Meet the brainy man behind Richard Fourie’s heroics

Last weekend, Richard Fourie broke the record for most winners in a season, a mark that had stood for more than a quarter of a century and carried a R1-million bonus prize if topped. It was a phenomenal achievement, but he couldn’t have done it on his own.

Behind every sporting hero is a team who facilitate the glory. To his credit, as plaudits rain upon him, Fourie mentions “so many people to thank”.

Jockeys’ agents are among the racing game’s unsung heroes, spending most of their time at desks, staring at screens and racecards, dissecting form lines and weight scales to pick the best rides they can for their clients. From the sidelines, they watch the acclaim, shouts of victory in the winner’s circle and glowing words in the media.

Ken Nicol

In Fourie’s case, the man in question is Ken Nicol, who has done a tremendous job in providing the raw material for the ace rider to fashion into history.

It was said that retired former champion jockey Anthony Delpech’s record of 334 wins in the 1998/99 season would never be eclipsed. That was because there is nowadays less racing each week in South Africa and the amount of travelling and disruption to personal life needed to rack up such a number was barely humanly possible.

Nicol – definitely not one to seek attention for himself – attributes the phenomenal achievement mainly to Fourie’s special qualities as a person.

“Richard is a supremely talented athlete,” he comments. “But to do what he has done this season a lot more is needed.

“And his greatest asset is his positivity. Which is completely essential when you come away empty handed (rare these days) on a freezing winter afternoon and then have to sit at the airport for hours waiting for your flight to the next town. He always looks on the bright side.”

Nicol continues: “He is a genuinely nice guy. We get on very well, which is one of the reasons our working relationship has endured. And the success also helps of course!”

Experience as handicapper

That working relationship has lasted for four years. Nicol has done bookings for other jockeys in the past, but the Fourie record chase means he now devotes all his time to one man.

“Richard has ridden five or six days a week this season, so it keeps me busy. I may take on someone else in the future.”

Nicol’s superpower as an agent is his experience as an official handicapper for the National Horseracing Authority – and, just maybe, his work as a racing journalist of note.

“I was at the NHA from the middle of 2010 to, I think, February 2015. I was retrenched along with a number of other people due to ‘restructuring’ carried out by the long-forgotten CEO Lyndon Barends, who left not long afterwards under an extremely dark cloud.

“Turns out I do know a bit about ratings after all (lol).”

He says handicapping skills are a big aid.

“You can identify horses that are theoretically ‘well in’. Particularly with all the artificial restrictions placed upon the official handicappers these days.

“Despite all that, I have learned to trust my own gut feel on occasion, which is sometimes contrary to the pure numbers.”

Future Swing

A good example of gut feel is the horse Future Swing, which Fourie was booked to ride in the 2024 Hollywoodbets Durban July soon after he’d cracked the record.

“Future Swing is a full 4.5kg out on official merit ratings, but both Richard and I feel he will be extremely competitive with 54kg. But let’s see what happens.”

Nicol maintains his own database of horses and he starts sifting through race entries “the second they come out”.

He explains that the best rides will be in demand and time is of the essence. “Sometimes you make a commitment even before the weights come out, but that is less common.

“In handicaps, you try and find an edge. Maybe the horse was baulked last time. Or has dropped 25 MR points over the past year and is now looking competitive again.

“And at some tracks the draw is paramount, with Greyville probably the best example.”

Asked about difficulties encountered, Nicol laughs and says, “some trainers”.

Unlike a previous client, Bernard Fayd’Herbe, who is restricted to heavily weighted horses, Fourie’s minimum weight limit is 54kg – and 53kg for a Grade 1 race “with plenty of notice”.

Nicol does all the phoning to make bookings. “But obviously sometimes things are offered to Richard directly when he rides work etcetera. But we liaise on a regular basis, particularly when it comes to the big races.”

‘Achievable’

Fourie has never before targeted the title “in a serious manner”.

“But we got 258 wins last season, only 19 behind eventual champion Keagan de Melo’s 277. And that was without ever consciously ‘chasing’.

“So, we knew it was extremely achievable. And when Hollywoodbets put up the R1-million bonus, we became a lot more focused!”

With seven weeks of the season still to run, the team don’t have a specific goal in terms of setting the new record number and will be “gearing back a little” with the primary objective achieved.

The duo have discussed next season’s plans but decline to go into detail at the moment.