CAMPTON AND CHAVEZ TAKE 2: WATCH THIS SPACE!
By Graham Potter | Friday, December 1, 2023
He’s back ... and riding winners!
There is no big news in the riding winners part of that statement, as Elione Chavez arrived back on the Gold Coast with the Jockey Championship in Sweden firmly in his grasp (his seventh Premiership title in Sweden) with his season’s honour roll including a big race win in the Stockholm Cup, where he kept Frankie Dettori back in third place ... making that a win particular thrill for the talented rider.
That winning run in Sweden came when Chavez returned to that racing precinct at the end of March ... eight months ago ... after completing his first stint at the Gold Coast, a three-and-a-half month period centred on working for the Adam Campton stable, in which he rode a total of fourteen winners.
Campton immediately recognised the value of having a rider of Chavez’s international experience in the stable ... the Brazilian has ridden in Sweden, Singapore, Dubai, the USA, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Germany Norway and Australia ... and he wanted Chavez to stay, but a very good and understandable reason got in the way of Chavez extending his first working visit to Australia ... the rider wanted to spend time with his then nine-year-old son who lived with his ex-wife in Sweden.
Campton, while fully understanding that dynamic, wasn’t about to let things end there though. Before Chavez returned to Sweden both sides made an informal commitment to link up again, if possible, some time in the future.
Now, eight months later, that time has arrived and the Campton/Chavez team is back in business at the Gold Coast.
“At this stage I’m going to stay for at least five months. That’s the plan,” said Chavez. “The situation with my son is the same ... but the good news is he is going to come down to the Gold Coast in February for three weeks, so that’s very good.
“After the five months, I’ll have to see what happens. It’s hard because last time when I left I really wanted to stay. It was the same now when I got here ... it feels like home ... favourite people ... people who are so nice to me ... so I’m very happy here. If I can work something out and stay ... I will, but it is hard with the position I am in with my son.
“I’ve been in contact with Adam all the time I’ve been away. He keeps pushing me ... come back ... when are you going to come back?
“Now I’m back ... and I’ve had a good start. (Chavez rode a winner in each of his first two meetings back at the Gold Coast ... both for Campton.
“I’m very pleased to have Adam behind me, supporting me a lot. Everything I need ... he is there.
‘Last time I was here I think I rode fourteen winners. My goal is to win more than that this time ... to win as many times as I can.”
For Adam Campton, having Chavez back at the stable was always an option well worth pursuing.
“When he went back home it was our loss,” stated Campton. “Obviously we know how good he is with the horses. He had built such a good bond with our horses and our staff as well ... so we kept in contact. I kept bugging him to come back.
“He finally agreed. He’s back now. I think he is riding better than ever. He has just got so much confidence at the moment.
“I did watch him ride in a number of races in Sweden. A lot of times it was late at night and I was in bed, but it seemed like every time I turned the tv on he was punching out a winner.
“Yeah, he is here for five months at this stage. I might have to lock him up and try and keep him here somehow,” joked Campton, befire adding, on a serious note, "that’s how highly we value him.”
“He has travelled the world and, apart from all of the racing expertise he brings from those experiences, he is a kind soul ... a very good person ... and is an absolute pleasure to deal with, making him an absolute all-around asset to us.
“Coming to Australia to ride for the first time can be tough ... intimidating ... but Elione learnt plenty the first time he was here.
“This time around I think he is going to ride a stack of winners.”
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