The 34-year-old’s strong work ethic has been rewarded Group race honours and regularly riding for prominent trainers Tony Pike, Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman and Jamie Richards’ Te Akau operation.
But it wasn’t always so and Mansour had to overcome major setbacks following his arrival just under a year ago.
“I’m really happy with the way things are going now, but it was quite tough trying to break through and I am an impatient person,” he said.
“I’m working hard to build relationships with trainers and owners and it all seems to be starting to pay off.
“I’m working hard to build relationships with trainers and owners and it all seems to be starting to pay off.” – Donavan Mansour
“It’s taken time and a lot of people said to me it would be very difficult to break in. Trainers are quite loyal to their jockeys and trying to get rides was hard and it was important for me to make things happen quite quickly.”
Mansour’s progress wasn’t helped by injuries when he first landed in Cambridge.
“I got here in August of last year and then I had a fall at the track when I was with Graeme Rogerson,” he said. “I tore an abductor muscle in my leg and then I had another fall at Hastings and had a concussion.
“The first few months in New Zealand were quite testing and maybe I thought I’m not supposed to be here, but I’m happy I stuck to it. It’s just not an option for me to go back home, I’ve got a wife and two boys and it’s a beautiful country to bring up a family.”
Mansour is now well settled with wife Roxanne and sons Moskow, five, and 3-year-old Mikhail.
“We’ve got a beautiful home and things are going really well on the racing front,” he said. “We’re in Cambridge and I ride out for Tony Pike every morning.”
“We’ve got a beautiful home and things are going really well on the racing front.” – Donavan Mansour
Although Mansour comes from a racing background, he wasn’t keen early on to follow the family tradition.
“My uncle’s a commentator, another uncle was a jockey and my Dad and grandfather always owned horses,” he said. “I never wanted to be a jockey though and it wasn’t until late in life that I decided to give it a crack.
Mansour had his first taste of New Zealand racing in the 2007-08 season, but it was a short-lived stint.
Donovan Mansour is a regular rider for prominent New Zealand trainer, Tony Pike
“When I decided I wanted to be a jockey I was 21 and came here and started my apprenticeship,” he said.
“I started in Wellington and did a couple of months with the late Brent Hrstich and then I moved to Lance Noble at Matamata and I was him for about eight months.
“I was missing my family too much though so I went back to South Africa to complete my apprenticeship.
“I was missing my family too much though so I went back to South Africa to complete my apprenticeship.” – Donavan Mansour
“I rode about 350 winners in South Africa and had three Group 2 wins and maybe five or six Group 2 races. I rode in Mauritius in 2016 and won the championship there as well.”
Now with the support of his own family, Mansour is loving life in his adopted homeland.
“Things aren’t great back home and my wife and I were looking for a better set up for the kids,” he said.
“I thought I’ve been to New Zealand and it’s a beautiful, awesome country so we decided that it would be the place for us and we’re really happy.”
Donovan Mansour is ticking off his goals in New Zealand
Mansour set himself two goals at the outset and he’s ticked one off and chasing down the other.
“I wanted to ride 35 winners by the end of the season and pick up a feature race. I had the injuries that set me back and then I got an agent who knows exactly how things work,” he said.
“I was ringing trainers when the nominations came out and I couldn’t get a ride, I couldn’t understand it, but I realised you pretty much get your rides before the noms come out.
“It’s different in South Africa so I was always too late to get rides and I got an agent - Tony Raklander who is a really nice guy.”
First Group success
With his help, Mansour posted his career highlight so far when he dead-hated for first aboard Vigor Winner (Declaration Of War {USA}) in the G3 Cambridge Breeders’ S. at Te Rapa.
He collected his 23rd winner of the season with a front-running victory aboard the Graeme Lord-trained Valante (NZ) (Tavistock {NZ}) in Saturday’s Kiwifruit Cup at Tauranga.
“He makes you earn your riding fee,” he said. “It was very sticky out there and when those horses looked to come past me in the last 50 metres he actually put his head down and got to the line.
“You’re not quite sure how well you’re going but he just dug down deep and he did it well. I’ve got to work a little bit harder now to get to 35 winners.”
Also in Mansour’s favour is his ability to ride light without wasting.
“I can do anything, whatever the trainers throw at me I can do,” he said. “I work hard in the mornings to keep the weight down and my wife and I do yoga and follow a vegetarian diet. I walk around 50kg and don’t drink alcohol at all.”
