Ferraris loses apprentice allowance

It is always a big moment for any young apprentice when he loses his allowance because that mean he has ridden 60 winners.

That big moment came at Turffontein on Saturday for Luke Ferraris. It also means that, with immediate effect, he can longer claim 1.5kg, even though it will still be written in the racecard for the next couple of meetings as they were published before Ferraris lost his allowance.

Trainers like to use claiming apprentices to get the benefit but do not pick them in races where that allowance cannot be claimed. It speaks volumes for the ability of this young apprentice jockey that he had a ride in the Grade 2 Merchants on Saturday even though he could not use his claim.

While the statistics have not been fully updated it appears Ferraris took around 565 rides to win 60 races, which is no mean feat.