Domeyer fit and focused
ALDO DOMEYER is to concentrate once more on Cape Town – and in particular on his first-jockey job with Candice BassRobinson - after riding winners all over the country in the final few days of last season to achieve his objective.
Much has been made of his third in the national log earning him a place on the South African team to ride in Singapore next month but in fact his aim was focussed much nearer home.
He said yesterday: “I was trying to win the Cape jockeys championship which was decided on national winners’ basis.
“From this season, though, it is back to a Cape racemeeting only basis and Richard Fourie could be hard to beat in that.”
Domeyer rode 18 winners in the last 11 days of the campaign.
For four of those days he didn’t ride but the other seven were scattered from Flamingo Park to Fairview and from the Vaal to Greyville.
He said: “I had a mountain to climb and I didn’t think I was going to do it but I don’t think I have ever been on a roll like this one.
“However I missed a lot of work, Candice has a lot of horses and I need to be fair to the clients so I won’t be doing all that again.
“I will go to Jo’burg to ride for Ashley (trainer wife of his father Andrew Fortune) when they need me but I doubt that I will go to other centres for them.”
The new season began on just the right note for Paul Reeves at Durbanville yesterday when the consistent Photocopy benefitted from a positive ride from Donovan Dillon to finally get his head in front where it mattered.
Reeves,51 on Tuesday, reckons this could be just the first of several wins, saying: “He has been frustrating but he is still a big baby and he has always shown so much. “He has a future.” Justin Snaith only waited until race two to start the ball rolling in his bid to land a third trainers’ championship and younger brother Jonathan reckons punters should make a note of the Richard Fourie-ridden Margrethe.
He explained: “She is a bit light so we will probably stick her away for a bit but she has a lot of scope and is definitely one to follow. Over 1 400m and a mile she will be even better than this.”
African Night Sky
African Night Sky has joined Mike de Kock and is in quarantine prior to being campaigned in Dubai.
Fred Crabbia’s Winter Series winner started favourite for the Durban July but suffered more than any other horse from the long delay at the start.
By the time the runners were eventually loaded all he wanted to do was gallop as fast as he could and Grant van Niekerk found him impossible to settle.
He finished an expensive fifth.
Michael Clower won with four of his five selections at Durbanville yesterday. JUSTIN SNAITH was officially crowned National Champion trainer when the season closed on Tuesday.
Snaith led for much of the season on his way to his second championship, finishing R6 million ahead of reigning champion Sean Tarry.
The Championship is judged on stakes won and Snaith runners, that included 162 winners, earned R26 794 988.
Tarry had 138 winners and his runners earned R20 522 775. Mike de Kock finished third with Brett Crawford in fourth place. The unfortunate fall that side-lined Anthony Delpech for the final three months of the season left the door open for apprentice Lyle Hewitson who took full toll. Hewitson racked up 184 winners in a memorable season that saw him land the National Jockey’s Championship as an apprentice, emulating the legendary Michael Roberts who was the last apprentice to win the National Championship.
Muzi Yeni finished a clear second on 149 winners and Aldo Domeyer edged out Delpech for third by just a single winner with Greg Cheyne, two back in fifth.
The battle between Domeyer and Cheyne went down to the last race meeting of the season with the pair fighting it out for a place on the three-man South African team to take part in the Singapore Jockey’s International taking place on September 25. Domeyer will join Hewitson and Yeni.
Hewitson
Naturally, Hewitson also took the National Apprentice title with Denis Schwarz and Ashton Arries in second and third places respectively. Sun Met and Woolavington 2000 winner Oh Susanna was the leading stakes earner followed by Undercover Agent and Vodacom Durban July winner Do It Again.
In sixth place was Yulong Prince, the renamed Surcharge, who will resume his racing career in Hong Kong. The race for the National Breeders Championship was again a close-run thing but reigning champions Klawervlei Stud retained their title from perennial rivals Summerhill Stud.