Picture: Serino Moodley judged the pace to perfection in a fillies and mares handicap over 1000m and the Var filly Valieva duly gave him and trainer Fanie Bronkhorst a double together on the day (JC Photos)
Serino Moodley confirmed to interviewer Neil Andrews at the Vaal today after riding his second winner that when you are riding full of confidence “you see things before they happen and when you are looking at races you study them differently, you go in with confidence and you’re backing yourself as well.”
He added, “But you can’t do without the chances and if you get the chances you have to produce the goods. When trainers like Mr Bronkhorst are turning out horses like this on days like this, you just have to make sure you bring your ‘A’ game.”
Serino’s double was secured on two Fanie Bronkhorst-trained horses and it took him to the joint top of the national log with Craig Zackey on 16 wins apiece.
Serino is quietly establishing himself as a top echelon jockey.
He has been one of the best in KZN for a while, but the change to top echelon is usually quite subtle and often coincides with tipsters starting to say things like “and he has Moodley aboard” without having to qualify the statement i.e. the statement speaks for itself.
He has become a high class professional in the saddle and out and for example he said after romping home on the Bronkhorst-trained Valieva (Var) by 3,50 lengths in a 1000m fillies and mares handicap, “When I drew my speed maps last night I saw there was a lot of speed in the race and she is a filly who loves to get off the back of an extreme pace.”
Serino duly dropped the filly out to last and sat on her patiently when realising they were, as he had predicted, going too fast. He drove her into the race with the hands and it was soon clear that it was going to be a matter of how far as she swept past the tiring horses.
Serino has done it at a strike rate of 21.33% this season.
He should break through the 100 wins in a season barrier for the first time in his career and at this rate could finish in the top five.
He is definitely a jockey on the up and one to follow.
