Craig Bantam is in cruise control on Mary Lamb (picture via facebook).
Craig Bantam does not get many chances on potential winners but on the occasions he does he seldom lets the side down.
A case in point was in the Grade 1 Cape Guineas last year when he nearly caused a massive upset on his chance ride, Pomp And Power, and another example was provided on Tuesday this week when he brought the Justin Snaith-trained Mary Lamb home in convincing fashion at Hollywoodbets Durbanville.
Craig rides at Phillippi training centre twice a week and landed the ride on Mary Lamb when Richard Fourie booked off sick.
The Dynasty filly had finished two recent close up thirds over 1400m and 1600m respectively and was drawn in pole for the 1400m event.
She started as joint 9/2 favourite on the books with two other horses, although she was not Tote favourite.
Craig bounced her out well and got her up in to the leading line on the rail before easing her back, without upsetting her rhythm, to allow a horse on the outer to move into the lead.
He then had her beautifully settled in the box seat.
In the straight he extracted a superb turn of foot from Mary Lamb, which saw her hitting the front just after the 400m mark.
He kept her straight riding hands and heels and with some slaps down the shoulder.
He only drew the stick close to home, but put it away quickly when seeing the race was in safekeeping.
She cruised in to win by a 1,75 length margin which flattered the opposition.
It was Craig’s third win of the season.
However, a look at his first page on formgrids.co.za tells a story.
Of his 50 rides on the page, only three of them have been in single figure odds. The only one shorter than 5/1, Mary Lamb, he arrived on.
Craig remembers the Saturday well in late 2021 when he was the only spare jockey in the weighing room and he gathered S’Manga Khumalo had been injured and was unable to ride Pomp And Power in the Cape Guineas.
A message was relayed to the Snaiths to tell them of his availability.
“I grabbed my saddle and waited for the call,” he said.
The Snaiths were glad to receive the message because they thought they had no option but to scratch. It was a particularly fitting replacement, because Craig regularly work rides for them.
Craig got the call and was then given the instruction to “ping the gates and see what happens.”
It was in that race that the name Pomp And Power entered the SA Racing lexicon … and he appears to have been the horse that prompted Greg Bortz to take his interest in racing to a new level.
Craig could not have pinged the gates any better and he then managed to drive the Vercingetorix gelding into the lead from draw 14 out of 16.
Pomp And Power bounded along in front, obviously enjoying himself and setting a good clip under soft hands.
At the 150m mark he was still going strongly and Double Superlative was taking his time to get going.
Was this going to be a 14/1 upset?
Double Superlative then responded well to the whip and moved up to deny Pomp And Power by 1,25 lengths.
Craig got a good feel from Pomp And Power that day and the skill of the ride became more and more appreciated as the season progressed. Pomp And Power went on to win the Grade 1 Jonsson Workwear Cape Derby and was favourite for the Hollywoodbets Durban July, but he perhaps became even more famous for his headstrong behaviour.
Craig is keen to get more rides and said he would be willing to travel to the East Cape.
He is the son of a hardworking fisherman and shopping mall cleaner.
He told the Sporting Post a couple of years ago how his life had changed on one relatively ordinary day at Range High School in 2013, while he was doing Grade 11:.
“Mr Vince Curtis and Mr Terrance Welch came to do a presentation on a career as a jockey. I had dreamt – that was where it ended – about a job as a professional footballer, so the idea appealed to me – even though I didn’t know anything about horses. I was the right size and I was selected. That was literally the first day of the rest of my life, and I have never looked back – even though it hasn’t been easy!”
Having hardly uttered, or even heard, a word of English throughout his life, Craig wisely repeated Grade 11 in 2014, his first year at the SA Jockey Academy.
“I promise you that I didn’t speak for the first three months! I was excited but almost too embarrassed to try and say something in English without making a complete fool of myself.”
But the likes of Eric Ngwane – still his best friend to this day – Mpume Mjoka and Calvin Ngcobo, made him comfortable and feel welcome, and the introverted Craig slowly came out of his shell.
“My parents always taught me to listen rather than speak. So I had a good grounding and plenty of practice in coping with my own silence in those first three months! But then one makes friends and we started talking.”
Due to the closure of Clairwood at the time, and the unavailability of Hollywoodbets Scottsville, the academy moved apprentices away to centres with straight tracks to complete their qualifying rides.
Craig booted home his first winner at the Vaal on 23 February 2016. The horse was the Judpot filly S’way, trained by Wallace Tolmay.
He spent a career-shaping two years with former SA Champion Jockey Andrew Fortune at the Vaal.
“Mr Fortune taught me horsemanship and to think tactically – and to sit properly. He was a champion and a natural. I learnt a lot of things from him.”
Craig lives a healthy lifestyle and can ride at 52kgs with ease.
He watches what he eats and loves playing indoor soccer.
He had 34 wins as an apprentice and has had 24 as a jockey.
He is a good sportsman and deserves more chances.
At present he is relying on the few rides he does get and he is paid a fee to workride at Sabine Plattner’s private Rondeberg training centre, where Andre Nel is the trainer.
Justin Snaith is giving him most of his rides at present.
Craig said it was particularly tough for him during the Cape Summer season, but it is now picking up and he has three rides at next week’s Hollywoodbets Durbanville meeting, one for Lucinda Woodruff and two for Glen Puller.
All three will be outsiders, but hopefully he will be able to kickstart his career during the first winter of racing with the stalwart Cape Racing as organisers.
A senior jockey once told him that good horses made good jockeys.
He would love to ride a few more of those!
