Galloway not alone in Charlie’s success
JOCKEY Scott Galloway never feels alone while riding.
Galloway says his son Charlie, who tragically died in 2012, is right there with him every time he gets into the saddle.
The jockey’s win on the Michael Costa-trained Charlie Cat in the Pink Ribbon Cup (1200m) at the Gold Coast was a particularly emotional victory for Galloway and wife Lisa, given the connection in the horse’s name.
“It was a little bit emotional,” Galloway said of the ride.
“I feel he is always riding with me and keeping me safe. We think of him every day and so that was a nice feeling (on Saturday).
“Lisa was there, so it was a nice touch winning that race on that horse in the feature race of the day.”
One-year-old Charlie was killed when hit by a car at Hope Island in late November 2012.
Charlie Cat, the $2.60 favourite, jumped well and settled behind the leaders on Saturday before taking advantage of a bit of space to secure a soft win from Aqua Vite ($9.50) and Prolific Belle ($6).
It was his second win since joining the Gold Coast trainer’s stables and came nine months after his first.
The nervous-natured seven-year-old was lathered in sweat and sent to the barriers early to settle him down in what Costa said was an improvement.
“It was a hot day but in comparison to how he was at that first start for me in December he was much improved,” Costa said.
“He is still a work in progress and he is his own worst enemy but he was much improved.
“We just wanted to get him out of the mounting yard as quickly as possible to keep him as relaxed as possible.
“His talent still got him over the line.”
Costa said Charlie Cat’s recovery this week would determine when he runs again but floated the idea of a run in the Gold Coast’s metropolitan meeting on October 7.
“Everything is to do with his recovery and ultimately it’s going to guide when we get him back to the races, whether that be two weeks or three weeks,” Costa said. “There is a metropolitan meeting in two weeks , so we will see if there are any races that he could slot in there.
“We will speak to the owners and reverse engineer a plan to maximise prizemoney but within his means to go through his preparation.”