The stage is set for the very first jockeys’ series to ever take place in Singapore, the Premier Gateway International Jockeys Challenge to be held at Kranji on 25 September 2018.
Organised by South Africa’s Phumelela Gaming & Leisure and Tabcorp, together with their international subsidiary Premier Gateway International (PGI), and hosted by the Singapore Turf Club, the star-studded event will showcase four riding Teams hailing from Asia, South Africa, UK and Australia, each comprising three of their best jockeys, and who will do battle over four selected races on the Tuesday night card.
Though the final Teams are yet to be finalised, those who have confirmed their participation at this stage are:
Team Australia: Hugh Bowman (*), Corey Brown and Kerrin McEvoy.
Team UK: Hayley Turner, Robert Havlin and PJ McDonald
Team South Africa: Lyle Hewitson, Muzi Yeni and Greg Cheyne (based on current standings, but final selection will be based on the final standings at the end of the South African season in July and subject to jockeys’ availability)
Team Asia: Joao Moreira (**), two more jockeys from Singapore to be confirmed.
(*): Unless required to ride champion mare Winx in Australia.
(**): Subject to Japan Racing Association giving permission.
Further updates will be provided as the final Teams are finalised. Jockeys’ profiles will also be furnished in due course.
Sydney's Kerrin McEvoy, picture Sportpix.com.au
As is the standard format for such international jockeys’ series, the PGI Jockey Challenge will be decided by a point system. Points will be awarded to each jockey based on their finishing position in each race up to 10th place while points will also be aggregated per team as follows:
Rank Points
First 30
Second 15
Third 12
Fourth 10
Fifth 8
Sixth 7
Seventh 6
Eighth 5
Ninth 4
Tenth 3
In addition, a jockey with no ride in a race will be allotted seven points.
The jockey (international individual champion) and team (international team champion) who accrue the most points will win the contest.
Rides will be determined by a draw shortly after declaration time in a format which will give all jockeys fair and equal chances to obtain a mix of rides with reasonable chances.
