When you sit down and chat to the current Champion Apprentice, Craig Zackey, dozens of clichés spring to mind, but one fits perfectly and he definitely does have “an old head on a young body”. His humbleness confirms this and he glibly admits that he is shocked at winning the title saying “I’m really blessed to win the title as earlier this year I was in a slump. I had easily gotten to 68 winners and then it all stopped and December was very quiet for me. In January I was 25 winners behind the leading apprentice and I picked up a 3 week suspension in March. If you had spoken to me then, I would have told you I’m not sure when my next winner would be let alone winning champion apprentice.”
His resolve during this slump was severely tested and when asked how he got out of it, his answer is surprisingly philosophical for such a young man. “I come from a religious family and I have a lot of Faith which really helped me during this period, I returned to the basics and tried to ride as much work as possible to try get as many chances as possible from the trainers. My Riding Master Mr. Waterson also helped me to improve my technique and encouraged me to always look good on a horse, both when work and race riding. All of this combined came together and I started to get some chances for Mr. Tarry and Mr. Zaki which I made the most of and in April everything just clicked and I haven’t looked back from there! I also started racing in PE for Mr. Smith and in June and July I had 5 winners for him. ”
Craig has a simple recipe for success that includes confidence, determination, Faith, hard work, listening to those more experienced, respect and support! Craig singles out support as being critical to his success saying “my family has always supported me, along with my Riding Master Mr. Waterston but more especially the Trainers and Owners who have supported me this year, I have developed a good relationship with them which has really helped me and allowed me to perform at my best”
When asked about any special moments during the last season, he doesn’t hesitate to answer that his Grade 1 and 2 double when winning both the SA Nursery and Gold Bowl on the same day was extra special, saying “some jockeys never win a Grade 1 and for me to win this double as an apprentice is almost unbelievable and I cannot thank Mr. Zaki and Mr. Pettigrew enough for giving me the opportunity to ride Arabian Beat and J’s Outsider in such big races.”
Craig is not shy to admit that Arabian Beat has an extra special place in his heart and that while he is an animal lover and loves all the horses he rides, he fell in love with Arabian Beat from day one saying “I galloped him and from the beginning I thought he was excellent and told Mr. Zaki he is special, I rode him and won first time out, his owners and I have become very close and they only want me on their horses, he then ran 2nd in a Grade 3 in only his second start, and the week before the Nursery he worked very well and I knew he was ready for the big race.”
When asked about the future once he qualifies as a Professional Jockey in January 2016 he says “well before I qualify, I cannot wait to celebrate winning the Champion Apprentice Award with my family, owners and trainers at the Equus Awards. Once I qualify, I’m going to keep working hard and set my sights at the Jockey Championship. Recently qualified jockeys, like Keagan De Melo, have done extremely well in their first year as a professional and I want to do the same. Long term I would like to race in Asia, I raced in Macau last year and am going to race in Korea at the Asian Young Guns Challenge at the end of August. South African Jockeys have always done well in Hong Kong and Singapore and if I’m lucky enough, I would like to get the chance to emulate their success.”