WILL MATTHEW MCGILLIVRAY'S FIVE WEEKEND WINNERS HELP GIVE HIS CAREER THE BOOST IT DESERVES?

By Graham Potter | Tuesday, April 20, 2021

Matthew McGillivray is hoping that the five winners he rode over the weekend will help get him back in the frame as far as doors opening to greater opportunities is concerned.

McGillivray rode a treble at the Gold Coast on Saturday and followed up with a double at the Sunshine Coast on Sunday … both provincial meetings … but movement he needs to get back to where he was in terms of Metropolitan racing, before suffering a major setback, is taking a long time to gain any significant traction.

McGillivray struck Group 1 gold in 2019 when he won the Group 1 Queensland Oaks on Winning Ways. His career had been on an upward curve before then and he remained very much in demand until that night in late May 2020 when he crashed to the turf at the Sunshine Coast and came away with injuries that were serious enough to sideline him for an extensive period of time.

The young rider battled his way back, as jockeys do, but he quickly discovered the scenario he returned to was not the one he had left. The pecking order, the rank and file status as it related to his standing at Metropolitan level, had changed.

“At that stage I guess you could really say that fall was my downfall,” said McGillivray.

‘Before the fall I was very comfortable. I was comfortable getting about twenty rides a week. I was riding at 54kg very comfortably. I was very motivated.

“I had been riding nice horses … the likes of Tambo Mate (when he won the Tatts Recognition and the Group 3 BRC Sprint), Penino (when he won the Gold Coast Guineas) and even The Candy Man … and I was also on Vanna Girl in her Daybreak Lover win.

“Because of my fall I missed the opportunity of riding Vanna Girl in The Roses. I had high hopes that was going to be my first Group 2 winner. I was happy for the connections when she won, but I was dirty that I couldn’t be on her.

“When I did eventually make my come-back, I went back to town, but things weren’t working out. Everybody sort of had their own jockeys. They were pretty set on what they were doing and things were working out for them, so the support for me wasn’t quite there.

“I was getting maybe one, two or three rides in town. There were weeks there when I was having three to four rides only for the week … the whole week put together. That was for four to six weeks and that was painful for me … very painful.

“It also obviously affects your confidence, no matter how strong-willed you are.

“One of the biggest and most difficult adjustments I had to make was getting used to how I’ve been treated by some people since my comeback. When you are riding winners, some people look at you in a different way and are on your side but, when you are not riding a string of winners, they hardly even acknowledge you.

“That’s not a complaint and I’m not blaming anyone. It is just another example of how things have changed for me. I could have the mindset of worrying about that or being upset about that sort of thing … or, alternatively, I could just get on with it and say, ‘that’s racing’ or ‘that’s life,’ which is what I’m choosing to do.

“In racing, success is one of the tickets to being happy in your profession. I’m working on the success part, but I’m also trying very hard to get back to my jovial self, to stay happy and be in a good mood. I think when you have that kind of positive attitude, things fall into place easier, horses run for you and things happen.

“Winning … and having the opportunity to get on winners … is what it is all about. Unless you come back onto the Metropolitan scene with a bang and ride doubles and trebles in town … you know, if you ride eight winners you are a legend and if you ride eight seconds they don’t notice you.

“it is just the way it is. That’s the way the game is … so I did a reset and made a decision to come down to the Gold Coast and try and kick off from there, get back on my feet and start from the bottom again and, hopefully, slowly make my way up.

“I had a full book of rides on Saturday and I’ve been getting almost full books at the Gold Coast every time … which is great. I’d rather that than chasing two or three rides in town. Slowly it might lead me to mid-weeks and then Saturdays in town.

“Wherever you ride it can lead to bigger things. Like the horse I won on for Chris Waller at the Gold Coast on Saturday … Ruru. She is going to the Oaks. I may be on it. I may not be on it … but that sort of win is helping to give me the exposure I need.

“I don’t think I’ve missed a carnival since I’ve been in Brisbane, even when I was an apprentice, but I’m probably going to miss this one.

“I know there is a lot of luck in play in what happens next, some of which needs to fall my way.

“Part of life is making your own luck though and, in that regard, I am doing all I can to keep my career moving forward.

“I know I still have a long way to go to get where I want to be, but I think those five winners I had on the weekend shows I’m moving in the right direction.”

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