Meet the brainy man

Unsung hero gives record-breaking jockey the edge.

- Mike Moon

Richard Fourie last weekend broke the record for most winners in a season, a mark that had stood for more than a quarter of a century and carried a R1 million bonus prize if topped.

It was a phenomenal achievement, but he couldn't have done it on his own.

Behind every sporting hero is a team that facilitates the glory.

Jockeys' agents are among the racing game's unsung heroes, spending most of their time at desks, staring at screens and racecards, dissecting form lines and weight scales to pick the best rides they can for their clients.

From the sidelines, they watch the acclaim and shouts of victory in the winner's circle In Fourie's case, that man is Ken Nicol, who has done a tremendous job in providing the raw material for the ace rider to fashion into history.

It was said that retired former champion jockey Anthony Delpech's record of 334 wins in the 1998/99 season would never be eclipsed. That was because there is nowadays less racing each week and the amount of travelling and disruption to personal life needed to rack up such a number was barely humanly possible.