Champion jockey S'manga Khumalo was stood down following a mishap involving one of his mounts at the start at today's Vaal Sand meeting, but the question is whether he will be fit enough to fulfill his rides come Saturday for the Summer Cup meeting, Gauteng's biggest event on the calendar.
Khumalo celebrates his 29th birthday on the 29/11 Summer Cup day and the current S.A.Champion jockey will be a big drawcard for his legion of fans expected to converge at Turffontein racecourse on Saturday.
It will be a big disappointment if he will not be able to fulfill his riding engagements.
Bling is also due to jet off to Hong Kong where he will represent S.A. at the Int. Jockey's Championships to be held on 10-12-2014 at Happy Valley Race-course.
The detailed story from TABNEWS................
Khumalo to ride in Hong Kong
Jockey S’manga Khumalo is loving his role as South Africa’s ruling champion jockey and is becoming a great ambassador for South African horseracing.
November 24, 2014
International jockeys’ tests are held all over the world and Khumalo, who captained the South African side to victory in the Racing/It’s A Rush International Jockeys’ Challenge in South Africa just over a week ago, also represented his country in the Shergar Cup at Ascot in August – his first experience in England.
Now he has been invited to ride in the Longines International Jockeys’ Championship at Happy Valley Racecourse on Wednesday 10 December. He will be riding against jockeys from Australia (Kerrin McEvoy), Ireland (Pat Smullen), France (Christophe Soumillon), Japan (Yuichi Fukunaga), New Zealand (James McDonald), the UK (Richard Hughes and Ryan Moore) and the USA (Irad Ortiz) as well as three Hong Kong riders, including reigning champion Zac Purton.
“It’s very exciting,” said the jockey, who turns 29 on Saturday and is back at the top on South Africa’s national jockeys’ log. “Obviously I’ll be trying to win our jockeys’ championship again. But I’m also enjoying travelling. I’m learning a lot. At Ascot the pace and riding techniques were different and the horses were much stronger. We rode for a huge crowd of 60,000 people. It could be even more exciting in Hong Kong.”
Khumalo has ridden in China before as well as in Australia, Kenya, Mauritius and Zimbabwe.
The International Jockeys Championship is a four-race competition with points given to the jockeys riding the first three horses past the post, with 12 for first, six for second and four for third.
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