Mallyon finds right balance on Coast
JOCKEY Andrew Mallyon is set to make his move to the Gold Coast a permanent one after finding the perfect work-life balance.
It all comes as the 31-yearold prepares to ride Stradbroke hopeful Emerald Kingdom on the Sunshine Coast tonight before heading back down for the Gold Coast Guineas meeting tomorrow.
The Victorian product moved to Queensland from Melbourne last September in search of a better balance between riding and looking after his young family.
With two young sons in Archer, 5, and Finn, 3, Mallyon admitted he would be heartbroken after going several days without even seeing them when he lived in Victoria.
“There’d be days where I wouldn’t even see them,” he said. “I’d do trackwork and go to the races before they were out of bed and I’d be getting home when they were back in bed.
“It wouldn’t be out of the ordinary to go several days without seeing them and we live in the same house. It was pretty hard.”
Which is why he described his move to the Gold Coast as “the best thing I’ve ever done”.
“I don’t want to go back to Victoria, I’ve enjoyed it that much up here,” he said.
“There’s so many things I missed out on, like birthday parties and little gatherings.
“Now, it’s agreeing with me a lot more. This is the balance I’ve been looking for in the past couple of years.”
Mallyon is set to ride prized five-year-old Emerald
Kingdom in the 1000m TAB Chief De Beers Handicap on the Sunshine Coast tonight.
The Robert Heathcotetrained horse is in outstanding form, with six wins from its past six starts.
However, Heathcote said it would be a tough ask to make it seven consecutive wins in tonight’s race.
“That’s always a feat in itself for a horse to put a picket fence together and he’s put two of them together,” Heathcote said.
“It’s going to be hard (at) 1000m on the Caloundra track with the likes of Tarzan … there’s a ton of speed in that (race).
“He showed last prep that 1400m might be his go. I thought it was his best win, his last win before he went for a spell.”
Mallyon said he saw plenty of potential in the fiveyear-old.
“We’re yet to see the best of him and I hope I’m getting on him at the right time,” Mallyon said.
“He’s definitely a horse that has all the makings of a top horse.”