Muzi Yeni is on a mission to win his first National Jockeys’ Championship.
The ever-smiling jockey has started the season like a man possessed, and just three weeks into the current campaign, Yeni is the only jockey to have ridden in more than 100 races.
At this rate, his pursuit of a maiden title could finally bear fruit come 31 July 2025.
The diminutive Durban-born jockey has a strong book of rides at the eight-race Vaal meeting on Thursday 29 August and three of his mounts are particularly attractive betting propositions.
Paul Matchett-trained Hey Hey Julia is the first of those and could get the day off to a winning start for Yeni in Race 1 if making the expected improvement for the step up to 1200m. The daughter of Canford Cliffs finished second over 1000m in a warm maiden on the Standside track at Turffontein earlier this month, and any progress over the extra 200m should result in this three-year-old filly shedding her maiden status at the seventh attempt.
Yeni has a formidable strike-rate riding for trainer St John Gray. In their last 49 associations, Yeni has delivered 11 wins, 10 seconds, six thirds, as well as four fourth-place finishes for the owner-breeder whose distinguishing green silks with white rings are a familiar fixture at Highveld race meetings.
The combination is represented by hard-knocking Risky Business in Race 5 and Secret Chord in Race 7, with Yeni having already won aboard both horses recently.
Six-year-old Querari-mare Risky Business was an authoritative winner of her last start over 1400m on the same course three weeks ago. On the evidence of that two-length success under Yeni, she should have little trouble seeing out the 1500m in Race 5 despite a five-point penalty.
Her lightly raced stablemate Secret Chord has only once finished worse than fourth in 12 career outings, winning twice. He made a winning comeback after a four-month absence – during which he was gelded – over 1000m on the Standside track at Turffontein on 27 July and made it back-to-back course-and-distance wins just seven days later in his post-maiden debut on 3 August.
The four-year-old Bezrin-gelding came unstuck when stepping up in class in his hat-trick bid but lost little in defeat, finishing second in a competitive 1000m sprint handicap on the Vaal’s Classic track on 20 August. All three of those races were with Yeni in the irons.
Secret Chord is obviously in rude health and has scope for further improvement. Another bold winning bid is expected over 1100m.
Calvin Habib and Tony Peter is another jockey-trainer combination worth following on the day, with Captain Clever likely to open his account in Race 2. He finished second on debut over 1160m as a two-year-old and should improve on his seasonal reappearance having been gelded subsequently.
Danon Platina-colt Shinto Shrine also showed promise as a juvenile, finishing second in three consecutive outings before getting his head in front over 1600m beating an older rival who franked that form by winning since. There should be more to come from Peter’s charge, who Habib knows well having ridden him in all four appearances, and his three-year-old campaign should get off to a winning start in Race 6 over 1500m.
Clive Robinson
