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James Winks landed in Mauritius a complete unknown, but his name is already being chanted wildly by the racing-mad people after he pulled off the rare feat of scoring a double at his first day of race-riding on Saturday.

The Victorian jockey was told not many foreign jockeys get off to a winning debut in the Indian Ocean Island, let alone ride two winners at the very tight and compact Champ de Mars racecourse.

After three losing rides, Winks did not take long to get off the mark at his five-month tenure, first with The Tripster in Race 4 and then Moi Power three races later. Both South African-breds (99% of the Mauritius horse population hails from that country) are trained by his new boss Patrick Merven and were just like Winks, at their debuts – and both were longshots.

Obviously, question marks hung over a combination of both horses and rider being complete newbies, but the double winning combination could not have been a more resounding answer. Merven, owners, newfound fans and of course, Winks himself, were delighted no end.

“It’s great to ride two winners at my first day, more so when I was told it very rarely happens for a new jockey,” said Winks whose previous international travels took him to Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia.

“I’ve settled in well since arriving on Sunday and the first week was all about learning about the horses and focusing on the first meeting.

“I’m lucky my boss has prepared those two winners very well for me. The Tripster can be quite aggressive and he pulls a bit hard, but from the corner, he lengthened up well, and hit the line very strongly.

“My second winner Moi Power pulled too hard with the blinkers at trackwork on Tuesday. I told Patrick to take them off and it’s worked out well.

“He held his good draw and was able to track the leader before beating him home.”

Winks said he would be lying if he took to the tricky track (only 1,300m long in circumference, 13m wide with an uphill 250m home straight) right off the bat.With 204 years of existence, the Mauritius Turf Club is the oldest Club in the Southern Hemisphere, and its unique racecourse has only undergone minor overhauls since.

“I was not so sure what was going on in the first couple of races. They race very tight and I even got chopped off at the home turn at my first ride and the jockey was suspended,” said Winks.

“In the next race, I got caught three wide on another new horse, Sir Earl Grey. He had to roll forward and ran third, but he’s a very nice horse, too, and just like me, wasn’t sure what to do. He was laying out a lot.

“But I had to adjust a few things, like getting my body balance right, and it was much better later on.

“It’s a very tight track and rides like Happy Valley in Hong Kong. You’ve got to try and find the fence, it’s harder if you come from back off the speed.”

While some may think riding only once (mostly Saturday) a week sounds like a dream holiday at such a tropical paradise, Winks said he still needed to put in the hard yards.

“I ride trackwork four days a week, only Wednesday is rest day. I only ride Patrick’s horses as you cannot take outside rides here except for Group races, but that’s fine by me,” he said.

Winks said his new stable has been very helpful since he landed from Melbourne via Perth (15-hour flight) last Sunday, and the Mauritian people and the crowd were just unreal.

“The people here have been absolutely wonderful. The crowd is crazy! Obviously, Saturday was one of their biggest meetings (Barbe Cup), but they’re all over the place and are really passionate about racing,” he said.

“I also know they will give you a real spray if you put in a few shockers, too! There will be bad days I am sure, but that’s racing.

“But I’m very happy I came here. I’m lucky to have a good boss like Patrick and some good owners and members like Dayen Murden who is very motivated to do well. We have a lot of new horses coming through and the future looks bright.

“After the races, I had a quiet dinner with Patrick and his family and then we watched a Euro soccer match, but I was pretty tired after that and had an early night.

“Right now, I also miss my family a lot. Luckily, Laura and the two boys will fly in on Sunday, and things will be a lot better then.”

Fellow Melbourne jockey Stephen Baster also began his new Mauritius stint on the same day as Winks, but was less lucky with no winners or placings in four rides. Baster rides for former South African-based trainer Ricky Maingard, who is also considered to be at the head of one of the leading yards there.