BROWNIE'S BLOG - SRIKANDI GETS THE JOB DONE

By Damian Browne | Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Damian Browne is rated right up there with the best jockeys in Australia. After severe injury setbacks which would have ended a lesser man’s career, this eleven-time Group 1 winning jockey has fought back against the odds to establish a solid reputation both as a person ... through the calm, confident and professional manner in which he goes about his business ... and as a rider, where he has built an enviable race record largely courtesy of his exceptional expertise as a horseman. Damian’s column, ‘Brownies Blog’, will appear weekly on Wednesdays ... exclusive to HRO!

It was great to see Srikandi return to form in the Stradbroke and show the type of ability we all knew she had.

For some unbeknown reason she seemed to lose her edge for a few weeks but Ciaron Maher put a lot of work into the horse and he was rewarded with a great result for the stable and for the connections.

It was obviously disappointing from a personal point of view to have had to give up the ride on Srikandi in the Stradbroke because of the weight.

Racing is a bitter pill to swallow at times, but I’m just grateful I had the opportunity to ride Srikandi in the first place (and win on her earlier in the carnival) and I was happy to see the horse have success again.

That doesn’t mean my disappointment wasn’t very real but, like any disappointment in life, you’ve got to move on.

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I know the question has been put that I have warmed the seat for other riders on occasions when they couldn’t take a plum ride for whatever reason, so would I be getting back onto Srikandi for the Tatts Tiara?

The answer is no!

I’ve already committed to riding Dublin Lass for the Snowdens now.

There was talk that I may have been able to get back on Srikandi but they were still working it all out and I had to make a commitment and I went with Peter Snowden’s horse.

There’s a chance I may get back on Srikandi at some stage down the track ... maybe next year.

There is certainly no bad blood between myself and Cairon (Maher). There was no reason I wasn’t riding in the Stradbroke other than the circumstances of that particular race so there is always the opportunity to get back on.

Cairon was always good with me right from the start of the mare’s Winter campaign.

He was very up front. He could have said early on that he’s got to make a choice and book Kerrin (McEvoy) in, but he waited as long as possible to give me the opportunity.

In fact, gave me until the last second to decide to stay on Srikandi ... and I was grateful for that ... but unfortunately the cards didn’t all my way.

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I guess almost in keeping with the way much of my carnival has gone, my scheduled ride in the Eye Liner on Saturday, I’ve Got The Looks, has been scratched.

I probably wasn’t going to Ipswich until Peter Snowden asked me to ride the horse. The barriers came out. She drew terrible and she’s come out.

Like I say that’s pretty much been the story of my carnival but, if nothing else, it’s been a character building carnival for me so far ... that’s for sure.

That’s the way it is though. You can’t be on top all the time and it’s not the way you are when you’re on top it’s the way you get back on top when you’ve been down that counts.

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So, I will still be at Ipswich on Saturday.

I’ve got Darci be Good in the Cup. He is a very honest horse. He’ll put himself in the race. The distance might just find him out, but it is not a quality field and the horse is in good form.

Smokin’ Joey is my ride in the Eye Liner. He is backing up from the Stradbroke. He is probably the class horse in the race. The weight tells you that. He ran well in the Stradbroke. If he can reproduce that sort of run I’m sure he will be very hard to beat.

I’m also on Wicked Intent and Rock Royalty.

Chris Munce has done a great job with Wicked Intent. He realised he wasn’t going to go on to the mile for the TJ so he elected to freshen him and keep him to the sprint journey. Although he’s got a big weight, he is certainly the class two-year-old in the race.

Rock Royalty is a horse with plenty of ability and runs for an in-form stable (Liam Birchley). She’ll get back a touch and probably need a little bit of luck but I’m sure she’ll be hitting the line pretty strong.

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Ipswich will be an easy day for me weight-wise.

My rides on Saturday, mentioned above, are at 60kg, 59.5kg, 59kg and 57kg.

I think I might have to give my manager a pay rise!

Till next week,

Damian

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