De Melo, Snaith gallop into the lead

Keagan de Melo is a short-priced favourite to recapture the South African national champion jockey title he won back in 2022/23.

Five weeks into the year-long 2026/27 season, De Melo tops the jockeys’ win log with 28 successes – nine clear of nearest rival Kabelo Matsuyane and 18 ahead of reigning champion Craig Zackey.

Bookmakers this week had De Melo at even money to claim the championship – cramped, forbidding odds this early in a season, not to mention in a job that carries high risk of injury and suspension.

Still, De Melo is clearly determined to justify confidence, already clocking up piles of frequent flyer points as he goes in search of winners in all corners of the country.

The new R1-million prize for the champion jockey is one big incentive, but De Melo will also be driven by a desire for redemption after a dismal spell in Hong Kong, when he found himself on the wrong side of that place’s notorious racing fickleness and superstition.

On his return home to Durban in late 2025, De Melo immediately got among the winners and showed that slim returns in Hong Kong were due to lack of opportunity rather than lack of ability. He finished the 2025/26 term at full gallop, in third place on the jockeys’ table with about 130 fewer wins than Zackey – from nearly 900 fewer rides.

Richard Fourie, last season’s runner-up and a two-time former champion, is second favourite in the books at 3.03. Zackey is third in line at 4.00, followed by another ex-champ, Gavin Lerena, at 6.25.

Reigning champion trainer Justin Snaith tops the latest boards at 1.52, edging out Alan Greeff on 1.82.

The new championship sponsor, sportsbook Lucky Fish, has decreed that total number of wins will determine the winner of its R1-million champion trainer prize – a major departure from the traditional determinant of total stakes accumulated.

Interestingly, Greeff saddled 149 winners in 2025/26 – to Snaith’s 140. However, the latter easily trumped his rival in aggregate stakes. This time around, the competition sis set to be much closer and could go down to the very end of the season – making this a more enticing betting option than it has usually been.

Scanning the latest Luck Fish (and Hollywoodbets) odds, attractive options among the trainers are Tony Peter at 5.00, Mike & Mathew de Kock at 14.29 and Candice Bass at 25.00.

Among the jockeys, Zackey at 4.00, Lerena at 6.25 and Musi Yeni at 33.33 jump off the page.

Betting

Trainers:

Justin Snaith 1.52
Alan Greeff 1.82
Sean Tarry 5.00
Tony Peter 5.00
Dean Smith 12.50
M&M de Kock 14.29
Candice Bass 25.00
Glen Kotzen 66.67
Any other trainer 100.00

Jockeys:

Keagan de Melo 1.00
Richard Fourie 3.03
Craig Zackey 4.00
Gavin Lerena 6.25
Kabelo Matsunyane 16.67
Callan Murray 25.00
Serino Moodley 33.33
Muzi Yeni 33.33
Sean Veale 75.00
Kyle Strydom 150.00
Aldo Domeyer 150.00
Any other jockey 250.00