HK - FOURIE RARING TO EARN HIS HONG KONG STRIPES

By Hong Kong Jockey Club | Friday, August 24, 2012

Richard Fourie, one of South Africa’s premier jockeys, met the press at Sha Tin Racecourse this morning to mark the commencement of his contract as a Club Jockey for the 2012/13 season.

A former South African Champion Apprentice, Fourie, 26, is the reigning Eastern Cape Champion Jockey and ended the 2011/12 season ranked fifth in South Africa’s jockeys’ premiership with 124 victories to his credit.

The rider, one of his homeland’s top young talents, has notched eight G1 wins in his career and is keen to make an impact in the coming season.

“I’m grateful that the Jockey Club has given me this opportunity and I’m over the moon and overwhelmed to be here,” said Fourie.

“Not many guys get the opportunity to come to an establishment like Hong Kong, so I’m delighted to be here and I’m here to make the most of every moment.”

Fourie revealed that he first harboured ambitions to ride in Hong Kong when Champion Jockey Douglas Whyte spoke to a group of apprentices, of which he was a part, at the South African Jockey Academy.

“When Douglas Whyte first spoke, I said to myself, ‘I want to be there someday’ and I’ve always worked towards coming to Hong Kong. I’ve always worked hard and that pays off. I was just waiting for the right time,” he revealed.

The jockey, whose accomplishments in South Africa also include the Western Cape Jockeys’ Championship in the 2007/08 season, turned down the chance to ride in Singapore earlier in his career, but feels he is now fully equipped for the Hong Kong challenge.

“I had the opportunity to go to Singapore a few years ago with (now retired former Hong Kong champion jockey) Basil Marcus but he and I had a mutual agreement that I wouldn’t go at that time because he felt that I was still young and immature – I needed to do some growing.

"I’ve since gained valuable experience and when this opportunity to come to Hong Kong arrived, I felt that this was my time.

“Coming here, things are different and I’ll have to make little adjustments to how I do things, but hopefully I’ll be able to get plenty of rides. I ride a lot of work because I enjoy it – it helps a rider get a better feel for the horses.

“I feel that horses run for me and I’ll get one hundred percent behind myself and push forward – I’m here to work and do well. I’d like to stay longer, so obviously I just need to work hard, as I always have, and hopefully success will follow.”

More articles