Clive Robinson
After taking a compulsory ‘holiday’ between Christmas and New Year’s Day due to a seven-day suspension for causing interference on Let It Burn at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth recently, it’s back to business in 2023 for log-leading jockey Keagan de Melo as he sets out in pursuit of a maiden National Champion Jockey title.
He has already ridden an impressive 120 winners since the start of the season on 1 August, building up a healthy lead over his nearest rival Richard Fourie, who has amassed 82 winners.
De Melo has 27 rides across four meetings to start the new year and is likely to add another three winners to his tally when he returns to the Vaal on Thursday 5 January for an eight-race card on the Classic track.
Candice Dawson-trained juvenile Exchange Student was friendless in the market on debut but finished a promising second nonetheless over 800m under De Melo. This well-bred two-year-old daughter of Trippi ought to have come on with the benefit of that pleasing introduction and, with natural improvement, should open her account at the second attempt in Race 2 and provide De Melo with yet another success.
Bowl First outran odds of 33-1 to finish third on debut over 1000m and Johan Janse van Vuuren’s charge confirmed the promise of that first-up outing when staying on from a handy position to finish second over 1450m next time out. De Melo climbs aboard the son of Rabada in Race 3 and is likely to go one better on the three-year-old colt who should continue to improve.
Consistent Clarkson will be good value to complete a De Melo hat-trick in Race 4 and provide the in-form jockey and trainer Dawson with another winner. In his last six starts, the hard-knocking son of Ato has won twice, ran fourth twice, and finished second and third over distances from 1400m to 2000m.
Both of those wins came over 1800m, the distance of Race 4, and a return to that distance after close-up finishes over shorter trips (1475m and 1500m) will stand De Melo’s mount in good stead.
Top Sail (Race 5) and Strange Magic (Race 7) are other De Melo rides on the card not to be ignored and could be worth including in exotic-bet permutations, as well as other TAB bets such as Swingers, Exactas, Trifectas and Quartets.
