WHILE THE BIG GUNS HOGGED THE HEADLINES TWO YOUNG RIDERS WERE MAKING A MARK OF THEIR OWN

By Graham Potter | Thursday, September 1, 2016

While the big guns were hogging the headlines at the recent Queensland Racing Awards, just off centre stage two young apprentice riders were making a statement of their own. Stephanie Lacy, who took out the Country Apprentice of the Year title, and Rookie Of The Year Brooke Ainsworth capped off the season by gaining due recognition at the awards for their sterling efforts over the previous twelve months, just as HRO gives them due recognition in this two part story

PART 1 - Stephanie Lacy:

I started riding in February last year.

It took me ages to get rides and then one day ... I think it was in May ... Shane Scriven actually rang me and said, where are you going on the weekend?

I said I’ve got slow one at Bundaberg. He said, well I’ve got a trainer that’s got four good rides out at Mitchell ... that is way out ... and I said, well I’ll get off the one at Bundy and go to Mitchell.

That offer and that decision was really the first turning point for me.

That trainer was Ben Waldron. So I went out there and I won the Mitchell Cup and I also had a second and two thirds. That’s really where you can it all started.

It was a really important break because I can tell you before that, when I was struggling so much for rides, I was over it. I was thinking why I am doing this. All I was doing was punching around one or two slow ones and doing so much travelling for so little return.

I know every jockey goes through that at different times but this was at the start of my career so things were not looking good ... until that day at Mitchell.

Other trainers out that way noticed and from there my riding options just picked up and there was a natural flow on effect.

Once I started riding winners out there trainers in South East Queensland started noticing and that is when more rides became available.

I do have a manager now, but he has only been doing it for a couple of months. Before then I was doing it all myself.

I’m into my second year as an apprentice now. I’m with Paul Duncan. I’ve actually been with him for four years, riding work before I took out my license.

He’s good. I’ve learnt a lot from him. I mean he is a Group 1 winning trainer. Not many apprentice jockeys get that opportunity.

My biggest thrill during the season was definitely going to South Australia. I went to Murray Bridge to ride in the Apprentice Challenge Series and I rode the winner there.

That is definitely the highlight of my career so far. That was unreal.

My horse only had fair form. The trainer said aw ... he doesn’t like the wet track and it was chopping up quite badly from the half mile home ... so I thought, dammit!

But then in the race he got through it as good as gold and when I let him go ... holy hell!

So I have come some way since Benny Waldron and Rebecca Kirwin got me going. Rebecca has helped me since I was a four kilo claimer all the way through ... right through until today.

She still rings me up every day. Every weekend she rings up ... and that support is huge. She is so blatantly honest. She’ll tell you if you stuffed up. She’ll tell you if you rode a good race which is exactly what you need.

And you can take it because when she says that you rode a bad race she doesn’t do it in a mean way. She does it in a really helpful way ... constructive criticism, that is all it is.

That just does wonders for your confidence, knowing that you are learning and getting better. I can watch the reply and recognise that I did do that wrong. I can improve.

I know jockeys say they don’t focus on premierships. I know they say that is just a bonus that comes from having a good season ... well that wasn’t me.

Once I began going that was my clear goal. I wanted to win the Country Apprentice Premiership. Since October last year that was what I wanted to win.

It wasn’t easy. At one stage I rode I don’t know how many seconds for about a month straight without getting a winner. I thought, what am I doing wrong ... but I just kept on and things turned around.

The more you are getting rewards for what you do, the greater your motivation to do even better. I’m very proud of my award and hopefully will help take me to the next step.

My mom and dad were both jockeys in New Zealand so you could say I was riding races before I was even born.

I was four months old and sound asleep in the hay shed at the stables so I had no hope of staying out of this industry ... and that was not a bad thing.

I’m very happy with where I am at this stage of my career. It’s all very exciting.

The Brooke Ainsworth story follows tomorrow

More articles