Cheyne aims to make the most of his chance to ride for Moore
Halfway through the term and well within sight of last season's win tally, South African jockey Greg Cheyne is hoping to take his current momentum to a whole new level when he hooks up with John Moore in the Group Three Jebsen Centenary Vase tomorrow.
Cheyne ticked over to nine wins for the season at Happy Valley on Wednesday with a double, just five shy of his full-season total last term, but fate and his light frame have handed him a proper chance with Derby aspirant Jacobee in tomorrow's feature.
He has had only four moderate mounts for the Moore stable previously - City Dragon, Ice Fire and Galaxee (twice) - so he heads from the cellar to the penthouse riding Jacobee, who has won three on end.
'Jeff Lloyd has done a lot of the light riding for John but now with Jeff suspended, I've been able to get two nice ones off him with Sky Mascot and of course Jacobee in the main race,' Cheyne said yesterday.
The Jacobee engagement has some fortuitous background to it, as Cheyne was also aboard when the four-year-old trialled over 1,600m at Sha Tin recently.
'That was when Darren Beadman was ill and he stood down from the races and also the trials, so John asked me to give Jacobee a quiet trial,' Cheyne said. 'Obviously, I didn't ask him for much when he ran fifth or so but I had plenty in hand and he felt very good. And today I galloped him and he felt spot on and even though he hasn't raced for a while, John seems very good at keeping them ticking over like this. He won't lack fitness.'
The Vase has seen two winners in the past decade go on to win the Derby, Industrial Pioneer in 2001 and Vengeance Of Rain in 2005.
