Morgenrood ready for NZ action
FORMER South African apprentice champion Brandon Morgenrood is hoping to make an early impact in a new jurisdiction after making the move to New Zealand.
Morgenrood has been granted his jockey’s licence and the 39-year-old is keen to get down to business, with his first opportunity to show his skills coming at Tauranga on August 23 aboard the Janenne Dalley-trained Grandiscoccymelums.
The jockey is optimistic about making a winning debut.
“I’ve been riding him in trackwork and I think he’s got a big chance of winning,” Morgenrood said.
Dalley, Trevor Cruz, Brendon Hawtin and Lee Somervell are among the trainers to have utilised his services at Cambridge.
A better quality of life lured Morgenrood and his family to New Zealand last year and they have had no subsequent reasons to question their decision.
“My son Cruz is five now and my wife Amanda and I were looking to the future for him,” he said.
“We did a lot of homework and we decided New Zealand looked the best and we’re all loving it.”
Morgenrood graduated from the South African Jockey Academy to be firstly apprenticed to Dennis Bosch.
“I then moved to Cape Town to Glen Kotzen,” he said.
“I ended up winning the apprentices’ championship three out of five years.”
Morgenrood has a tally approaching 500 winners in South Africa with two horses, in particular, providing career highlights.
“Bad Influence won 18 races and I won 15 on him and then there was Ghostly Galleon, I won a number of Group races on him,” he said.
Morgenrood subsequently enjoyed a spell in Mauritius where he finished seventh on the jockeys’ premiership.
“I won their second biggest race, the Duchess Cup, in 2012 on a horse called Il Saggiatore, who I also rode in South Africa so that was special too,” he said.
“We’ve been in Cambridge for just over a year now and Amanda is working for Joe and Max Smithies at Monovale Farm.
“Everybody I’ve ridden for has been pretty positive and the South African style of race riding is competitive anywhere in the world.
“We’re excited about the future.”