A new Page
TWELVE months ago Jed Hodge was struggling to even get a ride.
Now the New Zealandborn hoop is leading the Gold Coast jockeys premiership with 10 wins at the track this season so far.
The 24-year-old, who is three months away from completing his premiership, credited respected Gold Coast trainer Helen Page for his stark form reversal.
“The season has been going great and I’m very surprised I have hit the front in the premiership,” he said.
“About a year ago I was struggling to get a ride and now I have got some very loyal trainers working with me like my boss Helen and trainer Scott Morrisey.”
Hodge was with prominent trainer Toby Edmonds before he joined Page but the success of the stable meant he was battling with some of the state’s best jockeys.
Hodge, who has five rides at Aquis Park today including $6 three-year-old last start winner Pumps and $4 favourite Odin’s Folly, said his decision to join Page began his rise in the ranks.
“The change has been exceptional,” Hodge said. “My riding has improved a lot. Helen is a tough woman but no matter what, she wants the best for you.
“I’d say my mentality, the way I arrive to the races, has changed enormously.
“It’s not about just turning up to be on time to look at the track but knowing everything. As an apprentice I’d turn up and wouldn’t know all the form on the day, where the rail was.
“Once I started riding for her and riding race day for her, she made it blatantly clear that I needed to know who was in my race, the other horses’ form, where the rail was and the track positioning.
“I had to get their early and walk the track.”