South African jockey Donovan Yeo has broken through for his first Australian winner, guiding the David Pfieffer-trained Oceans One to victory at Scone on Friday.
The 45-year-old, who’s been in Australia since 2018, showed his class on the four-year-old, taking the Sydney galloper straight to the front from the extreme outside, and from there, it was all one way running as the $8.50 chance won by 1.9 lengths in the 1000m Benchmark 66 Handicap.
“It was relieving to get that first win and a really good feeling,” Yeo told NSW Country and Picnic Racing.
“The first couple of rides I had this time, it was tough, and they were all running at the back, but I said to David, ‘Let me ride this; I can win on this horse’.
“Then he put me on, and I thought, ‘I need to win’, and he did it well.
“To be honest, I thought to myself when we were so far in front, ‘Is this a false start? We’re leading, and I can’t see any of them’, but he really did run well.
“Then, crossing the line, I knew I got the win, and that’s what I wanted to do, and now I can say it’s done and hopefully get some more.”
Born in Cape Town, O’Donovan grew up in Johannesburg, and he was an apprentice to leading South African trainer Mike de Kock before spending stints in Zimbabwe, Barbados, and the UK, bringing up close to 600 wins during his on-again, off-again career.
“There were ups and downs, and after I was an apprentice to Mike de Kock, I was never attached to anyone and never had those consistent opportunities,” Yeo said.
“Then I travelled to Zimbabwe, the UK and Barbados, and after that, I went back and rode for everybody, and I had the odd winner, but it was tough; I never had the support of one specific yard, so I was picking up rides, but I wasn’t riding the decent ones, and I never had that even flow of winners.”
With opportunities few and far between in South Africa, Yeo spent time helping his wife, Bianca Yeo, with her business interests.
“I was just plodding along, but my wife was opening businesses, and I was riding on and off,” Yeo said.
“She had nursery schools there and ended up setting up two, and she started from one kid to having 75 kids and built it all up from scratch, so I helped there until we decided we were going to go back to the UK, and I was going to work for Luca Cumani.”
As is often the case, the veteran jockey had his plans derailed, which led him to an opportunity in Australia back in 2018.
“I was actually going back to the UK to work for Luca Cumani, and I had the car sold and everything ready to leave Monday, but I got the call on Saturday that he wasn’t training anymore,” Yeo said.
“After that, Christopher Taylor told me there was a good job going in Australia, and I got the job, and Bjorn Baker sponsored me.
“It was a four-year contract, so to speak, and after three years, I could apply for residency, but I was with Bjorn for four years and two months.”
Yeo rode work for Baker and was given some opportunities in late 2019 and early 2020, where he rode two seconds for the Sydney stable at Goulburn but didn’t bring up a win.
Yeo suffered a broken leg and back in separate incidents, which sidelined the South African for extended periods.
When he returned, the opportunities had dried up, while on the other hand, compatriot Brandon Lerena and Namibian Heavelon Van Der Hoven were getting rides and landing winners, which essentially prompted his move.
“All I wanted was to race ride, and I was watching Brandon and Heavelon ride winner after winner, so when my residency came through, I decided it was time to make a move,” Yeo said.
“My wife was Foreman at Bjorn Baker’s, and she was then Foreman at Godolphin, so I was working at Hawkesbury for Brad Widdup, but Bianca ended up moving back to Camden for a pre-training job, so I decided to move back to Warwick Farm.
“Now I’m freelancing, and so many more people know me better there, and I’m riding work for David Pfieffer, Gregory Hickman, and Gary Portelli.”
With a win under his belt and some confidence, Yeo is now looking for opportunities.
“I will 100% travel; I don’t want to be travelling six hours for one ride, but I need to get my name out there, and I will if I have to,” Yeo said.
“Getting that winner has given me confidence, and I know I can do it, and I’ll continue to work hard for those rides.”
Craig Rixon is managing Donovan Yeo, and for bookings, trainers can call 0415 256 785.
