28-year-old jockey relocated from his homeland with his young family and is now attached to the Gosden stable – and he’s ridden winners for Godolphin and King Charles III. Interview by Jon Lees
GB: While South African racing has haemorrhaged some of its best riding talent to Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand, one jockey has chosen Britain as his new base.
Collen Storey did not arrive with a CV quite like recent exports Lyle Hewitson, Callan Murray or Warren Kennedy, but he has made the best possible statement by riding a winner for King Charles III.
Johannesburg-born Storey entered the sport with no racing connections yet made the most of his opportunities to ride over 200 winners in his homeland.
When those began to evaporate he relocated to Newmarket with his wife Tara and two children, Casey and Cai, where he is starting from scratch again.
“We literally packed up in South Africa and decided to come here and start a new journey,” explains Storey, 28.
“I came from no racing background at all. With what I had I’ve done pretty well considering and I thought to myself I’ve done it before, I can do it again.”
Storey, who grew up in Centurion in Gauteng Province, did not choose a career in racing; rather, the career chose him, mostly due to his size. He is 5ft 3ins.
“I was always the smallest bloke around as I went through school,” he says. “I played rugby and cricket – I had to give up rugby because all my mates grew bigger than me.
“One of my uncles always said to me I should become a jockey because I was small, strong and fit. When I was 16 I got in touch with the jockeys’ academy to find out what the requirements would be and I seemed to meet them.
“I started my apprenticeship in Durban,” he goes on. “I started riding in the second year and rode for nine seasons, basically as a freelance and eventually got going. I’ve ridden 222 winners in South Africa.
“I was riding a lot at Flamingo Park but when that closed down all my support was gone. Before that one of the yards I was riding for in Port Elizabeth had issues with staff who attacked the horses and the stable closed.
“That slowed up business too because it’s really hard to get going in another yard so I thought, while I was young and the kids were young, it was the best time to leave.”
One of the reasons Storey chose Britain was that his wife has an ancestral visa, through a British grandfather. He arrived in September 2021 and went straight into a job with Simon & Ed Crisford, working as a groom and riding out.
Impatient to resume his riding career he moved down the road to John and Thady Gosden after six months in the hope of getting rides.
In time they came. Storey rode his first winner in July 2022 and got off the mark for the Gosdens on Frankel filly Kensington at Wolverhampton in October.
Then In January 2023 he tripled his score for the stable, steering royal filly Calmly to a maiden victory at Kempton and the following day won a conditions stakes at Newcastle on Godolphin-owned Forest Of Dean, his seventh winner in Britain.
“I asked one of the jockeys to take a picture of me the day I was in the king’s colours and little did we know it ended up winning and I had a bigger picture of me in the king’s colours,” he says. “It made my whole night. She extended away from the field like it was nothing, which she’d never shown at home.”
Storey hopes to use the winners as a springboard to more recognition but knows business may be quiet until the turf season starts in March.
“I would love to be a bit more busy but what I’ve done I have thoroughly enjoyed,” he says.
“I just hope it picks up a bit more. One thing that does go for me is I am quite strong for my weight. In summer I should comfortably be able to do 8st 5lb. A lot of jockeys in England are quite tall so that could work to my advantage.
“This is going to be my first full season but I am up for the challenge,” Storey goes on. “Mr Gosden has really tried to help me since I joined the yard. I am not scared of working. I ride out every morning, as many lots as possible, and then go racing.
“At the beginning fitness was really against me and also the cold, which was a bit of a challenge when trying to keep the weight down.
“I want to get my name out there. I came here with no claim so I have to compete with the best but I hope the winners I have ridden show I can keep up with the big boys.”
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