Keagan de Melo put his fine recent run of form down to the better opportunities he is being given but chasing the SA Jockeys Championship next season is not part of his plans.

He said, “I have a young family so it is not the right thing to do right now.”

However, he said if the opportunity arose and he was in a position to be in with a chance he might then think about it. 

De Melo has ridden 50 winners since January 1 at a strike rate of 17.67%.

Only Champion Jockey elect Warren Kennedy has ridden more since then on 63 (17.03%).

There is ten back to the third highest in that time period, Richard Fourie on 40 (18.43%).

That shows a championship bid would be feasible for De Melo despite his 107 wins for the season being only good enough for fourth place on the national log, 79 off the pace of Kennedy.

De Melo is attached to the Dean Kannemeyer yard in KZN and Cape Town and is retained by one of Kannemeyer’s chief owners, Khaya Stables, and he has also been riding for prolific owner Laurence Wernars in Johannesburg. 

He is in increasing demand from other yards when not on duty for those three.

He picked out Grade 2 Khaya Stables Diadem winner Cosmic Highway (Gimmthegreelight) as the horse he was most excited about for the rest of the season. This versatile Kannemeyer-trained Khaya Stables-owned colt has big race options available to him anywhere from sprints up to a mile.

He mentioned Gimme A Prince (Gimmethegreenlight), who has not been seen since finishing sixth in the Grade 1 Gold medallion after an impressive debut, as another he was looking forward to riding.

He confirmed Russian Rock (Pomodoro) was not an easy ride and difficult to catch right on the day but his decent last run when a close fifth in a strong Pinnacle event over 1400m when carrying 61kg could put him in good stead for the KZN SA Champions Season.

Waterberry Lane (Soft Falling Rain) did well in KZN last season and he was another one he mentioned.

He said the Johan Janse van Vuuren-trained two-year-old colt Karangetang (Erupt) looked to be an exciting prospect.

He added Janse van Vuuren’s three-year-old gelding Outofthedarkness (Gimmethegreenlight) had not acted in the sticky going in the WSB SA Classic and it was not his run, so he should not be written off.

He has also been riding quite often for Mike de Kock and mentioned his two-year-old filly Rimaah (Querari), who has run two seconds, as a good prospect.

He has also had one ride for one win on De Kock’s exciting three-year-old Cleaver Greene (Rafeef).

De Melo won the Grade 3 Tommy Hotspur on the Candice Dawson-trained Gallic Princess (Vercingetorix) but did not ride her in the Grade 2 Senor Santa because of his obligations to Wernars.

He was aboard Hello Winter Hello (What A Winter), who did well to finish sixth considering her disadvantageous low draw. 

However, he should have plenty of options in forthcoming female sprints with True To Life (Duke Of Marmalade) also being a Wernars livewire, while the disappointing Celestial Love (What A Winter) could still bounce back.

De Melo partnered the 116 rated Wernars-owned Second Base (Gimmethegreenlight) last time out and this horse could be a contender in races like the Grade 1 Premiers Champions Challenge, in which he finished second last year.

The world is looking to be Keagan de Melo’s oyster at present.

He can now genuinely be called a top echelon jockey as was predicted virtually from day one. 

Picture: Cosmic Highway led in with Keagan de Melo up after winning the Grade 2 Khaya Stables Diadem Stakes (Wayne Marks).