Marwing contracted to race in Mauritius
CHAMPION: HE WILL BE RIDING FOR SEVEN-TIME CHAMP GILBERT ROUSSET
S’manga Khumalo hopes to start work riding next week.
Internationally renowned jockey Weichong Marwing has accepted a contract to ride for seven-time champion trainer Gilbert Rousset for the 2018 Mauritius racing season.
The season there spans 25 March when the Group 2 Duchess Of York is run to International Jockeys’ Weekend on 2 and 3 December.
Marwing (47), who rode on the island in 1991 and at international meetings in 1997, 2007 and 2007, said: “It will be nice to be first choice jockey in a top yard again.
“I’m not getting a lot of rides here. I’ve been mostly riding for smaller yards – for my brother Weiho, who has a very young stable and does not have that many horses running now, and Leon Erasmus has been great, although Sherman Brown gets first choice.
“It has been picking up recently, with rides from Adam Azzie and Johan Janse van Vuuren, but I’ve had no solid commitments for the Highveld racing season.
“I can only produce winners on what I’m given,” said the former SA champion jockey, whose big-race wins include several top horses in Hong Kong, like Irridescence and Viva Pataca (QEII Cup in 2006 and 2010 respectively), Olympic Express (Hong Kong Derby, Hong Kong Mile and Hong Kong Gold Cup in 2002), Jeune King Prawn and Dan Exel (Champions Mile in 2002 and 2013 respectively.
He also won three races on Dubai World Cup Night – Right Approach (Duty Free 2004), Lundy’s Liability and Asiatic Boy (UAE Derby in 2004 and 2007 respectively) and Grand Emporium (Godolphin Mile 2005).
“So when the offer came along I worked out that I had nothing to lose. “This is a great opportunity. “It will freshen me up and I’m looking forward to it.”
Marwing’s popularity with local trainers took a knock when he hurt his back after Smart Call won the Paddock Stakes in 2016 and he had to take a bit of time off.
He also had ligament issues, “but those have subsided now and the back injury seems to have sorted itself out.
“I’m riding a lot better and I feel great,” he said.
Rousset has been training for 30 years and was champion in 1987, 2009 -11, 2013, 2016, and was champion last year with 40 winners.
The highest-rated horse in the stable is Ten Gun Salute, a fourtime winner in South Africa including the Grade 2 Betting World 1900.
* Twice champion jockey S’manga Khumalo has been given the all-clear to start riding work next Tuesday and is hoping to be back raceriding in the first week of March.
Khumalo had surgery on 10 January to remove a pin from his left knee.
He has not ridden in a race since 29 November. The stitches came out 10 days ago.
He said yesterday: “I’m still not stressing the knee and taking it day by day, but my biokineticist Jessica Weston is behind it, as is my boss Sean Tarry.
“I’ll be taking only a couple of rides in work to begin with and see how the knee feels and work up from there.”