Luke in for the ride of his life

Mick Dittman wanted son to take a new path but now he’s on board

WHEN legendary jockey Mick Dittman shipped off his son Luke to the cold of New Zealand to work under hardnosed trainer Alan Jones, he hoped it would put an end to his racing ambitions.

Dittman wanted Luke, then 13, to avoid the dangers of racing and pursue a career outside the one he thrived in. But the ploy didn’t work. “When you have been through it yourself you know it’s a dam dangerous business and you don’t like your kids to get into something that is dangerous,” Dittman said.

“I would have preferred him not to ride but you can’t stop them doing something they love. They put their heart and soul into it and you have to let them go.

“I was thinking he might get a bit big, which he has. So I thought I’d send him away to New Zealand and he can do his work there and he might get a bit homesick, come home, study and get into something else.

“To his credit he stuck at it and although I’m sure he had plenty of homesick days I think that he really wanted to do it.

“His weight has been against him quite a bit but he has been good. He has tried his hardest, he has learnt to ride pretty well, he is a good hand and horses travel well for him.”

Dittman, an Australian Racing Hall of Fame member, was nicknamed ‘The Enforcer’ throughout a career that included more than 1700 wins including the Melbourne Cup, Caulfied Cup, two Cox Plates and three Golden Slippers.

Luke, now 27, didn’t start riding until the age of 13 but childhood memories of being around the track and in the jockeys’ room with his dad inspired him to follow in his footsteps.

“I remember going to the races when I was five or six,” Luke said.

“It was always a thrill for me. I probably caught the later part of (Mick’s) career but I still got to see some pretty big wins.

“It was a thrill for me as a kid to watch him ride and to step into his shoes and ride later on.

“I still remember my mother (Maureen) passing me over the jockeys’ room fence at Eagle Farm when I was five and hanging out with the old boy there.

“Being able to be brought up in it and to understand how that world worked as a kid probably helped.” Luke has spent time riding in France, England, Sydney and Queensland and said he regularly spoke to his father about his rides.

“He’s been a massive help to me,” Luke said. “He is always the first one I call after I leave the races and nine times out of 10 he has seen me ride.

“He is the first one to give me a spray if I do something wrong but he is also there to give me a hand when I do something right.

“Just to use his experience and ask him what he thinks about situations and what I should have done in rides is invaluable.”