Shorter NSW stay pays dividends
THE penny dropped for enigmatic heavyweight jockey Noel Callow three weeks ago that his three-month trial move to New South Wales wasn’t for him.
He had driven to Muswellbrook but after two rides he was suffering from dehydration and had to go to hospital for treatment.
“I got into trouble at Muswellbrook which is all finished and thought that will do here,” Callow said.
Callow had planned to stay until the middle of May in Sydney but he couldn’t be happier he short-circuited the stay by six weeks.
Since Callow has returned to Victoria, in two and a half weeks he’s ridden 15 winners and his strike rate is 24% from his past 50 rides.
In six weeks in Sydney, he rode 12 country winners.
His biggest win since returning back home was on two-year-old filly Thrillsta to win the $300,000 VOBIS Sires (2yo, 1200m) at Caulfield on Saturday.
It was his second win on the filly as he also won the Bendigo Gold Dash on her.
During his northern tenure, Callow developed a healthy respect for what Sydney jockeys do and a greater appreciation of how lucky Victorian jockeys with their travel requirements. “There’s too much travel in Sydney. I didn’t realise these guys like Penza and Buckley, they just sit in a car.”
“12 hours in a car to Dubbo, six hours both ways, that nearly topped me off.” Callow, though, praised Racing New South Wales for their support of country racing in terms of prizemoney. “On a provincial Saturday I was riding at the minimum prizemoney was $30,000 and the last race, for the eight weeks of the Country Championship was $150,000,” he said.
Callow said compared to what was on offer at Bairnsdale last Saturday it was so much better.
Bairnsdale had seven races consisting of three $22,000 events, one $20,000 race and three $18,000 events.
Callow was at his best on Thrillsta, keeping the main danger Golden Script pocketed on his inside before exposing his filly.
“I thought she was really good as I thought she was a bit lucky at Bendigo as there were some super runs behind me,” he said.