New jockey Greg Cheyne may not have ridden a winner at his first two Kranji race meetings last weekend, but the go-getting South African is still determined to make his mark here, sooner rather than later.
The 35-year-old rider arrived from a still wintry Hong Kong smack into hot and humid Singapore on Thursday afternoon only to pick up his first rides (seven) on the very next day. Though none of them were exactly plum rides, Cheyne finished out of the first four only once for two seconds, one third and three fourths.
Bolstered by such a promising start, Cheyne however did not fare as well on Sunday, with only a third on Anavila as his best result from eight rides.
The Cape Town man admitted he needed a bit of time to acclimatise to the different weather, but was overall satisfied with his first weekend in Singapore.
“I can't be unhappy with the way things have gone at my first two meetings here,” said Cheyne. “The first couple of days were very taxing with the humidity and my legs felt like lead on Monday, but it's all right now.
“At my first meeting on Friday, the track was a little shifty, and we were a little wide on the D Course, but things ended up very well for me. I finished in the first four bar one.
“Sunday was not as good. I had some bad luck but I still did okay with one placing.”
The Durban July-winning jockey had no cushy first day at the office as he was thrown in at the deep end with 15 rides for a variety of trainers such as David Hill, Mark Walker and Theo Kieser, but one source of support which he can count on in coming weeks is fellow South African trainer Patrick Shaw.
Cheyne rode three horses for last year's Singapore champion trainer on Sunday and has already been seen helping the powerful yard with trackwork as well, but as much as he is grateful for the leg-up, he would rather carve his own niche further down the road.
“I appreciate all the help from Pat and really enjoy the teamwork at his stable,” said Cheyne. “Barend (Vorster) gets all the main picks, but with the quality in Pat's team, the second choices can also be good rides.
“But I would eventually like to find one or two yards I can work with – find my own base. That is why I intend to stay here longer.”
Licensed for six months by the Singapore Turf Club, Cheyne is at his second stint in an Asian country after he left the super-competitive arena that is Hong Kong – where he spent 2 ½ years - with mixed feelings.
The winner of 61 'black type' races did reasonably well at his first two seasons in the former British colony, booting home 14 winners and 19 winners respectively, but the wins then dried up to the point he ended his Hong Kong tenure on a record of five wins in 138 rides in the 2011/2012 season.
“I was doing very well in South Africa when the offer from the Hong Kong Jockey Club came in 2009,” recalled Cheyne of that watershed year which also saw him land his biggest win, the Vodacom Durban July with Big City Life.
“As it is very difficult to get in there, I couldn't pass up on the opportunity and decided to accept the offer.
“I battled to get rides at first, but things improved and my wife Claire and I found ourselves enjoying our stay there.
“The highlight was a Group 3 win with Sweet Sanette (in the Bauhinia Sprint Trophy in 2010) but the next year was really tough. I couldn't get in a stable and I was getting sub-quality rides.”
A homecoming was on the cards for Cheyne, his wife of seven years, who is currently studying an equine physiotherapy course, and their two dogs (they have no children) but Asian racing still had a taste of “unfinished business”.
“I could have gone back to South Africa, but as my wife and I have enjoyed Asia so much, I decided to put in an application for Singapore,” he said.
“As its racing is on the up, I thought it would be a good place to try and establish myself.
“Besides Pat, I already knew Barend very well as we both studied at the South African Jockey Academy together. I also know some of the vets here like Dr Bronte Forbes and Dr Manfred Hanni.
“I enjoyed my first meetings here. All I need now is get that first win off my back and for that I need to do my homework and get to know the horses' form better.”
Cheyne is certainly hoping this new chapter in his fruitful career will be the right platform to improve on his record of 1,100-plus winners racked up since he started out as an apprentice in Cape Town in 1991.
After he came out of his time in 1996, Cheyne spent one year with leading South African trainer Mike de Kock in Johannesburg before heading back to Cape Town where he rode mainly for trainers Mike Bass and Glen Kotzen.
Cheyne however sustained back injuries that put the skids on his rise to the top from 1998 to 2002. He then packed his riding boots to Germany and Mauritius in a bid to turn his flagging fortunes around, but met with moderate success, and subsequently made the career-saving decision of coming back home.
“From 2003 onwards, I picked up on my game as I travelled between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth and I was riding 100+ winners per season,” said Cheyne who won the Eastern Cape championship three times.
“My most memorable win is of course the July but my Gold Cup win with Desert Links (who raced in Singapore with no success and has now been deleted) was also quite special.
“But the one that gave me an even bigger buzz was probably the (Grade 1) Paddock Stakes with a filly I co-owned with Lionel Cohen (now a trainer in Australia), Emblem Of Liberty. She beat two champion mares in that race – River Jetez and Dancer's Daughter.
“I love dabbling in a bit of breeding as well. It was a big thrill as I think it was the first time a jockey won on a horse he co-owns in such a big race in South Africa.”
