If there is a better jockey riding at the moment than current champion Lyle Hewitson, then he is sitting at home watching on the couch. One of the litany’s around the training yards, usual moans aside, is the lack of depth in our jockey ranks.

Who is going to replace the likes of Anton Marcus, Piere Strydom, Mark Khan and Anthony Delpech, Depech aside, that are nearing the end of their careers in the saddle?

But before these seasoned riders rose to prominence, the refrain was the same – who was going to replace the likes of Martie Schoeman, James Maree and Gerald Turner, who in turn replaced legends Harold “Tiger” Wright, “Cocky” Feldman, Johnny McCreedy and Charlie Berends to name but a few of the late, greats of their time.

Along came Michael Roberts, who was a bit more than just useful, the two Bert’s, Abercrombie and Hayden, were no journeyman riders, Garth Puller was a legend and Basil Marcus, Barty Leisher, Felix Coetzee, and my memory deserts, weren’t half bad either.

There may be small gaps between generations and the complexion of the jockey room has changed, literally and figuratively, but the cream will always rise to the top in one of the toughest and most dangerous sporting professions on earth – Formula One drivers at 300km per hour have more chance of surviving serious injury in a crash than a jockey taking a spill in a race – or just slow track work for that matter.

Granted, Hewitson has teamed up with one of the best agents in the game, Dees Dayanand, Anthony Delpech’s agent before his unfortunate accident, but Dees knows a good horse when he sees one, on the track and off it. So does current trainer’s championship leader Sean Tarry who worked out Hewitson early in his career and was instrumental in his championship win.

In the last two meetings at Greyville Hewitson has racked up the winners. Three on Sunday, and his four-timer at Greyville yesterday was a combination of finesse and straight grind. Injury saw a belated start to his season so his chance of defending his national title was dead in the water before it even started, but he cracked the 50-winner mark yesterday in a rapid climb up the ladder.

In short, if Hewitson can keep a lid on his weight, Bernard Fayd’Herbe could be a mentor, and a sound head on his shoulders, his services will be in demand where ever he chooses to ride.

By Andrew Harrison