THE SUNSHINE COAST NEWSPAPER COLUMN - WEIGHING UP THE NUMBERS. SENIOR RIDERS VERSUS APPRENTICES

By Graham Potter | Sunday, September 21, 2014

Graham Potter writes a weekly column for the Sunshine Coast daily. Due to demand from those having trouble accessing the paper these columns are now also published on HRO courtesy of the Sunshine Coast daily

While there is little that is static in racing, every now and again there is a particular wave of change which captures attention and merits closer scrutiny … such as the current change in the dynamics of the riding ranks in South East Queensland.

This time the wave is being surfed by apprentices and the ride has carried this young group of jockeys into the top league where some are not only holding their own but, significantly, fill the first three places in the Brisbane Jockey’s Premiership.

It is nothing new to talk about a boom apprentice but here the subject is not one rider. We are talking about apprentices arriving in numbers and shaking up the riding status quo to the degree that it has changed that landscape.

As the better apprentices get better opportunities hey get better results. When they get better results they get more opportunities and so the momentum rolls. That leads to a position where a trainer is likely to give a proven claiming apprentice more rides to give his or her runner a weight advantage in the contest and that in turn causes a reaction from other trainers who make similar decisions to ensure that their runners are not compromised at the weights.

It is bonanza time for apprentices.

But there is a side-effect to their success.

Senior jockeys are getting lost in the roundabout and it would be fair to say that not all of them are happy about the size of the apprentice invasion. At least one top ten rider has indicated that he believes that some of the current crop of apprentices are in town prematurely and their presence is compromising the livelihood of some senior riders.

Some will value his point. Others will throw it out of court pointing to an ultra-competitive business where nobody has any divine right to hold any position.

As always though, for jockeys, it is not just about getting a ride … it is about the quality of ride. As more plum rides become available to the surging apprentices, some senior riders are left scrambling for rides on weak contenders. They therefore can have a run of bad results which impacts on the level of demand for their services which, in turn, can impact on their confidence.

This current situation does provide food for thought regarding the balance between senior riders and apprentices in any metropolitan racing centre but, for the moment, there can be no argument about the scoreboard or about the talent of the leading apprentice riders featured there.

Luke Tarrant is clear in the Premiership. Matthew McGuren is second. Both have strike rates in excess of twenty percent. Third placed Bridget Grylls has a strike rate of sixteen percent.

Compare that to reigning champion Tim Bell who languishes in tenth place with a strike rate of five percent and the fact that the previous premiership winner Michael Cahill does not feature in the top ten … and you have a full appreciation of the wave of change currently sweeping through the Queensland riding ranks.

It’s not quite a tsunami but it is a significant event.

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