Star jockey’s bumper season likely to get even better on familiar turf
THE momentum of star jockey Tye Angland’s best- ever season can roll into the Hawkesbury stand- alone meeting today.
Angland has seven competitive rides at his feature home track race day which helped his successful riding career more than a decade ago.
In 2007, at only the second Hawkesbury stand- alone, Angland was a 17- year- old apprentice when he rode his first stakes winner on November Flight in the Godolphin ( then Darley) Crown.
Angland has since developed into one of the nation’s top jockeys with over 900 career winners already.
But his riding has gone to a new level this season with five Group 1 wins on outstanding three- year- olds Trapeze Artist ( Golden Rose, TJ Smith Stakes, All Aged Stakes) and Ace High ( Spring Champion Stakes, Victoria Derby).
At Randwick on Anzac Day, Angland rode his 100th winner for 2017- 18 on Stryke Rock, which means the jockey is set to smash his previous best of 112 wins set last season, and he has ridden the winners of more than $ 10 million in prizemoney.
“To be able to grab five Group 1 winners in the first nine months of the season has been really good and I am grateful for the support I have been getting from owners and trainers to bag those big- race wins,’’ Angland said.
“Then to ride 100 winners as well has certainly made this my best season ever. But there is still three months to go and I want to try and finish the season off strongly.
“The Hawkesbury standalone meeting is my home track, it is where I did my apprenticeship and I still live out that way.
“I’m going to try and do my best to ride a few winners on their ( Hawkesbury Race Club) biggest day.’’
Angland is chasing his third win in the Group 3 $ 175,000 Godolphin Crown ( 1300m) today on Godolphin’s Ghisoni after winning the race again on Shillelagh last year.
Ghisoni, trained by James Cummings, goes to Hawkesbury after a solid first- up sixth behind Quilista in the Sapphire Stakes at Randwick.
“When you are riding for the big stables, you go to the races confident the horses are trained up and ready to run well,’’ Angland said.
“Ghisoni is having her second start after a spell but she can only improve off her Randwick run. She is a topclass mare, drawn a good gate and is getting up to her right distance now.’’
Angland is also back on another Cummings- trained starter, promising juvenile Stunts in the $ 125,000 TAB Clarendon Stakes ( 1300m).
Stunts was a last- start fourth in the Kindergarten Stakes behind Paquirri at Randwick but Angland rode the colt to an easy win in a Wyong maiden at his previous start.
“I think the penny is starting to drop with this colt,’’ Angland said. “He won well at Wyong then was in behind them at Randwick but worked to the line nicely.
“I galloped him during the week and I’m pretty confident he is going to run a really good race.’’
Angland links with the allpowerful Waller stable in three races including the Group 3 $ 200,000 Livamol Hawkesbury Gold Cup ( 1600m) on McCreery.
Part- owned by Peter Tighe of Winx fame, McCreery is coming back in distance after running a close fourth to Arbeitsam in the Neville Sellwood Stakes ( 2000m).