Chance for top jockeys

A glimmer of hope remains for interstate jockeys wanting to enter Victoria to ride in the Melbourne Cup and Cox Plate.

The Australian Jockeys’ Association was buoyed by the outcome of a meeting with Victorian Racing Minister Martin Pakula last Thursday.

The meeting was held before Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced a roadmap for the easing of restrictions as vaccination rates rose, leaving open the chance for the VRC to have crowds at some stage of the Melbourne Cup carnival.

AJA chief executive Martin Talty said Pakula gave the jockeys a fair hearing and did not squash their hopes of entering Victoria for hit-and-run trips to Flemington and The Valley.

“They wanted to know whether there was a chance because it’s getting to that stage where if they are going to get a Cox Plate ride or a Melbourne Cup ride, then they have to start looking,” Talty said.

“It’s no good hanging around and getting the message that, ‘yep, you can come down’ and not having a ride.

“The jockeys weren’t after any special treatment whatsoever; they were just gauging whether it would be possible.”

Talty said it was unlikely Sydney jockeys would want to head to Melbourne for rides on Caulfield Cup or

Victoria Derby Day, with The Everest and Golden Eagle meetings set for those days.

Talty stressed jockeys weren’t looking to jump the queue to enter Victoria, adding Pakula said the AJA health advice in the coming weeks would determine any decision.

“Mr Pakula was fantastic,” Talty said.

“He said there won’t be any special dispensation for jockeys, which they understood, because there’s a lot of other Victorians based in NSW that, up until then, weren’t able to return.

“It was more of a response that, ‘everything’s a possibility but it would be determined by the state’s health advice’.”

AFL clubs were able to travel into other states on a hit-and-run basis at several stages during the season.

Clubs travelled interstate on chartered flights, headed straight to stadiums where they would play before heading straight back to the airport, minimising contact with the public.

A similar set-up was possible jockeys.

They could take a charter flight into Essendon Airport, leaving them a short road trip to The Valley or Flemington.

“They’re prepared to fly in, for example, on Cox Plate morning and fly out Cox Plate night,” Talty said.

“They’d fly in, straight to Moonee Valley, straight back to the airport and fly out.”