The Hong Kong Jockey Club has announced a new South African jockey to join the roster on Monday week - rising star Bernard Fay D'Herbe De Maudave. 'He is just 20 years old and widely considered to be the next star of South African racing,' Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, the Jockey Club's director of racing, said yesterday in announcing the Licensing Committee's decision. 'Bernard is in his first season as a senior jockey and recently rode his first Group One winner. We are trying something different by giving an opportunity to a younger, up-and-coming jockey. He will give us a benchmark as to where such a young man stands coming to such a tough racing environment as Hong Kong.' Fay D'Herbe De Maudave, who promises to be a nightmare for headline writers, finished 17th on the South African table last season and completed his apprenticeship with 1,945 career rides for 124 wins. This season, though, he has made great strides forward and currently lies third in the South African jockey standings with 117 winners from 693 race rides - a 16.7 per cent win strike rate and a place strike rate of better than 40 per cent. His big-race victories to date have been a listed race, two Group Threes, a Group Two and the recent Group One Queen's Plate. He has notified his riding weight as 119 pounds and his stint will run parallel to that of Australian wonder jockey Scott Seamer from April 8 until the end of the season.
