sa horseracing convention road to the future glory - PARADE ...

to England for six weeks. That trip was not a
raging success and Marcus decided he should
try again.
“I don’t know what made me want to go back,
but I did. I’d turned 33 and worked hard in South
Africa. Perhaps I felt I needed to extend myself
– to take myself out of my comfort zone.”
In April 1990 he returned to England, leaving
his family in Durban. Trainer Michael Jarvis
had promised him a few rides and he employed
an agent.
“It was for the best that I went on my own because
I travelled a lot and wasn’t home much,”
he said. “It was my adventure and I didn’t have
a clue how long it was going to last. I was very
relaxed about it because I decided that whatever
happened would happen.
“I had a tremendous time. My fi rst ride was
a winner – Cantoris in Scotland. Of course,
‘Muis’ was already there and was absolutely
fantastic. He was riding for Alec Stewart and
Clive Brittain and whenever he couldn’t make a
mount, he suggested they put me on it.
“I don’t think people fully realise Muis’
achievement – he was English champion rider.
He should be an icon for any South African
jockey. He was, in fact, instrumental in my fi rst
big-race winner there – I won the Derby Trial in
Leopardstown on Anvari.
“But the highlight of that trip was riding Game
Plan for Clive Brittain in the English Oaks. We
ran second. I thought: ‘Wow. I just ran second
in an English classic!’ It was a subliminal moment.”
Marcus added that to be a success in England
a jockey had to work tremendously hard: “I
thought I was taking myself to the limit in
South Africa,” he said. “I didn’t know what
hard work was until I got to England. You can
ride in a race in the south of England in the
afternoon and then catch a plane to ride in the
north that night. In fact, after the Oaks, I had
to rush off to ride a horse in the north. I had a
stream of reporters trailing me into the changing
rooms after the race to interview me!”
Marcus’s successes during his four months in
England opened doors to a more lucrative future
– the racing authorities in Hong Kong were
impressed by his professionalism and style and
offered him a job.
“Bartie Leisher had blazed the trail in Hong
Kong previously, but there were no South Africans
there at that time. They were happy to
have another South African come in.”
He accepted a job with trainer Lam Hung Fei
before he had even been to the races.
“I had a good feeling about the place and
thought Hong Kong would be great for the
family. The main reason, though, was that they
only race twice a week in Hong Kong and the
racecourses are close by, so I wouldn’t have to
travel as much as in England.
“My motivation was stronger than when I went
to England,” he said. “This time I didn’t just
want to succeed. I had to succeed because I’d
given up on a possible great future in England.
“I worked very hard – even employed a personal
trainer twice a week to help me keep fi t
and supple – and I stuck to my diet,” said the
man who had battled to keep his riding weight
down since he was 18.
At the opening meeting of the 1990-91 racing
season on the fi rst weekend of September he
won the feature race on Craig’s Dragon. He
didn’t realise it then, but he had just started a
love affair with the horseracing-mad Chinese
population, one that would see him treated like
a celebrity wherever he went in the city.
That season the Hung Fei stable had “a couple
of nice horses” and Marcus won several top
races, including the Stewards’ Cup.
He found he felt stifl ed riding only for his stable
after the freedom of choice he had enjoyed until
then. He started shopping around for rides from
other yards and in January 1991 took his fi rst
outside ride. “It was a winner. It was fantastic
and it opened things up for me. That year I fi nished
second in the championship because of the
support of my stable as well as the other rides.”
The horseracing season in Hong Kong runs
from September to mid-June with a 2½-month
break, and in June 1991 the Marcus’ again
packed their bags – this time for Mauritius and
a two-month stint with the island’s powerful
Phillip Henry stable.
“I couldn’t allow myself to lose my racing fi tness,
so whenever we weren’t racing in Hong
Kong, I’d go elsewhere to ride,” said Marcus.
The following season Hung Fei could not meet
the quota of horses necessary to employ a fulltime
stable jockey, so Marcus applied for a job
as club jockey. “That was a great year – I won
the championship for the fi rst time,” he said.
Horses he partnered included Golden Apple for
John Moore and River Verdon for David Hill.
Feature races he won included the Sha Tin Trophy,
the fi rst major feature race of the season.
Marcus’ fi rst performance on River Verdon
secured him many of the Hill rides until the end
of the season and the following racing year the
two teamed up to form a formidable partnership.
“We had a lot of luck and many big-race
wins, including the Chairman’s Prize (with Red
Ruffi an) and the stayers’ Triple Crown (with
River Verdon).”
River Verdon was more than a great horse to
Marcus. He was also a catalyst to quite a few
unforgettable raceriding experiences, including
an appearance in the Arlington Million
in the USA.
Riding on foreign shores became second nature
to Marcus. In the 10 years he was based in the
Far East he also rode in Toronto, Canada, on
Hong Kong Day, represented Hong Kong in the
World Super Jockeys’ Series in Japan, rode during
two off seasons in France, one in Australia
and another back in England, as well as riding
in races in Sweden, Switzerland, Germany,
Turkey, France, Singapore and Dubai.
Late that season Marcus was to attract the attention
of Ivan Allen and another committed
partnership followed.
“Ivan Allen was wonderful to work with. He
had been champion trainer many times in Singapore
before coming to Hong Kong and was a
perfectionist, which suited me well. We gelled.
He helped me tremendously – I became a better
jockey because of him,” said Marcus.
Horses Marcus teamed up with while with
Allen included Mr Vitality, Horse of the Year
twice running. “Mr Vitality was just like
Foveros and was a great sprinter-miler. He won
the sprint Triple Crown, although I missed riding
him in the second leg because I was recovering
from a fall.
“We also had that terrifi c stayer Privilege (second
to South African legend London News in
the Queen Elizabeth II Cup), Oriental Express
on whom I won the Hong Kong Derby, and
Indigenous, Horse of the Year. Doug Whyte
(another South African and three-time Hong
Kong Champion Jockey) got on him later in
his career.
“Ivan and I won the championship twice in the
three years we were together,” said Marcus.
Allen was instrumental in setting up a lasting
relationship between Marcus and former Australian
champion trainer David Hayes.
“Loyalty has always been very important to me
and I always liked to be part of a team. I like
the closeness – all my relationships with trainers
have been more than professional. They’ve
been close friendships. I think that’s why
people respond so well to me. That was also
probably instrumental in me giving up riding:
I hated not being part of a team during my last
two years of riding.”
Hayes had been invited to train in Hong Kong
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