J. P. Van der Merwe : une très bonne première impression

Juan Paul Van der Merwe n’a pas eu à attendre longtemps avant de faire parler sa classe. Cavalier qui est en selle depuis 2006, il s’est illustré avec un brillant doublé signé Independence et Nottinghamshire. Le dernier nommé s’est par la même occasion illustré dans une course de Groupe 3 qui plus est.

Nous sommes allés à la rencontre de ce jockey au palmarès bien garni afin qu’il nous parle de ses deux victoires, ainsi que de son triomphe dans le J&B Met 2016 avec Smart Call.

“Just breaking the ice is very nice. I put a lot of pressure on myself because the yard had some nice chances. I just wanted to break the ice, wanted to do a double and also winning a Group 3. I’m very proud of myself and I’m happy for the yard. The horses were well. On Tuesday, I told the yard that the horses are very well and on Thursday, same thing, I told the yard the horses are very well. We were expecting good run from the runners, but it was my first time on the course after 2011. So, the track is still very tight but everything planned up. Nottinghamshire ran a very good run. I thought the field was very strong and very competitive. There were a few Group 1 winners and we had 52 kg, and our draw was ok. My plan was just to sit behind the pace and he came out a bit sluggish and then as it was a 990-metre race, they went a bit fast in front. I was a little bit too far back, one off and then I was pushed three wide. The one in my inside could not hold his horse and his horse was pulling. So I was pushed three-wide and then I made my run. I kept closer to the leaders and when I got in the straight, my horse just ran on and won a good race. I was always travelling well. If you watch the replay, you will see that I gave him only one or two smacks on the shoulder, so actually I never really went off to him. He really ran a good race. Independence previous couple of runs were on 1850m and longer. This was back to a 1400m and he ran his first run back after a long break. He was really fresh and popping, so I thought that 1400 would be ok, because he was fresh and then as you can see, he could have lost, but he almost have strength and then he came back at the end. There were just all guts from him there,” dit-il par rapport à son doublé.

“The win with Smart Call was nice and easy”

Qu’en est-il de ses autres montes ? “Phoenix Rising could never have won. He just got tired. He moved just like a winner but he just got tired. He will improve a lot. Declarator was just unlucky here. There were two leaders in the race: Le Clos and him. Le Clos was drawn 1 and he had everything there. The pace was honest. There was nothing wrong with the pace. He was just unlucky, but I got a very good run from him. As for Birds Eye View, I think he’s just flat. He is not happy at the moment. Even at the back of the straight, he was off the bit. I got into the straight and every horse passed me. So I just think for now, Birds Eye View is not a happy horse. He is moving fine, breathing fine, everything is ok, but I just don’t think he is happy for the moment. However, I don’t think there is a thing to worry about in the moment. The boss knows what he is doing and he’ll fix him soon.”

En 2016, Juan Paul van derMerwe a réalisé quelque chose que rêvent tous les jockeys exerçant en Afrique du Sud : remporter la J&B Met, une des courses les plus prestigieuses de l’Afrique du Sud. Il nous trace un bref dessin de sa carrière avant de nous parler de cette course qui l’a tant marqué. “I was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and I entered the Academy in 2006. I was then aged 17 and I rode my first winner on my 3rd year for Peneth Pullen. It was on a horse called On School Regions Honor. I was at the Academy with Karis Teetan, Derreck David. Nooresh Juglall was a year behind me. So I went at the Academy at the right year. I won the J&B Met with a filly for Alec Laird called Smart Call. I used to work with Alec Laird’s horses. So, I just worked with this filly all the time. The horse was owned by Jessica Slack. Weichong Marwing, the stable jockey, was on Smart Call, but as I worked with her all the time, I knew her well. Unfortunately, Weichong’s back gave him problems and he had to vacate the ride. Luckily for me, I was here to pick her up and we beat Legal Eagle – Champion horse in South Africa for the last 3 years. I was fortunate to be on Smart Call and I gave my best. I thought that she would run very well. When I picked her, I took the pressure off myself. I was just there to do my best and I had nice instructions from Jessica. She simply said that I just had to look after the filly. So, I was never under pressure, it was nice and easy.”

“Everyone wants to win”

La saison 2018 sera une de ces des saisons les plus disputees au Champ de Mars. Pour cause, plusieurs bons jockeys sont en selle et, du reste, depuis le debut de la saison, les arrivées sont très serrées. Ce n’est pas ce jeune homme de 28 ans qui nous dira le contraire. “Donavan Mansour was actually supposed to get a job here but he never got his permit and he spoke to me. Then I spoke to the yard and then Subiraj Gujadhur contacted me. The competition here is very tough. Every trainer has got his jockey and everyone is trying to do well. So, it’s not easy.  Everyone wants to win. I’ve got a nice yard and the horses are well. Since it’s my first week here, I have only started to feel one or two horses, but so far so good.”

Juan Paul van derMerwe est celui qui pourrait donner une bouffée d’air frais à Rameshwar Gujadhur après que ce dernier a connu pas mal de déboires avec ses cavaliers. Une chose est sûre ; il compte donner le meilleur de lui-même pour ramener le maximum de gagnants possible. “I’m not that worried about winners. The yard always aims for winners. They decide what they want to do. I’m not too sure what’s happening with the horses and we will see what we can do for next week, as I don’t think we will have a lot of runners,” dit-il en guise de conclusion.

Source : MTC

Posted by Minority Voice on Apr 20 2018. Filed under Featured, Focus. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry