Former South African champion apprentice Rachel Veniker set off on the first international adventure of her short but illustrious career on Monday night, accompanied by her mother Marian, on a Qatar Airways flight.
Excited by the prospect of competing against top international rivals, Rachel will head to Saudi Arabia to compete in the Invest Saudi International Jockey Challenge Trophy, which will be held over four races at Riyadh's King Abdulaziz Racecourse on Friday night. I plan to participate in the event.
The IJC forms part of the Saudi Cup competition, the world's richest horse race, which currently boasts $20 million (R380 million) in prize money. The visiting jockeys are aiming for a prize of $100,000 (approximately R1.9 million), with the winner of the day depositing a check for $30,000 (approximately R570,000).
Rachel, who is sponsored by Johnson Workwear, said it was her first trip outside South Africa's borders and was “more excited than usual” after receiving lots of encouragement and explanations from her long-time mentor and boss, Michael Roberts. He told the Sporting Post. Nervous'.
“It's an honor to receive the invitation, win, lose or draw. I plan to make the most of this great opportunity to meet new people and experience different track conditions,” she said shortly before flying to Doha. told the Sporting Post. You will have a short layover before heading to Saudi Arabia.
When asked why she decided to take her mother, Marian, with a smile, Rachel said that her parents had come a long way and sacrificed for her, so she decided to take her mother along as her manager and supporter. He said he was happy to be able to do so.
“I have never traveled abroad, so I am grateful that my mother is with me on my travels. I would like to work at a horse farm this week, and all horse riding weighs between 57kg and 60kg. Since it's between, I also enjoy the freedom to sample local cuisine,'' added SA's only female jockey, who weighed in at 52kg.
Rachel also joined last weekend's world record-breaker Saffie Osborne, Maryline Ion of France, Katie Davis of the United States, Alisha Collette of Australia and Victoria Mota, the 24-year-old daughter of Brazil's top jockey Alex Mota. She will compete against six female riders, including: , and starred New Zealand's Lisa Allpress, who in 2020 became the first woman to win a flatland race in Saudi Arabia.
The male riders include defending champion Luis Saez, Ryan Moore, Damian Oliver, Maxime Guyon, Ryusei Saka, Camilo Ospina and Adel Alforaidi.