NINE-HUNDRED-AND NINETY-SEVEN DOWN. THREE TO GO

By Graham Potter | Thursday, April 13, 2023

It’s a little like being in the ‘nervous nineties’ for a batsman, but Samantha Collett is happy to just count down the wins as they come as she heads towards a landmark target that has been on her bucket-list for a very long time.

Collett’s success on the Peter Robl trained Richon on Wednesday was career win number 997 for the popular rider who now resides in Queensland having relocated to the Sunshine state after a stella career in the New Zealand where she claimed multiple Group 1 victories as well as a Jockey’s Premiership.

One thousand career wins would be a landmark achievement in anyone’s language, but in Collett’s case, when she gets there, the moment will carry much more meaning than just a statistic.

Quite incredibly, Collett’s father and mother have both ridden 1000 winners in their time in the saddle and for Collett to join them will not only ramp up the personal pleasure she will get out of the result, it will place the family’s riding record in rarefied air, perhaps even place it on an absolutely unique level.

A father, mother and daughter all riding 1000 winners ... it could be a world first.

While the winners have only come along relatively slowly in recent times for Collett, the win on Wednesday could well be the precursor to a big week ... to the meeting and the win she has been waiting for.

It is so close, Collett can taste it!

Collett has currently been booked for eleven rides over the Sunshine Coast (Friday), Eagle Farm (Saturday) and Sunshine Coast (Sunday) trilogy of meetings ... and, although it will take some doing to settle the score this weekend, the ‘got a ticket, got a chance’ scenario applies.

If not, Collett won’t be disappointed if it takes another week or two to reach this very special goal ... and she can push on towards it buoyed by the tremendous support she has from family, friends and racing enthusiasts on both sides of the Tasman who are counting down to the big moment with her ... one win at a time.

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