past two seasons riding in Kuwait. He says that while the first season went very well, things slowed down a little in his second season. Looking for a new challenge, he applied to Macau and was delighted to be granted a visiting jockey’s license for the rest of the current season. He left Kuwait at the end of March. He says, “I didn’t waste any time. As soon as I had the letter of acceptance, I went home to see my family for two weeks and then came here.”
I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends
Tshwaro and Grant van Niekerk (photo: author’s own)
Tshwaro arrived in Hong Kong on Tuesday, 23 April, where SAJA classmate Grant van Niekerk lent a helping hand. “Myself and Grant started the Academy together in 2007. There were five of us – myself, Grant, JP van der Merwe, Gareth Wright and Athandiwe Mgudlwa – and we’re all still quite close knit. When I got the green light from Macau, I wasn’t sure about the travel, so I contacted Grant and he said he would be pleased to help.”
Originally scheduled to leave for Macau on Wednesday morning, Grant insisted he stay over, get rested and go racing at Happy Valley and then went the extra mile to ensure his friend got settled in. “On Thursday Grant and his family got on the ferry and travelled with me to Macau, which was really nice of them,” Tshwaro says gratefully.
Racing in Macau
Macau Jockey Club (photo: MJC)
The Macau Jockey Club is situated on Taipa, an island in Macau on the southern coast of China. Originally established as the Macau Trotting Club in 1980 in an attempt to introduce harness racing to Asia, the track was converted from a trotting facility to a flat race facility in 1989. The racecourse features a 1600m oval turf track on the outside with a 370m straight and an inner 1400m sand track – used for racing as well as training – with a 320m straight on the inside. Racing is conducted clockwise and the racing season runs from September to August.
After getting the administration of insurance and medical aid out of the way, Tshwaro started work on Monday, 29 April and shared his first impressions.
“It’s a bit like Hong Kong. Everything (training and racing) is done at the same centre and we use the same tracks for work in the mornings. We ride work from Monday to Friday, if there’s night racing then the track is usually closed on Saturday and we race on Sunday.”
He explains that morning track work sessions are well structured. “You get a call from a trainer to come and work the horses you will be riding in races, so you schedule those rides the day before and you know you need to be on a certain horse at a certain time. The tracks open at 5am, so I try to be there at 5am and on my first horse as soon as the track opens. After meeting all my commitments to the trainers I have rides for, I try and get to as many other trainers as possible to see where I can help.”
His proactive approach is already paying dividends. “I got called in by the Stipendiary Stewards to say they are very pleased with my work ethic. South Africans have got a very good name here for being hard working and they like my personality, so if I can keep it up, I’ve got a chance of doing great things. I was very pleased with that, so now I just have to prove myself on race day.”
Tshwaro has been rewarded with a diverse book of rides for a cross section of trainers on Sunday’s card and he makes his Macau debut in race 2, which faces the starter at 13:30 (07:30 local time). His other engagements are in races 3, 4, 7, 8 and 10. He cautions that it’s not the strongest book of rides, but promises that he will be trying in the hopes of making a good early impression.
Family Support
The life of a professional jockey is a tough one, particularly when you are away from home and on your own. Tshwaro acknowledges, “Macau is like a little Vegas – there’s a hotel and casino on every corner. It’s a very busy, crazy lifestyle and I think it would be easy to lose focus, but I constantly remind myself why I’m here. It’s a big opportunity for me and couldn’t have happened at a better time. I’m determined, willing to work hard and willing to make it.”
Fortunately he has strong backing from home. “It helps a lot if you have family that supports and understands. My mom and dad are still together and I’ve got an older brother and sister as well as two nephews and a niece, who are all at home in West Rand. They are very supportive and I talk to them often. I’ve also got a very supportive girlfriend at home and we talk every day. She also understands and that helps a lot.”
Tshwaro’s progress can be followed on the Macau Jockey Club website – https://www.mjc.mo/race_en/info/racecard.php.
We wish him every success.
