Chad Schofield pictured during his high-flying Hong Kong riding days (HKJC)
KZN’s reigning champion trainer Gareth van Zyl has announced the rider for his Hollywoodbets Durban July contender King Pelles and it will add further international flavour to the big race.
Chad Schofield will join his cousin Zac Lloyd as a rider in the big race with Zac having been announced earlier this week as the rider for the Justin Snaith-trained Happy Verse.
One factor which will give 31-year-old Chad an advantage over 22-year-old Zac is he has ridden in the July before, partnering The Conglomerate in 2015 and finding himself stuck behind a wall of horses when trying to find a path down the outside.
He will have that in mind when planning his race this time.
(*The Joey Ramsden-trained The Conglomerate went on to win the race the following year in 2016 under Piere Strydom)
Chad and Zac are the respective sons of two world class former Durbanite jockeys who both married daughters of former trainer Aubrey Roberts.
Chad is the son of Glyn Schofield, while Zac is the son of the legendary Jeff Lloyd.
Glyn was not considered a top echelon jockey in South Africa until the first decade of this millennium when returning from overseas.
His overseas campaigns included a stint in Hong Kong where he rode 151 winners between 2003 and 2006.
Upon his return to South Africa it soon became apparent he had transformed into a world class jockey and often outrode his weighing rooom colleagues with his fine hands and quite incredible judgement of pace. He not only became one of the most sort after jockeys in South Africa but went on to become, like Jeff, a highly sort after jockey in Australia, where he rode 18 Gr 1 winners.
Chad rose to prominence after winning Australia’s greatest weight for age race, the Cox Plate, in 2013 on maiden Shamus Award at the tender age of 19, the youngest to ride the winner in that iconic race since Brent Thomson won it at the age of 17 in 1975.
He then followed in his father’s foootsteps by riding in Hong Kong where he had 208 wins in a seven year stint.
He continued to be a sort after jockey when returning to Australia and has had nine Gr 1 wins in his career.
Gareth was left without a jockey when Gavin Lerena jumped ship from King Pelles on to the latecomer in the top 20 on the log, Minogue, but this paved the way for further international presence in the big race.
