Maskiell has new Vic base
TASMANIAN jockey Jason Maskiell’s bid to return to riding in Victoria has begun with the 29-year-old taking up residence at Moe in the Latrobe Valley.
While the country town in the Gippsland region is 150km from the Flemington racecourse where Maskiell enjoyed much of his metropolitan success when he first took Melbourne by storm as an apprentice, he is confident it is an ideal starting point as he tries to make his way back into the big league.
Maskiell has taken up residence with Paul and Tracey Templeton, a husband and wife training combination who operate a successful stable in the town.
Maskiell only returned to race riding a year ago after spending five years dealing with an addiction to ice that led him into a dark place and almost claimed his life. While his recovery is ongoing, he has managed to surround himself with the right people, mostly family who have helped guide him back to a place where he stood a fighting chance of regaining his self-esteem.
Last month he proposed to his girlfriend Candice Green in Darwin where he was riding during the Darwin Cup carnival and that was probably the final piece of the jigsaw that he needed to make the move that will either make him of break him.
Maskiell is one of the most gifted jockeys Tasmania has produced and the one thing the methamphetamine addiction couldn’t take from him was his ability.
The trip to the Northern Territory was a test for the young rider who still has a dream of making it to the top in Victoria.
“The trip to the Northern Territory was for six weeks and it was a test to see if I could stay focused while away from my family that have been the base of my support network for the past year or so.
“I just felt the time was right to make the move [to Victoria] and to align myself with Paul and Tracey Templeton at Moe is fantastic,” Maskiell said.
“I am lucky because they are great people who have a small but busy stable with about a dozen horses in work and they know my background.
“I guess this is the chance I was looking for to help me live my dream.
“I am in a really good place mentally but I have to work on the physical side of things because after two mornings of riding trackwork my calves were burning like crazy, but that should be back to normal soon enough.
“Candice has gone back to Tassie to get all of her business interests in order and she expects to move over here in a month.”
Maskiell says he plans to return to Tasmania next week to attend the horse of the year and Hall of Fame dinner at the Hotel Grand Chancellor.
“I’ll be back in Tassie to attend the awards function in Hobart on Friday week and then I’ll stay on and ride at Spreyton on the Sunday, but I’ll probably only be back for the odd feature race meeting and maybe during the summer carnival.”