RONNIE STEWART & BEN THOMPSON HEAD TO SYDNEY IN SEARCH OF GROUP 1 GLORY IN THE SYDNEY CUP

By Graham Potter | Friday, April 16, 2021

Two Brisbane based jockeys fly into Sydney this week in search of Group 1 glory in the $2 million Sydney Cup.

For Ronnie Stewart it will be something if a walk down memory lane as he prepares to ride the joint bottom weight Selino in the Sydney Cup.

Stewart was crowned champion apprentice in Sydney for the 2002/3 season. At the end of 2005 Stewart opted to take on an international challenge by moving to Singapore and he made the most of the opportunity … ultimately coming away with, amongst other successes, three Gold Cup wins in Singapore, all aboard the Hideyuki Takaoka trained El Dorado who took out the Gold Cup treble in 2008, 2009 and 2011.

Trumping that was Stewart’s association with Jolie Shinju, who claimed the Triple Crown in Singapore in 2009, the year in which Jolie Shinju claimed the Horse Of the Year title.

Stewart then moved on the ride in Mauritius before returning to Australia and initially being placed with Paul Perry at Newcastle.

The highly capable rider has been plying his trade in Brisbane in recent years where a lot of good judges feel his services are underutilised but, clearly, the country’s top trainer Chris Waller keeps his finger on the pulse and when he wanted a lightweight jockey for Selino, Ron Stewart’s name came up and he was offered the ride on the British import who had his first run for Waller in October 2020.

Selino arrived in Australia with a race record of two wins, five runner-up finishes and two third place results from only ten starts … and while he has been slow in rising to that sort of form in his five starts for Waller to date, the 3200m Sydney Cup provides him with his first opportunity beyond 2600m in Australia which is the sort of trip that he relished in Britain.

Ben Thompson also makes the trip south to reunite with his Group 2 Adelaide Cup winner Good Idea. The Adelaide Cup tracks well for the Sydney Cup, also being a 3200m contest.

Thompson is already firmly entrenched in the top ten riders in the Brisbane Premiership after only relocating to Queensland at the start of the current season.

In 2020, in the closing stages, Thompson looked all over the winner of the Adelaide Cup on the Philip Stokes trained Good Idea, but he was run down late by King Of Leogrance. Undeterred, the team was back this year to set the record straight and Good Idea duly saluted in the 2021 Adelaide Cup.

Thompson was not on Good Idea in the gelding’s only subsequent start, but he is back in the saddle on Saturday in search of that Group 1 win.

Selino and good Idea are currently both trading at double figure odds … $19 and $21 respectively … but it is a relatively open betting race with the William Haggas trained Favorite Moon topping the boards at $5.

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