A veteran jockey completed a remarkable comeback to win one of his country’s biggest prizes at the age of 58. During a successful career in the saddle Andrew Fortune rode many big race winners and became South Africa’s champion jockey but also had many run-ins with authority.
These included testing positive for cocaine at the height of a drug addiction which at one of its lowest points led to him living in a squatter camp. When Fortune retired in 2017 he moved to Australia to work at a racing stables but was unable to get licensed as a work rider.
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His weight ballooned as he tipped the scales at over 14st. But when he returned to South Africa, by then drug free for 19 years, he took up the challenge of shedding five stone in weigh with the goal of making a comeback to the saddle
He regained his license 12 months ago and crowned an extraordinary chapter by riding See It Again for victory in the £230,000 Cape Town Met at Kenilworth. It was the second of two Group 1 wins out of a four-time. In the Met he led a family one-two with his son Aldo Domeyer riding the runner-up.
An emotional Fortune said: “First of all, I just wanted to thank God. I came from addiction to everything, nobody wanted me, and here I stand on the biggest stage. It was so hard and I get this moment. It’s just unbelievable.
“It’s amazing how his name is ‘See It Again’. I know this horse is going to win because I keep coming back and doing it again and again. But this is my last run and the most amazing one. It was like it was written in the stars.”
Winning trainer Justin Snaith said: “It’s just incredible. If anyone out there is thinking you’re at your lowest point and nothing is possible, Andrew has just proven you can come back from anything,” he said.
“Andrew was there every week. He worked flat out and solely deserved this. Right horse, right time and right person.”
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