Hoop gets his 100
Looker hits season milestone with Beaudesert Cup victory
JOCKEY Ben Looker’s Beaudesert Cup win with Allknight Saint has propelled him to a career-high 100 wins this season.
It was the country NSW hoop’s fourth of the meeting on Saturday at Beaudesert, with victories on Tatcee, Grazie Mille Bella and Dream Wilder earlier in the day setting up Looker’s milestone run.
“It was a great day,” Looker said. “To get 100 winners in the season was a goal I set out to try and achieve.
“To get it in the Beaudesert Cup meant a lot.
“I’m very grateful and proud of myself to get 100.”
It comes a year after the 27-year-old Port Macquarie resident secured 97 winners in the 2016-17 season.
Looker also won the NSW Country Championships Final with Victorem at Randwick in April, a victory he rated as the highlight of his 10-year career.
“That was probably my biggest thrill in racing,” Looker said.
“Being based in the bush, to actually win the Country Championship final where there were a lot of city riders was amazing.
“I was very lucky the connections stuck with me on him.”
Looker credited his increased maturity and experience in the saddle for his successful past two seasons.
“I’ve definitely matured in the last four years,” he said.
“Last year I was pretty close to getting the 100 but being based where I am there is a lot of travelling.
“It was a seven-hour drive from Port Macquarie to Beaudesert. I do plenty of kilometres but when you’re going to ride horses for nice trainers it makes the travelling a lot easier.”