BROWNIE'S BLOG - FIELDING A FEW QUESTIONS FROM THE HORSE RACING ONLY WEBSITE MAILBAG

By Damian Browne | Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Brownie's Blog, the personal blog of star rider Damian Browne, appears exclusively on HRO. This week Damian delves into the HRO mailbag and answers some questions from readers.

This week I’m going to reply to a few questions that have been directed to me by HRO readers. I’ll read off the question and then answer.

Who have been the best jockeys I have seen in my time and why?

This is obviously not an easy answer because so many of them are so good for different reasons.

I’ve always believed that Chris Johnson in New Zealand was one of the best jockeys I rode with. He was just an unbelievable horseman with probably the best balance I’ve ever seen of any jockey ... and probably the best hands. He used to ride very short with the stirrup iron.

He was very much a rider who was kind to his horse. More often than not he would get back in the field and his ability to time his run was brilliant as was the way he used to just work with the horse.

I watched him do that with everything from Group 1 sprinting to staying races to Grand National Hurdles. I remember seeing him win the Grand National Hurdles in 1989 on Ampac where it basically fell at the last fence but he didn’t come off it. He was just an unbelievable horseman.

There are so many good jockeys. Today it’s Moreira and Moore overseas ... and then you’ve obviously also got all of the champions we have had here in Australia over a long period who are difficult to split.

Also, I think if you took the current top twelve jockeys in Australia, the likes of High Bowman, Damien Oliver and James McDonald, all of them have got that wow factor on any given day ... but Chris Johnson is the one that sticks out in my mind because I grew up watching him.

I tried to learn from him in my younger years and take as much out of that process as I could for myself.

When I am involved in a tight finish, which jockey would I not like to see on the horse next to me?

Anybody on a faster horse!

Again I can refer back to the answer to the previous question because it comes down to the same sort of thing in terms of the fact that different jockeys have their different styles.

I mean you only have to look at Jeff Lloyd and Robbie Fradd. They probably have unorthodox styles as far as the Australian punter is concerned but their ability to get the most out of their horses is unbelievable.

I know the older you get the more difficult it is to get low in the saddle, but irrespective of the reason why their style differs from our norm, the bottom line is they do an absolutely fantastic job.

Jim Byrne is always very strong in a finish and then you’ve got Michael Cahill and Glen Colless who are a bit quieter but who get just as much out of their horse and, of course, there are many others with strong riding ability.

But, no, I never worry about who might be on the horse next to me.

Like I said, the only jockey I don’t want to see in a race is one who is on a faster horse!

Some horses never reach the absolute top tier in racing for a variety of reasons. Is there any horse in that category for which I have a particular soft spot?

Pride of Dubai is one that immediately springs to mind.

He is obviously never going to race again but his potential was unbelievable.

What he was able to achieve as a two-year-old was quite outstanding because he was really going to make a lovely four and five year old.

He had the ability to perhaps go on and be a champion but we never got to see the best of him.

He’s the one that springs to mind straight off the top of head.

With the prize-money increase announcements continuing in New South Wales, is that ever a topic of conversation in the jockey’s room?

That’s inevitable. You’d have to be walking around with your head in the sand if you don’t know what is going on.

I suppose jealousy is not the right word, but nobody likes to be left behind. We all want to see our industry going forward and it is just great for New South Wales that they are doing so.

It is great for New South Wales but it would be good to see Queensland at least start to move in the same direction.

Most of us are caught up with what happens in Queensland. Not everybody wants to go out and chase the money in New South Wales ... and, even if you do, there are no guarantees you will come out ahead.

It’s very competitive down there for obvious reasons so not everybody who wants to go there will get a run. Not every jockey will get a ride.

Sometimes you’ve got to stay where you are and do the best with what you’ve got (while hoping for a turnaround for the better) ... as most of us are doing in Queensland.

HRO comment:

*Chris Johnson achieved a major career milestone in 2014 when he rode his 2000th winner at Waipukurau, the Hawke's Bay country track.

By doing so, Johnson became the sixth rider in New Zealand racing history to achieve the mark behind Bill Skelton, David Peake, Lance O'Sullivan, Noel Harris and David Walsh.

His achievement is remarkable given the fact he had a break of nearly seven seasons away from race riding.

*Pride of Dubai only raced five times for two wins and two runner-up finishes. His wins came in the Group 1 Blue Diamond (with Damian Brown in the saddle) and in the Group 1 Inglis Sires Stakes. In those five starts, Pride Of Dubai earned just over $1,3 million in prize-money.

The colt was retired after he was found to have sustained a hind fetlock injury after his first-up run in February 2016. A similar problem had kept him out of the previous spring carnival.