Young riding superstar Chad Schofield will return to the country of his birth to have his first ride in the Vodacom Durban July aboard the fancied Joey Ramsden-trained The Conglomerate.
It will be the first time the Australian-based Chad has ridden in South Africa. However, he is sure to receive plenty of valuable advice on the ins and outs of the tight Greyville circuit from his father Glyn, a top South African jockey who was based in Durban before relocating to Australia in December 2007. Furthermore, Glyn’s former riding agent Blane Hamilton has been attempting to secure more rides on the big day for Chad, so he should have had some feel of the course by the time the July starts. Hamilton confirmed Chad was very excited in anticipation of this opportunity.
Ramsden said these days it was becoming increasingly difficult to find lightweight jockeys and the connections had decided to begin looking around when no phone calls for the ride were forthcoming. He added they had considered a number of options on who to bring in, so the decision had not been made lightly. Ramsden said The Conglomerate had been doing very well at Summerveld. The three-year-old Australian-bred Lohnro colt is back in full fast work after being given a bit of a lighter schedule for a couple of weeks after his third place in the Daily News on May 30. The astute trainer should thereby have him peaking at exactly the right time. The Conglomerate was as short as 7/1 for the July after his impressive win in the Gr 2 KRA Guineas, but has drifted out to 14/1 in the face of support for the like of Legal Eagle and French Navy.
Glyn has ridden in seven Julys and his best finish was sixth on The Sheik in 2001. He benefitted enormously from a stint in Hong Kong about ten years ago and it was clear upon his return to South Africa that he had progressed into a world class jockey. In the next couple of seasons in South Africa he often outrode his colleagues simply through his peerless judgement of pace.
He has clearly been an inspiration to Chad, who took the Australian racing scene by storm after making his debut in 2010. Chad is the only jockey to win the apprentice title in both Melbourne and Sydney, a feat that is unlikely to ever be repeated. Still in his early 20s, he has already notched up a number of important wins, most notably aboard Shamus Award in the 2013 Cox Plate which provided him with his first Gr 1 success.
He added three more Gr 1s to his CV in 2014, the Newmarket Handicap on Lankan Rupee, the Champagne Stakes on Go Indy Go and the Queensland Derby on Sonntag. Injuries and suspensions have curtailed Chad’s time in the saddle but he is still very much in demand. Last week he travelled to ride Australian trainer David Hayes’ New Zealand-bred raider Criterion in the Gr 1 Prince Of Wales’s Stakes at the Royal Ascot meeting. They finished a respectable 3,75 length fifth. He was also recently granted a six month license to ride next season in Hong Kong, one of the world’s biggest racing stages.
By David Thiselton
Picture: Chad Schofield
