KWT - A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE EVENTFUL CAREER OF RACING'S LATEST GROUP 1 WINNING RIDER
By Graham Potter | Tuesday, June 27, 2023
If a jockey wins a Group 1, he, or she, deserved to win a Group 1.
No questions asked ... being good enough to be given the opportunity in the first place and being accomplished enough to get the job done in the heat of battle at the elite level are attributes which speak for themselves, and the reward is certainly well-earned.
Having said that, it is also fair to say that nobody deserves their Group 1 win more than Kyle Wilson-Taylor who climbed that summit for the first time on Saturday when he partnered the Chris Munce trained mare Palaisipan to a landmark victory in the Tatts Tiara at Eagle Farm.
Wilson-Taylor has always been very open about the difficult times in his past ... times that could so easily have had a lasting negative impact on both his personal life and professional aspirations but, instead, Wilson-Taylor had the strength to turn the misfortune of those times into a stubborn, unwavering commitment ... fully focussed on achievement while following a road along which faltering was not an option.
But that was easier said than done ... which makes Wilson-Taylor’s Group 1 achievement so commendable.
“It was quite surreal,” said Wilson-Taylor, speaking the day after his Group 1 win. “It was obviously a lifelong goal and dream ... and to tick it off was quite amazing.
“The last fifty metres when I knew I was going to win was like an out of body experience. I just let out this almighty scream. I couldn’t really believe it ... and when all my mates ... the other jockeys ... came to congratulate me when I was pulling up ... it was just fantastic, especially doing it in Queensland.
“So many people have helped me ... from those who taught me how to ride through all of the bosses I have had ... they have all been great. There are just so many people that have helped me along the way and helped mould me into the person and the rider I am today.”
That help was a critical factor in Wilson-Taylor’s progression in its own right, but its value came in direct proportion to Wilson-Taylor’s willingness to take on board and learn from the advice that was being given ... with his mindset arguably being the most important factor of all.
“I just wanted to be the best jockey I could be. I want to be one of the best and I know, to do that, you have got to listen, and you have got to work hard. Those are two essential ingredients you need to be successful.
“I think I have been doing them well and probably could still be doing them better, but I think my Group 1 win was a fair representation of all the hard work that has gone into it.”
Away from the track, achieving a settled and happy personal life has been another triumph for Wilson-Taylor whose partner, apprentice jockey Angela Jones, is thriving in her own right being about to be anointed as the winner of the Brisbane Apprentice Jockey’s Premiership ... a title Wilson-Taylor won last season.
“My partner Ange ... she is amazing,” said Wilson-Taylor. “She means everything to me.
“She has kept me on the straight and narrow. She kicks me in the bum when I need it, and she lifts me up when I need it also. It wouldn’t be possible without her.
“I am just so lucky to have the people I have around me that I do have ... and, I’ve got to mention my manager Glenn Courtney here.
“He’s fantastic. He has been with me from the start. It’s been a team effort and I’m just very proud it has all come off.”
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Revisit Kyle Wilson-Taylors path to Group 1 glory through these previous, related articles on HRO.
FROM JANUARY 27, 2021
Kyle Wilson-Taylor doesn’t do things in half-measures.
The young apprentice rode six winners over the weekend. Earlier in the season he rode four winners over successive weekends at Toowoomba. On one of those Saturdays, he also rode a winner at the Gold Coast making it five winners in one day.
The numbers just keep stacking up. But Wilson-Taylor isn’t getting ahead of himself.
Read more ...
KYLE WILSON-TAYLOR - A MAN ON THE MARCH!
FROM JULY 11, 2022
Kyle Wilson-Taylor will be crowned the Brisbane Apprentice Jockeys’ Premiership winner for the 2021/22 season.
That statement has got to have a nice ring to it for the young rider who can now officially claim that distinction following a tremendous, head-to-head battle over recent months with colleague and friend Jaden Lloyd, who will not be back for the remainder of the season after picking up a suspension and then electing to take an extended break from race-riding.
Wilson-Taylor’s journey along the way has mostly been well documented, but it can now be viewed from a position of acknowledged achievement. In real terms, given all of the wrong turns he could have taken, it can now be read as an inspirational story in its own right.
Read more ...
WILSON-TAYLOR: BECOMING A CHAMPION APPRENTICE JOCKEY. AN INSPIRATIONAL STORY IN ITS OWN RIGHT
FROM JANUARY 9, 2023
Good intentions ... there can be no doubt that is what prompted jockey Kyle Wilson-Taylor to angle his horse Cracking Thunder on an outward trajectory between the 600m and the 400m towards Michigan, whose rider, Georgina Cartwright, was still in some difficulty following an incident earlier in the running,
The field, in fact, had only travelled less than 100m in the 1200m contest when Michigan clipped heels, dipped sharply, dragging its back legs and sending Cartwright sprawling onto the back of the horse’s neck with her feet coming out of the irons.
Read more ...
JOCKEY LENDS A HAND, EARNS A REPRIMAND
FROM JANUARY 12. 2023
Following the posting of a story earlier this week, in which jockey Kyle Wilson-Taylor detailed how he went to the rescue of a fellow rider who was in strife mid-race ... (see related article below) ...much of the reader feedback since then has focussed on readers wanting to know what Georgina Cartwright, the jockey Wilson-Taylor diverted his mount to assist, thoughts are on the subject.
Cartwright was asked for her response ... and she was happy to oblige with the following account of what took place in that race at the Sunshine Coast last Sunday.
“When the horse blundered, I fell on his neck and that helped me stay up,” began Cartwright. “I lost both of my irons. I managed to get one back, but I couldn’t quite get my other iron back.”
Read more ...
GEORGINA CARTWRIGHT 'FOREVER GRATEFUL' AFTER KYLE WILSON-TAYLOR 'SAVES THE DAY'
And the rest ... as they say ... is history!
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