Keagan de Melo won the first race on World Pool Gold Cup day last year on Outlaw King and poses here together with one of his chief supporters during his championship-winning season, Dean Kannemeyer. (Candiese Lenferna Photography)
Former South African champion jockey Keagan de Melo will be flying out from Hong Kong during their off season to ride on World Pool Gold Cup day.
De Melo is booked to ride for Justin Snaith in the Gr 3 World Pool Gold Cup on One Way Traffic, the Gr 1 HKJC Champions Cup on Double Superlative, in the Gr 1 Mercury Sprint on Royal Aussie, in the Gr 1 World Pool Moment Of The Day Champions Cup on Great Plains, in the Gr 2 Umkhomazi Stakes on Impact Investor, in the Gr 2 Debutante on Dark Winter, in the Listed Darley Arabian on Get Impressed and in the Listed Umngeni Handicap on Baltic Secret.
Jonathan Snaith said the rides had been confirmed.
De Melo won the 2022/2023 SA Jockeys Championship with 277 wins.
He has spent this season finding out how tough the Hong Kong circuit is.
It is well documented that on the racing mad island, and apparently in keeping with Chinese culture, the key to success is luck in the sense that jockeys who are viewed as “lucky” jockeys are more in favour.
Although skill must be part of the lucky equation it seems there are other factors too.
De Melo made an eyecatching start on the island and his ability to relax a horse from the off and play his hand late seemed perfect for the tracks over there on which a strong turn of foot is a valuable asset.
However, he was never able to build any momentum because the general quality of horse he was given to ride never improved.
He accumulated a respectable 21 wins, but ended the season with the unwanted statistic of 58 rides since his last win.
However, Hong Kong has huge stakes and his mounts raked in total stakes of HK$39,398,025 (R91,797,398).
A young family man would not want to throw in a job with that type of earnings, so having had his license renewed he will be back grinding away next season.
Richard Fourie, despite having set a SA record for number of wins in a season, has not yet earned half of what De Melo raked in on the island. His earnings for the season currently stand at R42,276,231.25.
