Craig Zackey is on a title mission

An unusual two-day hiatus in local racing action at the start of the week has forced fans to take a breather – from the whirligig of form study, expectation, anguish, exultation and all the other stuff that makes the game compelling and infuriating.

But what to do with the spare time if you’re not sold on harness racing in the boondocks of Australia?

Inevitably, there’ll be reflection on the racing season so far – and one thing commanding attention is the developing race for the South African jockey championship.

It’s been a while since we’ve had a close race for the title, but this term could see a photo-finish. Canny punters will be keeping a beady eye on bookmakers’ odds for the head-bobbing duel to the finish on 1 August 2025.

Richard Fourie

Last year Richard Fourie broke all records in scooping the championship by an astonishing 187 winners – notching 378 to runner-up Muzi Yeni’s 191. The 2022/23 season saw Kegan de Melo prevail by 19 wins over Fourie, and prior to that the winning margins were 63, 90 and 62 – with Warren Kennedy, Lyle Hewitson and Kennedy taking the honours respectively.

Just past the halfway point of this season, only a handful of wins separate the leading contenders – defending champ Fourie, former champ Gavin Lerena and Craig Zackey. The ever-game and ambitious Yeni trails that trio following an eight-week injury layoff but will be trying his socks off to catch up.

At the weekend, Zackey inched ahead of the pack by posting six winners – with Fourie bagging four and Lerena and Yeni three each – giving him a lead of five over Lerena and seven over Fourie.

1,649 rides

Zackey has had his eyes on the prize for a while now, having ridden in 626 races so far – roughly a couple of hundred more than his closest challengers. But the bookies remain unconvinced by such intense efforts from the personable Joburger and have unwaveringly kept Fourie at the top of the boards (see betting below).

The latter has yet to get into full travel mode but, if or when he does, he’s unlikely to match last season’s mind-bending 1,649 rides around the country.

It’s interesting to see which other jockeys are picking up their travel frequencies – to secure higher placings on the log and therefore better-quality rides, and, perhaps, to acclimatise themselves to being in the air a lot in anticipation of a title bid next year, or the year after that.

Sean Veale, Rachel Venniker, Calvin Habib, Kabelo Matsunyane, Luyolo Mxothwa and Serino Moodley are among the aspirants.

Jockey log as at 13.1.25 (name, winners, winning percentage):

Craig Zackey 114 [18.2%]
Gavin Lerena 109 [26.1%]
Richard Fourie 107 [24.5%]
Muzi Yeni 71 [15.2%]
Sean Veale 64 [14.3%]
Rachel Venniker 51 [15.3%]
Betting:
Richard Fourie 17-20
Craig Zackey 5-2
Gavin Lerena 5-2
Muzi Yeni 40-1
Sean Veale 60-1
Rachel Venniker 200-1