Piere Strydom won on his first ride in Mauritius when he got home Danger Rock by a short-head in Race 2 at Champ de Mars on Saturday.

The former multiple South African champion jockey arrived in the island state earlier in the week on contract to ride for leading trainer Ram Gujadhur.

The man they call “Striker” lost no time in showing the racing-mad islanders his class and brilliant judgment of pace in the C Division 990m sprint.

In his next effort, in Race 3, Strydom finished third aboard Nordic Chant. That race was won by compatriot Derrick David on Charleston Hero, with SA-trained Mauritian Nooresh Juglall third on Mind Blower. Karl Zechner made it a South African fest with fourth place on Emaar.

That marked the first of a hat-trick for David, who went on to land the fourth race on Wall Tag, with Juglall again second and Strydom fourth. David’s third winner came in Race 6 with Cool At Heart. Juglall had to settle for second yet again, on the well-performed ex-SA horse Ten Gun Salute. Strydom was fifth.

Tabnews