Indian import makes mark on Aussie turf
INDIAN jockey Trevor Patel opened his Australian account at Caloundra on Saturday aboard No Annamossity, a horse that is another testament to the selling genius of Gerry Harvey.
Patel, who broke the Indian record for being the fastest jockey to ride 1000 winners in India, had only had a handful of rides before Saturday’s sucGOLD cess, where he darted back to the inside section of the track, which had been a no-go zone for most of the day.
“There’s no doubt horses run for this guy,” said winning trainer Rob Heathcote, who was responsible for bringing Patel to Australia.
“People want to see a jockey that’s unknown to them ride a winner and that’s fair enough.
“I received a heap of text messages straight after the race acknowledging that Trevor can ride and hopefully a few others will start to give him a chance now they’ve seen him get this win on the board.”
The 25-year-old has a three-month visa but understands he can extend by another three months, which he intends to do.
“Rob has been giving me a lot of chances and it’s a great feeling to get this win,” Patel said.
He said there was not much difference in the racing between Australia and India, but found stewards here “very strict” in comparison to his homeland when it came to careless riding offences.
He will return to India for the Pune Derby on October 14, but come back to Australia a couple of days later.
No Annamossity is a threequarter brother to Heathcote’s retired champion Buffering.
He was originally passed in through the sales until his breeder Harvey intervened.