The South African jockey left a gap in the Queensland riding ranks when he made the surprising decision to take up a riding contract in Mauritius in May. He still finished third on the Brisbane metropolitan log on 66 ½ wins, 41 ½ wins behind fellow countryman Jeff Lloyd.
Replacing another South African, Weichong Marwing (forced to return home due to a bad back), Fradd was an instant hit for the Gilbert Rousset stable at the Champ de Mars, going on to win the champion jockey title – or the “cravache d’or” (golden whip) as it is called on the French-speaking Indian Ocean island - on 34 winners and landing the title for his stable as well.
Mauritius is not uncharted territory to the veteran jockey as he rode there with success from 1991 to 1993, claiming the premiership once and stunningly went back 24 years later to win the 2017 International Jockeys’ Weekend (IJW), followed by a second crown the following year.
“I had a great season in Mauritius. To win the champion jockey title in Mauritius 25 years later when the competition is so much tougher means a lot to me,” said Fradd.
“It wasn’t an easy decision (to ride in Mauritius) to make, but Gilbert is a great man to ride for. We’ve worked hard and we both became champions, it doesn’t get any better than this.
“I haven’t yet decided if I would return for another season which starts in March next year. In the meantime, I’m going back to Brisbane on December 11 with my wife Natalie and son Liam, I will start riding there again, and see how it goes.”
As an entitlement to his freshly-minted Mauritius champion jockey status, Fradd is back to defend his title in this year’s Air Mauritius & Attitude International Jockeys’ Weekend, which has brought up Dwayne Dunn as the Australian flagbearer this time around.
Neither Fradd nor Dunn have won a race at Day 1 on Saturday, with two-time IJW winner, French jockey Maxime Guyon leading after a hat-trick of wins, but they can still regroup and catch up on Sunday with seven races left on the championship.
Last year, Fradd drew a blank on the first day, but won three the next day to snare the title.
“Hopefully, I can pull off the same feat again this year!” he said.
