Namibia-born jockey Heavelon Van Der Hoven will start from scratch in Brisbane this week after his big move from Sydney
Fresh off a Glorious victory at Royal Randwick and with the support of the Rob and Annabel Archibald stable, jockey Heavelon Van Der Hoven is starting a new chapter in his career in Brisbane.
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Namibia-born jockey Heavelon Van Der Hoven is shifting from Sydney to Brisbane on a whim and a prayer.
With the backing of the strong Annabel and Rob Archibald stable, Van Der Hoven will this week move with his two dogs into his new unit at Ascot, just a stone’s throw from the Doomben and Eagle Farm racetracks.
The 32-year-old jockey finished his five-year Sydney stint in style last Saturday, steering the Jim and Greg Lee-trained Glorious Moments to victory to secure his first NSW metropolitan win.
The next day he packed all his belongings into a friend’s ute and trailer and started driving to Brisbane, stopping at Murwumbillah on the way.
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Van Der Hoven had already launched a few hit-and-run missions to southeast Queensland – his last starts up north were on Caloundra Cup Day at the Sunshine Coast on July 5.
He will start the new chapter in his career at Doomben next Wednesday when he is slated to have four rides for the Archibalds, with whom he has a superb 21 per cent winning strike rate.
“I’ve always had it in the back of my mind to move up there if the right opportunity comes because I really like Brisbane,” Van Der Hoven said.
“The weather and the atmosphere play a big part. It’s more chilled and relaxed and there are nice tracks up there.
“I’m not a city boy. I grew up on a farm (in Reheboth, just south of Windhoek in Namibia) and I like the outdoors. And I like the water a lot.”
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The seeds for Van Der Hoven’s sea-change were planted early this year when Annabel Archibald sought a meeting with the jockey.
“Annabel asked ‘would you ride for me up there?’ and I said ‘yeah if you’ll support me’ and that started the whole thing,” Van Der Hoven recalled.
“I’ll try to do my best to be a city rider up here and try to get a few features if possible.”
Van Der Hoven said he knew Brisbane-based Irish jockey Robbie Dolan from the days when he used to play golf in Sydney with the Melbourne Cup-winning hoop, but he was not moving north to make friends.
🤩 Glorious moments indeed, as Glorious Moments sails to victory first up after a long break at Canterbury!@aus_turf_clubpic.twitter.com/85T8xqCmUu
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 18, 2025
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“I don’t really associate with a lot of racing people. I just keep to my own,” he said.
“Once I’m up there riding, trainers will obviously know that I’m planning to stay and maybe I can go to work for them and show my face around.
“There will be ups and downs and it’ll be a challenge but I just have to take it on.
“But everywhere is hard, you just need the right support and connections I guess. I’ll just put my head down and work hard.”
Originally published as Namibia-born jockey Heavelon Van Der Hoven will start from scratch in Brisbane this week after his big move from Sydney
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