For the last two months of the 2024/2025 season, injured Eldin Webber could only watch from the sidelines, but that didn’t stop him from becoming the Champion Local Jockey in the Eastern Cape for the first time.
It was an extraordinary season for Webber.
He started brilliantly, then the winners dried up and then disaster.
A broken leg ended his season with two months to go. Webber watched on and waited for the other jockeys to go past his 15 winners — they couldn’t.
“I arrived back home [in Gqeberha] from Ireland, where things didn’t quite work out for me. I wanted to prove to myself and the people that I can do this,” Webber said
“My goal was to win the championship. I put my head down and worked hard.
“Piece by piece, things fell in place for me and I did it. I achieved my goal.”
Webber is quick to acknowledge the role many people played in his journey, thanking all the owners and all the Fairview trainers who helped him to achieve his goal.
“It all started with the Emmanuel Kaknis stable. The Kelly Mitchley yard gave me opportunities before trainer Zietsman Oosthuizen took me under his wings.
“Desmond Zackey then became my agent and we started building the winners up like that.
“One person who helps me tremendously is [former jockey] Justine King. She does all my paperwork, and if there are any problems, I turn to her for advice,” Webber said.
Those 15 winners could have been a lot more with a little bit of luck.
Webber had 22 second places and 25 thirds.
“You win some, you lose some. That is the name of the game. Sometimes you make mistakes. If you don’t make the right move at the right time, you lose.”
Webber is known as a jockey who doesn’t stand back for anyone and that does get him into trouble at times.
“One has to stand up for what is right. I am not going to take the fall for something I didn’t do. Everything must be done the correct way.”
Webber, who won the Eastern Cape Champion Apprentice title twice, is delighted that there is a championship for the local jockeys to aim for.
“We feel we are worth something. Being the local champion means a lot, it is something that I can put on my CV when I want to go riding overseas.”
The visiting jockeys dominate the Fairview meetings, and the local jockeys have been pleading for many years now for more opportunities from the owners and trainers.
“If owners can see the hard work we put in, they will appreciate more what we do and probably give us more chances.
“We work with very temperamental horses sometimes.
‘We prepare the horses for the out-of-town jockeys to make the game look so easy, but the situation is what it is.”
With the new Eastern Cape season starting with a Fairview Turf meeting on Monday, Webber will have to wait before he can start defending his title.
“I am making good progress with my injury. I can return to gym work now and will see the doctor on Thursday. Hopefully, I will get the green light then to return to work.
“I guess I will have to kick-start my season. Next season, I want to do even better. I want to at least double my number of winners.”
So, his competitors had better look out — the champion can’t wait to get back in the saddle and into the winners’ enclosure.
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